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2012, the state's unemployment rate was 10.2%.[117]
Health services are Rhode Island's largest industry. Second is tourism, supporting 39,000 jobs, with tourism-related sales at $4.56 billion (adjusted to inflation) in the year 2000. The third-largest industry is manufacturing.[118] Its industrial outputs are submarine construction, shipbuilding, costume jewelry, fabricated metal products, electrical equipment, machinery, and boatbuilding. Rhode Island's agricultural outputs are nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products, and eggs.
Rhode Island's taxes were appreciably higher than neighboring states,[73] because Rhode Island's income tax was based on 25% of the payer's federal income tax payment.[119] Former Governor Donald Carcieri claimed that the higher tax rate had an inhibitory effect on business growth in the state and called for reductions to increase the competitiveness of the state's business environment. In 2010, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a new state income tax structure that was then signed into law on June 9, 2010 by Governor Carcieri.[120] The income tax overhaul has now made Rhode Island competitive with other New England states by lowering its maximum tax rate to 5.99% and reducing the number of tax brackets to three.[121] The state's first income tax was enacted in 1971.[122]
Largest employers [ edit ]
As of March 2011, the largest employers in Rhode Island (excluding employees of municipalities) are the following:[123]
Transportation [ edit ]
Bus [ edit ]
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) operates statewide intra- and intercity bus transport from its hubs at Kennedy Plaza in Providence, Pawtucket, and Newport. RIPTA bus routes serve 38 of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns. (New Shoreham on Block Island is not served). RIPTA currently operates 58 routes, including daytime trolley service (using trolley-style replica buses) in Providence and Newport.
Ferry [ edit ]
From 2000 through 2008, RIPTA offered seasonal ferry service linking Providence and Newport (already connected by highway) funded by grant money from the United States Department of Transportation. Though the service was popular with residents and tourists, RIPTA was unable to continue on after the federal funding ended. Service was discontinued as of 2010.[125] The service was resumed in 2016 and has been successful. The privately run Block Island Ferry[126] links Block Island with Newport and Narragansett with traditional and fast-ferry service, while the Prudence Island Ferry[127] connects Bristol with Prudence Island. Private ferry services also link several Rhode Island communities with ports in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. The Vineyard Fast Ferry[128] offers seasonal service to Martha's Vineyard from Quonset Point with bus and train connections to Providence, Boston, and New York. Viking Fleet[129] offers seasonal service from Block Island to New London, Connecticut, and Montauk, New York.
Rail [ edit ]
The MBTA Commuter Rail's Providence/Stoughton Line links Providence and T. F. Green Airport with Boston. The line was later extended southward to Wickford Junction, with service beginning April 23, 2012. The state hopes to extend the MBTA line to Kingston and Westerly. as well as explore the possibility of extending Connecticut's Shore Line East to T.F. Green Airport.[130] Amtrak's Acela Express stops at Providence Station (the only Acela stop in Rhode Island), linking Providence to other cities in the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak's Northeast Regional service makes stops at Providence Station, Kingston, and Westerly.
Aviation [ edit ]
Rhode Island's primary airport for passenger and cargo transport is T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, though most Rhode Islanders who wish to travel internationally on direct flights and those who seek a greater availability of flights and destinations often fly through Logan International Airport in Boston.
Limited access highways [ edit ]
Interstate 95 runs southwest to northeast across the state, linking Rhode Island with other states along the East Coast. Interstate 295 functions as a partial beltway encircling Providence to the west. Interstate 195 provides a limited-access highway connection from Providence (and Connecticut and New York via I-95) to Cape Cod. Initially built as the easternmost link in the (now cancelled) extension of Interstate 84 from Hartford, Connecticut, a portion of U.S. Route 6 through northern Rhode Island is limited-access and links I-295 with downtown Providence.
Several Rhode Island highways extend the state's limited-access highway network. RI-4 is a major north-south freeway linking Providence and Warwick (via I-95) with suburban and beach communities along Narragansett Bay. RI-10 is an urban connector linking downtown Providence with Cranston and Johnston. RI-37 is an important east-west freeway through Cranston and Warwick and links I-95 with I-295. RI-99 links Woonsocket with Providence (via RI-146). RI-146 travels through the Blackstone Valley, linking Providence and I-95 with Worcester, Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Turnpike. RI-403 links RI-4 with Quonset Point.
Several bridges cross Narragansett Bay connecting Aquidneck Island and Conanicut Island to the mainland, most notably the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge and the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge.
Bicycle paths [ edit ]
The East Bay Bike Path stretches from Providence to Bristol along the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, while the Blackstone River Bikeway will eventually link Providence and Worcester. In 2011, Rhode Island completed work on a marked on-road bicycle path through Pawtucket and Providence, connecting the East Bay Bike Path with the Blackstone River Bikeway, completing a 33.5 miles (54 km) bicycle route through the eastern side of the state.[131] The William C. O'Neill Bike Path (commonly known as the South County Bike Path) is an 8 mi (13 km) path through South Kingstown and Narragansett. The 19 mi (31 km) Washington Secondary Bike Path stretches from Cranston to Coventry, and the 2 mi (3.2 km) Ten Mile River Greenway path runs through East Providence and Pawtucket.
Environmental issues [ edit ]
On May 29, 2014, Governor Lincoln D. Chafee announced that Rhode Island was one of eight states to release a collaborative Action Plan to put 3.3 million zero emission vehicles on the roads by 2025. The goal of the plan is to reduce greenhouse gas and smog-causing emissions. The Action Plan covers promoting zero emission vehicles and investing in the infrastructure to support them.[132]
In 2014, Rhode Island received grants from the Environmental Protection Agency in the amount of $2,711,685 to clean up Brownfield sites in eight locations. The intent of the grants was to provide communities with the funding necessary to assess, clean up, and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies, and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.[133]
In 2013, the "Lots of Hope" program was established in the City of Providence to focus on increasing the city's green space and local food production, improve urban neighborhoods, promote healthy lifestyles and improve environmental sustainability. "Lots of Hope", supported by a $100,000 grant, will partner with the City of Providence, the Soutside Community Land Trust and the Rhode Island Foundation to convert city-owned vacant lots into productive urban farms.[134]
In 2012, Rhode Island passed bill S2277/H7412, "An act relating to Health and Safety – Environmental Cleanup Objectives for Schools", informally known as the "School Siting Bill." The bill, sponsored by Senator Juan Pichardo and Representative Scott Slater and signed into law by the Governor, made Rhode Island the first state in the US to prohibit school construction on Brownfield Sites where there is an ongoing potential for toxic vapors to negatively impact indoor air quality. It also creates a public participation process whenever a city or town considers building a school on any other kind of contaminated site.[135]
Media [ edit ]
Education [ edit ]
Primary and secondary schools [ edit ]
Colleges and universities [ edit ]
Rhode Island has several colleges and universities:
Culture [ edit ]
Local accent [ edit ]
Some Rhode Islanders speak with the distinctive, non-rhotic, traditional Rhode Island accent that many compare to a cross between the New York City and Boston accents (e.g., "water" sounds like "watuh"). Many Rhode Islanders distinguish a strong aw sound [ɔə] (i.e., do not exhibit the cot–caught merger) as one might hear in New Jersey or New York City; for example, the word coffee is pronounced [ˈkʰɔəfi] KAW-fee.[136] This type of accent may have been brought to the region by early settlers from eastern England in the Puritan migration to New England in the mid-17th century.[137]
Rhode Islanders refer to a drinking fountain as a "bubbler" (sometimes pronounced "bubahluh") and sometimes call milkshakes "cabinets". A foot-long, overstuffed sandwich (of whatever kind) is called a "grinder."
Food and beverages [ edit ]
Rhode Island, like the rest of New England, has a tradition of clam chowder. Both the white New England and the red Manhattan varieties are popular, but there is also a unique clear-broth chowder known as Rhode Island Clam Chowder available in many restaurants. A culinary tradition in Rhode Island is the clam cake (also known as a clam fritter outside of Rhode Island), a deep fried ball of buttery dough with chopped bits of clam inside. They are sold by the half-dozen or dozen in most seafood restaurants around the state, and the quintessential summer meal in Rhode Island is chowder and clam cakes.
The quahog is a large local clam usually used in a chowder. It is also ground and mixed with stuffing or spicy minced sausage, and then baked in its shell to form a stuffie. Calamari (squid) is sliced into rings and fried as an appetizer in most Italian restaurants, typically served Sicilian-style with sliced banana peppers and marinara sauce on the side. Clams Casino originated in Rhode Island, invented by Julius Keller, the maitre d' in the original Casino next to the seaside Towers in Narragansett.[138] Clams Casino resemble the beloved stuffed quahog but are generally made with the smaller littleneck or cherrystone clam and are unique in their use of bacon as a topping.
The official state drink of Rhode Island is coffee milk,[139] a beverage created by mixing milk with coffee syrup. This unique syrup was invented in the state and is sold in almost all Rhode Island supermarkets, as well as its bordering states. Johnnycakes have been a Rhode Island staple since Colonial times, made with corn meal and water then pan-fried much like pancakes.
Submarine sandwiches are called grinders throughout Rhode Island, and the Italian grinder is especially popular, made with cold cuts such as ham, prosciutto, capicola, salami, and Provolone cheese. Linguiça or chouriço is a spicy Portuguese sausage, frequently served with peppers among the state's large Portuguese community and eaten with hearty bread.
Rhode Island state symbols [ edit ]
Beavertail State Park
Waterplace Park in Providence
Popular culture [ edit ]
The Farrelly brothers and Seth MacFarlane depict Rhode Island in popular culture, often making comedic parodies of the state. MacFarlane's television series Family Guy is based in a fictional Rhode Island city named Quahog, and notable local events and celebrities are regularly lampooned. Peter Griffin is seen working at the Pawtucket brewery, and other state locations are mentioned.
The movie High Society (starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra) was set in Newport, Rhode Island.
The 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby was also filmed in Newport.
Jacqueline Bouvier and John F. Kennedy were married at St. Mary's church in Newport. Their reception was held at Hammersmith Farm, the Bouvier summer home in Newport.
Cartoonist Don Bousquet, a state icon, has made a career out of Rhode Island culture, drawing Rhode Island-themed gags in The Providence Journal and Yankee magazine. These cartoons have been reprinted in the Quahog series of paperbacks (I Brake for Quahogs, Beware of the Quahog, and The Quahog Walks Among Us.) Bousquet has also collaborated with humorist and Providence Journal columnist Mark Patinkin on two books: The Rhode Island Dictionary and The Rhode Island Handbook.
The 1998 film Meet Joe Black was filmed at Aldrich Mansion in the Warwick Neck area of Warwick.
Body of Proof's first season was filmed entirely in Rhode Island.[140] The show premiered on March 29, 2011.[141]
The 2007 Steve Carell and Dane Cook film Dan in Real Life was filmed in various coastal towns in the state. The sunset scene with the entire family on the beach takes place at Napatree Point.
Jersey Shore star Pauly D filmed part of his spin-off The Pauly D Project in his hometown of Johnston.
The Comedy Central cable television series Another Period is set in Newport during the Gilded Age.
Notable firsts in Rhode Island [ edit ]
Rhode Island has been the first in a number of initiatives. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations enacted the first law prohibiting slavery in North America on May 18, 1652.[142]
Slater Mill in Pawtucket was the first commercially successful cotton-spinning mill with a fully mechanized power system in America and was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the US.[143] The oldest Fourth of July Parade in the country is still held annually in Bristol, Rhode Island. The first Baptist Church in America was founded in Providence in 1638.[144] Ann Smith Franklin of the Newport Mercury was the first female newspaper editor in America (August 22, 1762).[142] Touro Synagogue was the first synagogue in America, founded in Newport in 1763.[142]
The first act of armed rebellion in America against the British Crown was the boarding and burning of the Revenue Schooner Gaspee in Narragansett Bay on June 10, 1772. The idea of a Continental Congress was first proposed at a town meeting in Providence on May 17, 1774. Rhode Island elected the first delegates (Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward) to the Continental Congress on June 15, 1774. The Rhode Island General Assembly created the first standing army in the colonies (1,500 men) on April 22, 1775. On June 15, 1775, the first naval engagement of the American Revolution occurred between a Colonial Sloop commanded by Capt. Abraham Whipple and an armed tender of the British Frigate Rose. The tender was chased aground and captured. Later in June, the General Assembly created the first American Navy when it commissioned the Sloops Katy and Washington, armed with 24 guns and commanded by Abraham Whipple, who was promoted to Commodore. Rhode Island was the first Colony to declare independence from Britain on May 4, 1776.[142]
Pelham Street in Newport was the first in America to be illuminated by gaslight in 1806.[142] The first strike in the United States in which women participated occurred in Pawtucket in 1824.[142] Watch Hill has the nation's oldest flying horses carousel that has been in continuous operation since 1850.[142] The motion picture machine (a machine showing animated pictures) was patented in Providence on April 23, 1867.[142] The first lunch wagon in America was introduced in Providence in 1872.[142] The first nine-hole golf course in America was completed in Newport in 1890.[142] The first state health laboratory was established in Providence on September 1, 1894.[142] The Rhode Island State House was the first building with an all-marble dome to be built in the United States (1895–1901).[142] The first automobile race on a track was held in Cranston on September 7, 1896.[142] The first automobile parade was held in Newport on September 7, 1899 on the grounds of Belcourt Castle.[142]
The first NFL night game was held on November 6, 1929 at Providence's Kinsley Park. The Chicago (now Arizona) Cardinals defeated the Providence Steam Roller 16–0.
In 1980, Rhode Island became the first state to decriminalize prostitution indoors, but indoor prostitution was outlawed again in 2009; see Prostitution in Rhode Island.
Miscellaneous local culture [ edit ]
Rhode Island is nicknamed "The Ocean State", and the nautical nature of Rhode Island's geography pervades its culture. Newport Harbor, in particular, holds many pleasure boats. In the lobby of T. F. Green, the state's main airport, is a large life-sized sailboat,[145] and the state's license plates depict an ocean wave or a sailboat.[146]
Additionally, the large number of beaches in Washington County lures many Rhode Islanders south for summer vacation.[147]
The state was notorious for organized crime activity from the 1950s into the 1990s when the Patriarca crime family held sway over most of New England from its Providence headquarters.
Rhode Islanders developed a unique style of architecture in the 17th century called the stone-ender.[148]
Rhode Island is the only state to still celebrate Victory over Japan Day. It is known locally as "VJ Day" or simply "Victory Day".[149]
Sports [ edit ]
Professional [ edit ]
McCoy Stadium where the Pawtucket Red Sox play baseball
Rhode Island has two professional sports teams, both of which are top-level minor league affiliates for teams in Boston. The Pawtucket Red Sox baseball team of the Triple-A International League are an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. They play at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket and have won four league titles, the Governors' Cup, in 1973, 1984, 2012, and 2014. McCoy Stadium also has the distinction of being home to the longest professional baseball game ever played – 33 innings.
The other professional minor league team is the Providence Bruins ice hockey team of the American Hockey League, who are an affiliate of the Boston Bruins. They play in the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence and won the AHL's Calder Cup during the 1998–99 AHL season.
The Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The team won the Calder Cup in 1938, 1940, 1949, and 1956. The Reds played at the Rhode Island Auditorium, located on North Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island from 1926 through 1972, when the team affiliated with the New York Rangers and moved into the newly built Providence Civic Center. The team name came from the rooster known as the Rhode Island Red. They moved to New York in 1977 and, after multiple name changes, are now called the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The Reds are the oldest continuously operating minor-league hockey franchise in North America, having fielded a team in one form or another since 1926 in the CAHL. It is also the only AHL franchise to have never missed a season. The AHL returned to Providence in 1992 in the form of the Providence Bruins.
1884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays
Before the great expansion of athletic teams all over the country, Providence and Rhode Island in general played a great role in supporting teams. The Providence Grays won the first World Championship in baseball history in 1884. The team played their home games at the old Messer Street Field in Providence. The Grays played in the National League from 1878 to 1885. They defeated the New York Metropolitans of the American Association in a best of five game series at the Polo Grounds in New York. Providence won three straight games to become the first champions in major league baseball history. Babe Ruth played for the minor league Providence Grays of 1914 and hit his only official minor league home run for that team before being recalled by the Grays' parent club, the Boston Red Stockings.
The now-defunct professional football team the Providence Steam Roller won the 1928 NFL title. They played in a 10,000 person stadium called the Cycledrome.[150] The Providence Steamrollers played in the Basketball Association of America which became the National Basketball Association.
Rhode Island is also home to a top semi-professional soccer club, the Rhode Island Reds, which compete in the National premier soccer league, in the fourth division of U.S. Soccer.
Rhode Island is home to one top level non-minor league team, the Rhode Island Rebellion rugby league team, a semi-professional rugby league team that competes in the USA Rugby League, the Top Competition in the United States for the Sport of Rugby League.[151][152] The Rebellion play their home games at Classical High School in Providence.[153]
Collegiate and amateur sports [ edit ]
Bryant University's Bulldogs Stadium
University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium and Ryan Center
There are four NCAA Division I schools in Rhode Island. All four schools compete in different conferences. The Brown University Bears compete in the Ivy League, the Bryant University Bulldogs compete in the Northeast Conference, the Providence College Friars compete in the Big East Conference, and the University of Rhode Island Rams compete in the Atlantic-10 Conference. Three of the schools' football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision, the second-highest level of college football in the United States. Brown plays FCS football in the Ivy League, Bryant plays FCS football in the Northeast Conference, and Rhode Island plays FCS football in the Colonial Athletic Association. All four of the Division I schools in the state compete in an intrastate all-sports competition known as the Ocean State Cup, with Bryant winning the most recent cup in 2011–12 academic year.
From 1930 to 1983, America's Cup races were sailed off Newport, and the extreme-sport X Games and Gravity Games were founded and hosted in the state's capital city.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is in Newport at the Newport Casino, site of the first U.S. National Championships in 1881. The Hall of Fame and Museum were established in 1954 by James Van Alen as "a shrine to the ideals of the game".
Rhode Island is also home to the headquarters of the governing body for youth rugby league in the United States, the American Youth Rugby League Association or AYRLA. The AYRLA has started the first-ever Rugby League youth competition in Providence Middle Schools, a program at the RI Training School, in addition to starting the first High School Competition in the US in Providence Public High School.[154]
Landmarks [ edit ]
The state capitol building is made of white Georgian marble. On top is the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome.[155] It houses the Rhode Island Charter granted by King Charles II in 1663, the Brown University charter, and other state treasures.
The First Baptist Church of Providence is the oldest Baptist church in the Americas, founded by Roger Williams in 1638.
The first fully automated post office in the country is located in Providence. There are many historic mansions in the seaside city of Newport, including The Breakers, Marble House, and Belcourt Castle. Also located there is the Touro Synagogue, dedicated on December 2, 1763, considered by locals to be the first synagogue within the United States (see below for information on New York City's claim), and still serving. The synagogue showcases the religious freedoms that were established by Roger Williams, as well as impressive architecture in a mix of the classic colonial and Sephardic style. The Newport Casino is a National Historic Landmark building complex that presently houses the International Tennis Hall of Fame and features an active grass-court tennis club.
Scenic Route 1A (known locally as Ocean Road) is in Narragansett. "The Towers" is also located in Narragansett featuring a large stone arch. It was once the entrance to a famous Narragansett casino that burned down in 1900. The Towers now serve as an event venue and host the local Chamber of Commerce, which operates a tourist information center.
The Newport Tower has been hypothesized to be of Viking origin, although most experts believe that it was a Colonial-era windmill.[156]
Notable people [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]Porsche will unveil a new model this month -- one that would've been almost unthinkable a decade ago.
It's a compact crossover called the Macan, and when it arrives in showrooms in early 2015, it's expected to cost around $40,000.
If the Wall Street Journal and others are correct, the relatively affordable Macan will be a big money-maker for Porsche. Paired with its larger, $75,000 sibling, the Cayenne, Porsche SUVs might outsell the company's better-known sports cars for the first time in history. And if stalwarts like the Porsche 911 can't keep up in today's booming market...well, that looks a lot like the death of the sports car.
Have we reached the point where the thrill of zipping around town and down country roads in a sleek two-seater (or maybe grand tourer) has utterly lost its allure? The point where the function of an SUV is more important than the form of a beautiful roadster?
If we have, we can think of a few reasons why:
Tinkering is no longer possible. Once upon a time, the world was full of shade-tree mechanics. Parents (usually fathers) taught their kids (usually sons) how to change oil, fix belts, and perform countless other tasks under the hood. Today, that's a rarity. Even folks who have time for such endeavors think twice before taking them on, because the repair process has become so complicated. It's easier -- not to mention safer -- to drive to the local oil change place and let them deal with it, while you sit in the waiting room drinking three-hour-old coffee. In that kind of world, cars become tools, not toys, and the sports car becomes a pricey trinket.
Driving is no longer fun. Sports cars were part of the American dream when we thrilled to the idea of the open road. Nowadays, just finding an open road is a chore. For most of us, "driving" involves snail-paced commutes and clogged Costco parking lots. For travel, we head to the airport. (Which involves a different set of headaches for another time.)
Cars are no longer novel. When James Dean crashed his Porsche 550 Spyder in 1955, sports cars -- in fact, all cars -- were still a bit novel. They gave us a freedom of movement and independence that our parents and grandparents never knew. But today, cars are more often seen as a necessary evil -- and an expensive one. Is it any wonder that we're driving less?
Gas is no longer good. Sports cars aren't known for sipping fuel. Their typically poor fuel economy is just as decadent as their luxe leather seating. At a time when gasoline bounces between $3 and $4 per gallon -- and will eventually go higher -- conspicuous fuel consumption just isn't cool. That's not to say that SUVs get great fuel economy either, but we cut them some slack because they're functional. (With notable exceptions, like the entire HUMMER family.)
Have you noticed this, too -- the death of the noble sports car? Will you miss them when they're totally gone? Or are we over-reacting?
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Follow The Car Connection on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.The 30-year-old Seattle mother of four was shot and killed by police Sunday. As the investigation continues, people gathered to remember her and grieve.
Family members, friends and community activists — some so angry they said they couldn’t even properly grieve — called Charleena Lyles a powerful woman at a vigil attended by hundreds of people Tuesday evening outside the apartment complex where she was fatally shot by police Sunday.
They listened to speakers demand justice for the 30-year-old mother of four and called her death a double homicide, referring to reports from relatives that Lyles was pregnant when she was killed. Afterward, demonstrators marched for miles from Magnuson Park to the Montlake Bridge, chanting Lyles’ name.
Late Tuesday night, the Seattle Police Department identified the two officers involved in the shooting as Steven McNew and Jason Anderson. Both worked in the North Precinct, district spokesman Sean Whitcomb said.
Meanwhile, Seattle City Councilwoman Lisa Herbold announced there will be a public hearing regarding Lyles’ death, in the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development, & Arts committee, but she reported no other details.
Lyles had called police Sunday morning to report an attempted burglary and was speaking with two officers when police say she displayed two knives. She was fatally shot in her apartment at Brettler Family Place in Magnuson Park. Her family believes race was a factor — Lyles was African American, and the two officers are white.
Lyles’ sister Tiffany Rogers called her a sweet, kind person who was full of life and whose kids were her everything.
“I just want to grieve right now, but I can’t even do that because I’m so angry,” she told the crowd. “I’m scared of her so-called protectors. I was before, but I definitely am now.”
James Bible, the lawyer for the Lyles family, called Sunday an example of “police murder.” He said that he had listened to audio of the shooting, and that the police weren’t in imminent danger because they had time to debate whether to use a Taser or a gun. Several times during his speech, he led the crowd in a chant of “murder is murder is murder is murder.”
“Our community deems this was murder, and we expect our government to treat it as such,” Bible said.
Others questioned why the police used lethal force, saying Lyles weighed under 100 pounds and wasn’t a threat. She was so small that her brother Domico Jones used to call her “String Bean Leen.”
“She had four kids that came out of her, and I still don’t understand how she stayed the same size,” he said.
Three of Lyles’ children attend three Seattle schools. The Seattle teachers union encouraged its members to wear Black Lives Matter shirts and stickers and said in a statement that it stands in support of the three schools “as they work within their communities to heal.”
Dozens of Seattle teachers and school staff members gathered at Magnuson Park before marching to the larger rally outside Brettler Family Place.
They listened to a handful of speeches by event organizers and educators to show support for mental-health awareness, teaching children about institutional racism and racial biases in policing, as well as to offer condolences to Lyles’ family and children.
Stan Strasner, an educator in South Seattle, said he wanted to support the Lyles family and pointed to a need for quality teachers.
“I think that educators and the wider community can be a part of the next steps to hold police accountable in this city and make sure the family gets justice,” he said.
Vickie Ramirez and Laurie Gold, two longtime friends, attended the rally to show their solidarity with Lyles as fellow parents and women. They said they’ve initiated discussions with their young children over issues such as race and inequality in light of the shooting.
“This one was physically close to home,” said Ramirez, a mother of a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old who attend Bryant Elementary School. “It was just a rough weekend.”
Gold said the conversations with her 6-year-old and 4-year-old have been delicate because she does not want to make them “afraid of the police in case they need help.” But she also said she does not want to excuse officers’ behavior.
“Charleena is a member of the Seattle public-school community, and we stand with her and her family,” Jesse Hagopian, a Garfield High teacher, told the crowd. Her death “strikes our classrooms all across Seattle.”
On Tuesday, the Seattle King County NAACP released a statement calling for the Seattle City Council and Mayor Ed Murray to hold a public hearing at which Lyles’ family and community members can question Seattle police Chief Kathleen O’Toole about the fatal shooting.
“At the root of all of these interactions, is the dehumanization of people of color. The headlines immediately following Charleena’s death mentioned she was armed and had mental health issues,” the organization said in a statement.
“But Charleena was much more than that. She was a human being; a mother, a sister, and a dedicated member of the community. She was scared. But even if she wasn’t any of those things, she was still a young woman who deserved to have her humanity recognized by the police that showed up at her door and ultimately killed her.”Democrat Nancy Pelosi is an abortion-loving Catholic so maybe her relationship with religion is skewed by her liberal sensibilities. Either that or she’s just a lunatic as in “talking to God” crazy. In her latest barely-coherent rambling, the House Minority Leader claims that God wants amnesty for illegal aliens in the US. You know, because God has nothing better to do than prop up the whacko policies of leftists hypocrites who work against his will.
During her weekly press conference she was asked about DACA, the the illegal Obama executive order that gave hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens amnesty. President Trump rescinded that order and told Congress they need to come up with a real immigration reform plan.
“We are not going to turn this country into a reign of terror of domestic enforcement, and have the DACA, the DREAMers pay that price,” started Pelosi.
Did she just call the normal enforcement of our country’s existing immigration laws a reign of terror? Yes she did and then she managed to make it seem like people who are breaking our immigration laws are the victims of this terrible enforcement. I wish I could say that was the worst of this, but it’s not.
“But I’m optimistic. I always have been. God is with us on this,” said Pelosi.
So Nancy Pelosi is now a prophet, spreading God’s word? The sad thing is, her prophecy is actually really easy to disprove. If God was on her side, he wouldn’t have let both chambers of Congress slip into Republican hands, giving power to the political party that believes in our nation’s sovereignty and enforcing our laws. If God was on Pelosi’s side, she’d still be Speaker of the House. I’m guessing God is a little mad over Pelosi’s love of killing unborn babies.
From there Pelosi fell deeper into her madness.
“Our country is great. We know their greatness springs from the vitality that newcomers bring to our country,” Pelosi said.
I don’t know if you noticed, but she just referred to our country as a “them.” I don’t know what that means, but she does seem to think we are already great, so why change anything with a massive amnesty for illegal aliens?
Finally, Pelosi says that most of you reading this are with her and God on the amnesty issue.
“80 percent at least of the American people support the DREAMers,” claimed Pelosi.
I would like for her to prove that statistic in any way. I’m sure at least 80% of this country thinks she’s full of shit, but that’s not what she’s claiming. Donald Trump won the presidency largely based on the fact that Americans want somebody to do something about the illegal alien invasion. Trump didn’t get in the White House with 20% or less support from the American people.
So Nancy Pelosi thinks she both speaks for God and the entirety of the United States? Some people, mostly mental health experts, would say that’s characteristic of a person suffering from paranoid delusions.
Follow Brian Anderson on TwitterAluminium (Al) oxyhydroxide (Alhydrogel®), the main adjuvant licensed for human and animal vaccines, consists of primary nanoparticles that spontaneously agglomerate. Concerns about its safety emerged following recognition of its unexpectedly long-lasting biopersistence within immune cells in some individuals, and reports of chronic fatigue syndrome, cognitive dysfunction, myalgia, dysautonomia and autoimmune/inflammatory features temporally linked to multiple Al-containing vaccine administrations. Mouse experiments have documented its capture and slow transportation by monocyte-lineage cells from the injected muscle to lymphoid organs and eventually the brain. The present study aimed at evaluating mouse brain function and Al concentration 180days after injection of various doses of Alhydrogel® (200, 400 and 800μg Al/kg of body weight) in the tibialis anterior muscle in adult female CD1 mice. Cognitive and motor performances were assessed by 8 validated tests, microglial activation by Iba-1 immunohistochemistry, and Al level by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. An unusual neuro-toxicological pattern limited to a low dose of Alhydrogel® was observed. Neurobehavioural changes, including decreased activity levels and altered anxiety-like behaviour, were observed compared to controls in animals exposed to 200μg Al/kg but not at 400 and 800μg Al/kg. Consistently, microglial number appeared increased in the ventral forebrain of the 200μg Al/kg group. Cerebral Al levels were selectively increased in animals exposed to the lowest dose, while muscle granulomas had almost completely disappeared at 6 months in these animals. We conclude that Alhydrogel® injected at low dose in mouse muscle may selectively induce long-term Al cerebral accumulation and neurotoxic effects. To explain this unexpected result, an avenue that could be explored in the future relates to the adjuvant size since the injected suspensions corresponding to the lowest dose, but not to the highest doses, exclusively contained small agglomerates in the bacteria-size range known to favour capture and, presumably, transportation by monocyte-lineage cells. In any event, the view that Alhydrogel® neurotoxicity obeys "the dose makes the poison" rule of classical chemical toxicity appears overly simplistic.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.A jealous love rival has admitted causing criminal damage to a £450,000 motor yacht after he caught his girlfriend in a compromising position with its married millionaire owner.
Dave Taylor, 54, went to Michael Hay’s boat ‘Coco’ and found his girlfriend Hannah Brookes, 26, sitting in front of him performing a sex act, the court heard.
Taylor was furious and cut the mooring ropes attaching the twin-engine boat to Newcastle quayside.
The ‘jealous’ lover also cut away another motorboat belonging to Mr Hay which was moored nearby.
The larger vessel went spinning down the Tyne in the pitch black on the high tide current, with Miss Brookes, 26, |
what this country is all about. We have people in other countries that if they speak out they get beheaded, they get killed, they get tortured. That’s not what this is about. If somebody disagrees with it, they can disagree with it, but respect that right to protest. Those same people who fought and died for our right to protest fought for your rights.” – Arian Foster
The NFL has always been pro-military. Before the start of a game, players have always been required to stand on the sideline at attention during the anthem and opening ceremony, which is often accompanied by soldiers, flyovers by military aircrafts, and giant flags that cover the football field.
It is a total forced propaganda, in which the National Football League makes a generous profit. According to a report from Christopher Baxter and Jonathan Salant of NJ.com, the Department of Defense has paid 14 different NFL teams a total of $5.4 million over the last four years in exchange for patriotic displays at games.
How is that for patriotism?
I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country. I have family, I have friends that have gone and fought for this country. And they fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone. That’s not happening. People are dying in vain because this country isn’t holding their end of the bargain up, as far as giving freedom and justice, liberty to everybody. That’s something that’s not happening. I’ve seen videos, I’ve seen circumstances where men and women that have been in the military have come back and been treated unjustly by the country they fought have for, and have been murdered by the country they fought for, on our land. That’s not right. – Colin Kaepernick
Even as George Carlin points out in his famous Baseball vs. Football comedy bit, the key ideologies and terms in football make it feel as though players are fighting through an actual war.
“In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing his aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line”.
Look, at the end of the day it’s easy for people to view these players in the National Football League with a bit of spite. Fox News analyst Bill O’Reilly stated when commenting on Denver linebacker Brandon Marshall, “Poor kid, bad father, develops his God-given skills, is presented with an opportunity to attend college free of charge. Then becomes a professional football player, earning millions in our capitalistic system. Nowhere on Earth could Brandon Marshall have done that but America. Nowhere.”
And this is where the problem lies!
We idolize, publicize, and build these players up due to their talents. But, when it comes to them commenting on social issues, we want them to “shut up and play”. Trent Dilfer stated, “The big thing that hit me through all of this is that this is a backup quarterback, whose job is to be quiet, and sit in the shadows, and get the starter ready to play Week 1.”
According to Vice, more than 2/3 (70 percent) of NFL Players are African-American. The NFL’s 32 teams earned around $12 billion in 2015 with merchandise sales over $1.55 billion, meaning Kapernick’s recent publicity and upped jersey sales have done little to hurt the NFL.
As I spoke with Daniela Stephen, a third year student at Columbia Law School who also worked for the nonprofit holistic defense law firm ArchCity Defenders in St. Louis, she defended Kapernick’s decision and had this to say about the situation at hand.
” In another situation I might be less open to getting framed as an ambassador for thoughtful people of color, but this situation has irked me enough to offer my thoughts, because it is American hypocrisy at its finest. People are criticizing this athlete for calling our attention to a social, economic, and political situation that affects him and the communities with whom he identifies in the exact same year that they are celebrating Muhammad Ali, either for doing or despite doing the exact same thing.
” Do people truly think it is so unpatriotic, so disrespectful, and so offensive for one man to sit or kneel during the national anthem of his own football game? That is, to do something that is nonviolent, something that is not aggressive, something that is neither intrusive nor invasive (unless you insist on both paying attention and blaming someone else for your focus), and something that is traditionally thought of as a sign of reverence?”
“If you are disturbed by his choice to kneel or sit, but undisturbed that kneeling or sitting is threatening enough to get a black man killed by the cops without due process in the United States, you are missing the point entirely, and his action is not for you. His action is for the people who are humble enough to admit that our society’s weakness and vulnerability to prejudice and malice is devoted to people who are black and brown and/or poor, and who might need a little hope or encouragement that even the smallest acts can make a positive difference, can stimulate conversation, can inspire self-reflection.”
When the dust settles and the smoke clears, let’s all remember the simple fact that the “Star-Spangled Banner,” written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, came at a time when slavery was a prevalent part of United States’ core landscape.
Snippet from third verse of Star Spangled Banner.
“No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the gravel.”
None of these players HATE America, they just see a flaw in the system. Colin Kapernick and other players within the NFL who are kneeling for change see a problem with the treatment of minorities and police brutality– which accounted for the killings of over 1,100+ people in 2015, of those, According to project Killed by Police, 574 were minorities, 511 were white, and 107 undetermined. The most affected? Black men between the ages of 15 and 34 were 15 percent of those killed by police in 2015, despite making up a mere 2% of the US population.
These select players aren’t burning flags, starting riots, or saying “f*ck the police” on national television– they are simply using their constitutional right to take a stand for what they believe– being a voice for the voiceless.
Just remember, the media has made this story into what they want/need it to be for rating– pouring gallons of cyanide into our Styrofoam cups until we just can’t take anymore. We’ve heard what models, actors, celebrities, and even what the president of the United States thinks about this issue–focusing on dialogue that makes stories interesting rather than how to solve the issue at hand. I challenge you to take a stand whether it be for or against– but to remember that the National Football League, which earned it’s commissioner Roger Godell $31.7 million in 2015, will always stand by the saying, “no press is bad press.”
Sincerely,
Christopher M. FetterUltrathin and Ultralight
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The bad fire season has been severely straining resources.
The Department of Natural Resources on Friday opened centers in Omak and Colville to coordinate offers of help from trained, qualified volunteer firefighters and from people who have and can operate machinery like backhoes and bulldozers to dig fire lines.
DNR spokesman Joe Smillie says the centers are sorting through the names to see what people have to offer. He says most are probably not qualified to help right now, but about 200 equipment operators are expected to get training in deploying emergency fire shelters and other basics on Saturday.
Deployment to a wildfire will depend on the availability of professional firefighting staff to escort and direct the volunteers.
The Washington Department of Natural Resources issued the following statement:
Volunteer to Fight WildfiresAbout
In a Land Far, Far Away...
Several years ago, we made a series of custom Tatooine Sand Wristwatches for a group of science fiction enthusiasts that were restoring the most famous film set "igloo" in the world. Since we finished those watches, we have been asked almost constantly for additional ones. Accordingly, here is a campaign for a new Second Edition of our famous Tatooine Sand Watches. As before, we will give some of the proceeds to an enthusiast fan group that is working to restore aging Tatooine film sets for future generations to enjoy. See Update #13 for more information.
Here's Your Last Opportunity...
This is your last chance to help save a Tatooine film set and get a genuine Tatooine Sand Wristwatch. As with the First Edition, these are hand-built, high-quality watches, NOT novelty watches. They have custom cases made of solid 316L medical-grade steel, the finest Seiko-Epson quartz movements, custom leather bands and, of course, an internal capsule filled with the most famous sand in science fiction history.
Customer Testimonials...
Our First Edition Tatooine Sand Watches were a big hit, but don't take our word for it, see what the owners say.
Unusual Watches...
We are the only company who has successfully sealed a particulate matter, like sand, in a fine wristwatch. Months of experimentation went into designing our Display Capsules. The design is patent pending. We have made over 600 of the First Edition designs and have yet to have a single failure. These are watches you will be able to use for decades.
Laser Engraved Rear Covers...
As with our First Edition sand watches, these watches come with high resolution, laser-engraved rear covers. There are five models:
The $77 "Early Bird" is a Limited Edition of 100 watches
The $77 "501st Legion" is a Limited Edition of 100 watches
The $81 "Still Exclusive" is a Limited Edition of 250 watches
The $83 "Tatooine Palace" is a Limited Edition of 250 watches
The $85 "A New Design" is a Limited Edition of 500-1000 watches
About the Sand...
The sand that we have encapsulated in our Display Capsule is actual sand from the Tunisian film set where many of the Tatooine sequences were filmed. The sand is securely sealed inside the Display Capsule but is loose and spills around under the dial when the watch is worn, just like the real sand does on Planet Tatooine. This is what makes this watch so rare and incredibly unique. Please see Update #7 for illustrations.
Why We Need Your Help...
These are high quality, custom built watches and we need to purchase a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of parts to make this Second Edition production run occur. That quantity is some 500 units and we have set our campaign goal at the minimum level where we can purchase all the parts for these watches, hand assemble them and then ship them to all our backers. You can help us get to that goal by pledging for a watch and then "liking" and "sharing" this campaign page to tell your friends about the project. The success of this campaign depends on you!
Stretch Goal #1...
When this campaign reaches $65,000, all backers will receive a professionally-printed 5"x7" certificate on heavy cardstock thanking you for your support as a "Restoration Partner". Your name will be hand-inscribed as shown. We have made certificates such as this before and they were immensely popular. These will be shipped to you in an oversized envelope with your watch pledge.
Stretch Goal #2...
How about some fancy Tatooine Dragon leather straps to go with your new Tatooine Sand Wristwatches? We have contacted Tatooine Leather Works about making us custom straps for our Tatooine Watches. Attached is a cut sheet showing the 5 shades of genuine Tatooine Dragon leather that they have available to make straps from. These are luxury level watchstraps that would retail for $25 if purchased on Planet Earth. When this campaign reaches $75,000, every backer will receive a free Tatooine Dragon Leather Watch Strap made from the hide color of their choice.Very little in the Battle Pass for The International 7 has been more anticipated than the Siltbreaker campaign. The first official co-op that’s not a tutorial, the mode is split into two parts, the first of which is “The Sands of Fate.”
Of course, we’re working on Valve Time, and while the developers have been fairly reliable about date-based releases, the “later this month” didn’t give much hope for fans to boot. Worse, they delayed it by a week, hoping to fine-tune it.
We are currently finishing up the Siltbreaker campaign and will unfortunately need to delay it until next week. — DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) May 29, 2017
Which, we’re understanding of. We’d rather not play a buggy game; if we were ever in the mood for that, we’d just do Ability Draft.
But Dota 2 is also the community that (embarrassingly) started the “giff” meme, and so I personally want nothing more than to get our webby fingers on the new game mode. And I swear, I have a great argument for Valve to pull an all-nighter and get it done in the next 18 hours. (Time of writing is approximately 7PM EDT, so that means my desired deadline is 10AM PDT, aka Valve’s timezone.)
It’s Epicenter’s “off” day
(Besides the delayed Secret versus LGD.Fy match.)
Sorry, pros, we’re not ashamed to use you as leverage in this battle. Regardless, for both pros and fans alike, a co-op mode would be a great time-killer in the day between the group stages and playoffs.
It’d be a great way for fans to forget that their favorite team is close to destruction, plus cool off before jumping between bandwagons.
It’ll be Thursday
Thursday is a great day for pre-weekend releases. It gives Valve a day to work out the kinks before the flood of younger or nine-to-five players officially start off their weekend.
A Thursday release also gives time for those of us going away for whatever reason to get a head start before our vacations, weddings, graduations and baby showers.
We need more time to grind Part One before the next one
Let’s face it: We’re all going to be grinding this content for as many Battle Points as possible, plus whatever goodies. And, someone is inevitably going to drag us out of our hard clicking so we can speculate for weeks about petty lore details.
This means we need as much time as possible to get started on this part so we can do all the other cool stuff that the Battle Pass has to offer, with less guilt.
And that means more hours played for Dota 2!
Valve pls.Hundreds of supporters of exiled former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan carry a banner with his picture during a protest against metal detectors Israel erected at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, in Gaza City, Thursday, July 20, 2017. A potentially groundbreaking power-sharing deal between two former political foes is slowly unfolding in Hamas-ruled Gaza. In the latest signs of the Egypt-backed understandings moving forward, supporters of Dahlan, a former Hamas nemesis, have been allowed to open a Gaza office and have begun disbursing large sums of Dahlan-procured Gulf aid to Gaza's needy. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A power-sharing deal between two former arch foes is slowly taking shape in Gaza and could lead to big changes in the Hamas-ruled territory, including an easing of a decade-long border blockade.
In the latest sign that the Egypt-backed understandings are moving forward, Hamas permitted more than 2,000 supporters of its former nemesis, Mohammed Dahlan, to stage a rally in Gaza City on Thursday. They held up banners with large photos of the ex-Gaza strongman and signs reading, “Thank you, Dahlan.”
Dahlan backers also opened an office in Gaza last month as a springboard for political activity and began disbursing $2 million in Dahlan-procured aid from the United Arab Emirates to Gaza’s poor.
All involved appear to benefit from the new deal for Gaza, described in detail by key players.
— Egypt, which is battling Islamic extremist insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula next to Gaza, hopes to contain the Islamic militant Hamas through new security arrangements.
— Dahlan, forced into exile after falling out with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2010, is poised to launch a comeback and advance his Palestinian leadership ambitions.
— Hamas gets a chance to prolong its rule with a promised easing of Gaza’s stifling border blockade. Egypt and Israel had imposed the closure after Hamas seized Gaza in a violent 2007 takeover that included battles with forces loyal to Dahlan.
The three-way agreement aims to revive Gaza’s battered economy and restore a sense of normalcy for 2 million Gazans, who have largely been barred from travel and trade for the past decade and have endured rolling power cuts, most recently of up to 20 hours a day.
Yet a stable Palestinian “mini-state” in Gaza could undermine long-standing Palestinian ambitions to set up an entity that is also meant to include the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel, which captured those territories in the 1967 Mideast war, withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but keeps a tight grip on the rest.
Abbas, who administers autonomous West Bank enclaves, has tried to negotiate a broader statehood deal with Israel, but his internationally backed efforts ran aground almost a decade ago, in part because of continued Israeli settlement expansion in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Israel’s hard-line government has said it would not withdraw to the pre-1967 lines in the West Bank or give up Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
If Gaza stabilizes, Israel could argue that Palestinians already have a state there and face less international pressure to negotiate a broader peace deal. The Trump administration promised to try to revive statehood negotiations, but expectations are low and there’s no sign the U.S. found a way to break the long-standing diplomatic impasse.
“The expected changes in Gaza are posing a big threat to the Palestinian national project,” said analyst Ali Jerbawi, a former minister in Abbas’ self-rule government.
The emerging Dahlan-Hamas agreement was made possible, in part, by the election of Yehiyeh Sinwar as the new Hamas chief in Gaza in March.
Dahlan, 55, and Sinwar, 54, have known each other since boyhood. Both grew up in the same neighborhood of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis refugee camp, attended the same U.N. school and later the territory’s Islamic University, said Ahmed Yousef, a former Hamas official who also grew up in southern Gaza.
Their paths diverged when they joined rival political factions, Hamas and Fatah, where both became known for their ruthlessness.
Sinwar helped establish the Hamas military wing in the late 1980s, while Dahlan rose through the ranks of Fatah, becoming chief of a feared Gaza security service that used to shave heads of Hamas prisoners to humiliate them.
Rumors of rapprochement began circulating in late spring. By early June, delegations led by Dahlan and Sinwar were negotiating in Egypt, and participants said the two men established an easy rapport. The recent shift of Hamas’ power from exile in Qatar to Gaza, a result of leadership elections, also helped the deal by speeding up decision-making.
Hamas spokesman Salah Bardaweel said this week that the deal with Dahlan and Egypt is moving forward.
Egypt has begun sending fuel to Gaza’s only power-plant, helping ease a debilitating electricity shortage.
Hamas, meanwhile, has been clearing brush to create a security buffer zone on the Gaza side of the border, and pledged not to give refuge to anti-Egypt insurgents from the Sinai.
Egypt is refurbishing the now largely closed Rafah crossing with Gaza, and is to reopen it by the fall for passengers and goods, Bardaweel said. The extent of future Rafah operations remains unclear.
Dahlan, who has strong ties with the United Arab Emirates, pledged to funnel tens of millions of dollars in Gulf aid to Gaza, Bardaweel said.
The money will be used to compensate the families of some 400 people killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes that preceded the 2007 Hamas takeover, he said. In June, a UAE-funded committee also began distributing aid to 30,000 needy families from a $2 million fund.
It remains unclear to what extent Dahlan would be involved in governing Gaza. Hamas will remain in charge of the security forces, while Dahlan is to serve as Gaza’s advocate abroad.
Dahlan has no plans for now to settle in Gaza. However, his top lieutenants are to return to Gaza as early as next week and join those who remained in rebuilding his political organization.
Last month, they opened a new headquarters in Gaza City. During a visit Wednesday, the office was still sparsely furnished, lacking phones and computers.
Hamas and Dahlan’s supporters will also try to revive the Palestinian parliament, defunct since 2007, in hopes of boosting their political legitimacy.
The 82-year-old Abbas has been watching the developments with alarm, seeking reassurances last week from Egypt in a hastily arranged trip to Cairo. If the deal goes forward, it would further undercut Abbas’ claim that he represents all Palestinians.
Despite the apparent progress, both sides are cautious, taking small steps.
“We and Hamas are political rivals, but at the same time, we have common ground,” said Sufian Abu Zaydeh, a pro-Dahlan lawmaker.
“There are obstacles on the ground, but we have to kick-start the reconciliation and cooperation to face the tough problems in Gaza,” he said. “We are making real progress.”
___
Daraghmeh reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writer Karin Laub in the West Bank contributed to this report.Faced with a tight battle in two, fast-approaching primaries, Hillary Clinton will bring husband Bill Clinton onto the campaign trail, a move already escalating the acrimony between her and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Clinton said after last weekend’s Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire that husband and former President Clinton would join the campaign trail in January and called him her “not-so-secret weapon.”
“We’re going to cover as much ground in New Hampshire as we possibly can, see as many people, thank everyone who’s going to turn out and vote for me to try to get some more to join them,” she said.
Clinton is the clear Democratic frontrunner but remains in a close race with primary challenger Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation balloting Feb. 1, and in New Hampshire, where voters go the polls eight days later.
She leads Sanders by 25 percentage points nationally but by just 6 points in New Hampshire, according to a RearClearPolitics averaging of polls.
Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta recently told supporters that his candidate was in a “dog fight” in New Hampshire, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The former president has already been on the 2016 trail for his wife, appearing on stage with pop star Katy Perry in late October before a key fundraising dinner in Iowa.
But he has largely remained behind the scenes, raising money and offering campaign advice to the former New York senator and secretary of state.
Though polls show Bill Clinton is still one of the most popular political figures in American politics, his efforts during Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 White House bid were occasionally criticized -- including his suggestion that race was a factor in eventual-winner Barack Obama defeating his wife in the South Carolina primary.
And Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinski while president will almost certainly become an attack line for the front-running Trump, whom Hillary Clinton accuses of being sexist.
Trump on Wednesday tweeted in response: “Hillary, when you complain about ‘a penchant for sexism,’ who are you referring to. I have great respect for women."
He also wrote in capital letters, “BE CAREFUL!”
And Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson has suggested that the campaign will make an issue of Bill Clinton’s past behavior if his wife continues with the sexist accusations.
“Hillary Clinton has some nerve to talk about the war on women and the bigotry toward women when she has a serious problem in her husband,” Pierson said on CNN.Documentary about the late Chicago artist and musician Wesley Willis. Filmmaker Daniel Bitton follows Willis throughout the Chicago area, riding the bus, talking to friends and strangers alike, selling his CDs to record shops and going about his day. Willis was memorable to many for being schizophrenic as well as 6'6" and over 300 pounds, but was loved by his fans and friends for his quirky, oddball music, artistic talent and for being a real gentle giant. He was a testament to the human drive to survive and create, as he himself was a survivor of extreme poverty, mental illness, child abuse, racism, and obesity. The fact that he lived to see 40 was incredible, but his having a successful music career and being able to function was even more so. Also included on the DVD is a complete Los Angeles concert with Willis' punk band "Wesley Willis Fiasco". Written by Matlock-6If natural products are your thing, I think you’ll really love Beessential. Beesential is a natural skin care line that carries shampoo, conditioner, lotion, lip balm, body wash, hand soap and bar soap! Each product is made by hand from start to finish, starting from their beehives on their family farm in Ohio! It begins with fresh, pure honey, beeswax and Proplis then from there they blend these with other natural ingredients like Coconut, Olive and Virgin Hemp Oils. All of their products are free from harsh chemicals likes sulfates, parabens and PEG and are cruelty-free!
There wasn’t a whole lot of complaints with these products! I thought going into testing out the products that the natural scent would sort of overpower any other scent involved but I was wrong! When I test out new products, the first thing I usually do is close my eyes. I close my eyes and then go in for a HUGE sniff, because that’s just how I roll and scent is a big factor for me, especially if it’s going to be rubbed all over my body!
The body wash smelled like a straight up grapefruit which is nice because I don’t have any grapefruit scents in my house so it’s a refreshing scent to help get me thinking of Summer that is approaching down the road!
The all-natural soap had a great balance of lemon and hemp. I would have to double check but the scent of lavender as mentioned is just a hint and up until now I had no idea it was in there! This bar of soap passed my test meaning it lathered up like crazy! My favorite bar of soaps have lots of lathering bubbles!
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Thank you to Beessentials for the samples!The Texas Rangers are on the ballot in Arlington. The $500 million they want from city taxpayers is not.
The November ballot spells out the taxes to help fund a new ballpark with a retractable roof: $3 on stadium parking, 10 percent on tickets, 2 percent on hotels, 5 percent on car rentals and the big one -- one-half percent on sales throughout the city.
It doesn’t tally the total public contribution, even though that’s central to the debate. Opponents believe it’s a bad deal, largely because it’s half a billion dollars in taxpayer money. Stadium supporters say another issue towers over everything: What happens if the Rangers leave Arlington?
Both sides make a strong case, and as lawyers like to say, you can argue it round or argue it flat. Here are my best reasons to vote against a new Rangers stadium.
None of the $500 million goes to the big vision
While opponents fixate on the size of the public subsidy, the bigger problem is how the $500 million would be spent. All of it is earmarked for the stadium, not the spectacular plan for an additional $3 billion in new development around it. You gotta love the idea of creating a Sundance Square in Arlington, a vision unveiled just last month. Hotels, restaurants, apartments, entertainment centers and corporate headquarters could be densely packed between AT&T Stadium and a new ballpark, officials said. But as Mayor Jeff Williams told The Dallas Morning News editorial board, there’s no “financial hook to make sure they do it.” There should be, because in business, you often get what you incentivize.Babies in the womb develop a range of facial movements in such a way that it is possible to identify facial expressions such as laughter and crying. For the first time, a group of researchers was able to show that recognisable facial expressions develop before birth and that, as the pregnancy progresses from 24 to 36 weeks gestation, fetal facial movements become more complex.
The group of researchers include Dr Nadja Reissland, a psychologist and Professor James Mason Director of Research in Medicine and Health of Durham University, Professor Brian Francis, Professor of social statistics at Lancaster University and Dr Karen Lincoln, consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, where the fetal scans are collected.
The group examined video-taped fetal facial movements obtained by 4D ultrasound machines in the later stages of pregnancy.
They recorded the same fetuses after they had been found to be healthy at their 20 week scan, several times between 24 and 36 weeks of gestation. They found that the movements of the fetal face become more complex over time.
Fetuses at the first stage of observation (24 weeks) were able to move one muscle in their face at a time. They would for example stretch their lips or open their mouth. By 35 weeks gestational age, fetuses combined a number of facial muscle movements, combining for example lip stretch, lowering of the eyebrows and deepening the nasolabial furrow, thereby turning isolated movements into recognisable and increasingly complex expressions.
Professor Brian Francis from the Department of Maths and Statistics at Lancaster University said: "This is a new and fascinating insight into the remarkable process of fetal development. This research has for the first time demonstrated that in healthy fetuses there is a developmental progression from simple to complex facial movements, preparing the fetus for life post birth."
Although the fetus cannot make any sounds, the development of facial expressions means that at birth, the baby has already developed the facial movements to accompany crying and laughing.
Dr Nadja Reissland from Durham University said: "We have found so much more than we expected. We knew that the baby blinks before birth and that some research has identified scowling before birth. However in this study for the first time we have developed a method of coding and analysis which allows us to objectively trace the increasing complexity of movements over time which results in recognisable facial expressions."
The researchers argue that these patterns of the motor movements are developed before the baby feels the emotion, just as the baby practises breathing movements in the uterus even before it has drawn a breath.
The discovery could help potentially identify health problems in utero, since there is a link between fetal behavioural patterns and the development of the fetal brain. Looking at differences between normal and abnormal fetal facial developments may indicate problems with brain development.
The researchers now plan to look at whether fetal facial movement might help differentiate between fetuses of mothers who smoke during pregnancy and non-smokers. They will also examine the development of facial expressions relating to anger, smiling and sadness.: This false-color mosaic, made from infrared data collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, reveals the differences in the composition of surface materials around methane and ethane lakes at Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
On Sept. 27, 2017, the Cassini spacecraft will dive headlong into Saturn, after spending 13 years exploring the ringed planet and many of its moons. Right down to the last possible second of its life, Cassini will be working hard, sending back to Earth the closest images of Saturn ever captured.
But the funeral march hasn’t begun just yet. There's still a lot of work that the probe is scheduled to complete before September, including an additional, close flyby of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. By the end of its life, Cassini will have made over 125 close passes of the alien moon, which bears a slightly eerie resemblance to Earth.
Why do scientists keep going back to Titan? Besides the pure pursuit of understanding an alien world, studying Titan's complex atmosphere can actually help scientists better understand Earth's atmosphere. And it's possible that even though life as we know it on Earth could never form on Titan, this moon may still have something to teach scientists about the likelihood of life arising elsewhere in the universe. [Titan, Largest Moon of Saturn, Explained (Infographic)]
An uncanny place
An artist's imagination of hydrocarbon pools, icy and rocky terrain on the surface of Saturn's largest moon Titan. (Image: © NASA/Steven Hobbs (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia).)
If an Earthling were to touch down on the rocky surface of Titan, that person might think that they'd found an analogue to the early Earth. While there is no vegetation or other life to be seen, the rocky surface is dotted with lakes, rivers and oceans. In fact, Titan is the only body in the solar system besides Earth that has substantial amounts of liquid on its surface.
Of course, the liquid on Titan isn't water — that would be impossible, considering that surface temperatures hover around minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 179 Celsius). Instead, all those oceans, lakes and rivers are full of liquid methane, with trace amounts of ethane. (However, there is firm evidence that there is a very salty liquid-water ocean below Titan's rocky crust, according to NASA.)
The fact that life as we know it could never form on the surface of Titan is a pretty major difference between it and Earth, and yet the similarities continue to stack up. Titan has an atmosphere that's made of about 95 percent nitrogen (Earth's atmosphere is about 78 percent nitrogen), and it hosts a methane cycle that's similar to Earth's water cycle: The surface liquid is absorbed into the atmosphere and into clouds, where it becomes rain that falls down onto the surface, beginning the cycle over again.
"Titan has been one of the most exciting and unique objects in the solar system that we've been able to explore with Cassini," said Athena Coustenis, a director of research with the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Paris-Meudon Observatory. Coustenis spoke about Cassini's study of Titan during a press conference at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in October.
Titan’s south polar vortex. (Image: © NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
Titan experiences seasons, and each lasts about seven years. When Cassini arrived in 2004, the northern hemisphere of Titan was in winter. Its spring equinox came in 2009, and now scientists are watching as that side of the planet transitions into summer. On the southern side, a storm vortex that has been observed over the southern hemisphere has an atmospheric "hot spot" at high altitudes. A similar feature had previously appeared above the northern hemisphere, but it |
conversion from Shayon Harrison gave the Rams a mountain to climb, but they responded to take charge of the meeting as Charles Vernam notched his third goal in three outings.
The visitors edged back in front shortly after the hour mark against the run of play as Kyle Walker-Peters finished off a counter attack move as Spurs recorded a second straight away win.
For Derby, the wait for a first Premier League 2 Division 1 win goes on following their title winning campaign last term.
Far better than they were in Monday’s 2-0 defeat to Everton, Darren Wassall’s were forced to showcase some early character after they suffered an early setback.
Restored to the side after completing his suspension, Kyron Stabana was adjudged to have hauled down Nathan Oduwa in the area, leaving Joseph Johnson, the referee, to point to the spot.
Harrison stepped up and sent Jonathan Mitchell the wrong way, giving Spurs the lead before the five-minute mark at the Training Centre in partnership with the University of Derby.
Joe Pritchard maintained the strong start made by the visitors, screwing a shot wide after patient build up, whilst Oduwa saw an effort meet a similar fate.
In control, Tottenham gifted Derby a way back in the game as Vernam seized on a loose pass deep into Spurs territory before bending a delightful shot beyond Harry Voss as he extended his strong start to the 2016/17 season.
From there, Derby finished the first half the stronger. Jamie Hanson saw a firm drive bravely blocked and Vernam, after charging down Voss, saw the ball kicked against him agonisingly wide of goal.
Tottenham survived to go into the interval on level terms, but were forced into early defensive action as the Rams picked up where they left at the beginning of the second half.
Alefe Santos had a big opportunity on 54 minutes as Vernam picked him out down the left side, but he shot wide, unchallenged, inside the area.
Alex Babos, audaciously, hit a half volley over the crossbar moments later, whilst only a last-gasp challenge prevented the returning Farrend Rawson from turning in a corner from close range.
Then misfortune struck – Derby feeling hard done by as Callum Guy was seemingly fouled halfway up the pitch – Tottenham raced away towards Mitchell’s goal.
Harrison, from the right, saw a cross turned onto his own post by Babos, but Walker-Peters reacted quickest to turn in the loose ball with a left foot finish into the far corner of the goal.
The Rams pressed for a second response. Rawson turned a deep Calum Macdonald corner wide, whilst Stabana fired over after smartly turning away from danger on the edge of the Tottenham box.
The hosts’ best opportunity for an equaliser came with just eight minutes remaining. Vernam was involved again, this time out on the left, and he cut the ball back Emil Riis Jakobsen, the substitute, but he drove his first time shot straight at Voss.
It proved to be the last of the chances as Tottenham held out to claim a second straight win.
Derby County U23s: Mitchell, Stabana, Macdonald, Hanson (Wassall, 84), Rawson, Cover, Gordon, Guy, Vernam, Babos (Jakobsen, 68), Santos (Trialist, 77)
Substitutes not used: Ravas, Walker
Tottenham Hotspur U23s: Voss, Walker-Peters, Oglive (Georgiou, 62), Owens (Edwards, 68), Maghoma, Walkes, Pritchard (Loft, 84), Amos, Harrison, Goddard, Oduwa
Substitutes not used: McDermott, Tracey
Tweets by @ dcfcofficial“Even though you tried so hard, and outworked so many people to get here, still at the end, you’re not good enough and they don’t want you,” he said.
Because Mr. Obama initiated the program by executive action, Mr. Trump could still revoke it with the stroke of a pen. It does not need congressional approval.
Without the right to work legally in the United States, the Dreamers could see the accouterments of middle-class life — a studio apartment in Brooklyn, a driver’s license, a biweekly paycheck with deductions for retirement, a coveted desk in a financial firm — disappear.
Some viewed Mr. Trump’s latest comments as polarizing, continuing a narrative from his campaign.
“We don’t want to differentiate between the good immigrants and the bad immigrants – however he chooses to qualify them,” said Hina Naveed, 26, a registered nurse on Staten Island and a co-director of the activist group, Dream Action Coalition. “Instead of just working it out with the Dreamers, what I’d rather see is some clear policy in what he’s hoping to work out with immigrants in general.”
Otherwise, she said, the alternative is frightening: “We’ll save DACA and all their parents will be deported — who will want to stay here?”
Mr. Latchman said that even before Mr. Trump was elected, his manager suggested exploring other offices around the world, like the one in Toronto. His work permit expires in the summer of 2018, about the time his three-year contract with the bank ends.
A JPMorgan Chase spokesman, Andrew Gray, said that it was too early to discuss what was still a hypothetical situation. He emphasized that Mr. Latchman was speaking personally, and not on behalf of the company.The Scottish rockers are poised for a huge year with new album Opposites – but they've had to pull together through personal tragedy and collective trauma
The night before the three members of Biffy Clyro were due to start recording their sixth album in Los Angeles – "the most important record of our lives" – drummer Ben Johnston went out for a pizza with one of the band's crew. He remembers having one beer, then going to the bar for another, and then nothing until the morning: no memory of anything. In fact, he'd returned to the house that the band were sharing in the wee hours, incoherent and with his face covered in blood.
Neither his twin brother James nor singer and guitarist Simon Neil slept, and in the morning the three of them sat down amid "lots of tears" to decide whether to end the group there and then. "It was black and white," Simon recalls, back in LA where the band are filming a video, several months down the line. "Either the drink stops or we stop. If we'd made a record in that situation we would have been acting, and that's not what being in a band is – and it's not what being friends is. It so happened that the timing of it [on the eve of recording] was so, so bad … but it turned out to be the best thing that's ever happened to us."
"There was no shouting match, I didn't try and pretend I had the situation under control," Ben recalls. "But for the first time, the extent to which my behaviour was affecting everyone – and the future of everything – sank in." He decided to call time on his drinking, and the group disappeared into the Village studio (where, they note, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Slipknot have recorded) to emerge five months later with a double album, Opposites.
It's that rare thing: visceral heavy rock that wears its heart on the sleeve – the sound of a band that's matured without losing touch with the strength of old emotions. Glowing reviews would seem to signal Biffy's ascent into the big time: an appearance on the Jonathan Ross programme and a sold-out show at the O2 in London, and the surefire bet that they'll headline a major festival this summer.
The band have never been an easy sell – starting with their name, which is still a mystery, although its etymology was once attributed to a piece of Cliff Richard memorabilia, a pen or "Cliffy Biro". The world has come slowly to them, and as Simon says, "we've been able to show that we're sincere as a band, and we're not here to become rich or famous, we're here to play music. It helps that we took it seriously from start. We're not chancers, we're lifers."
Biffy are a band who spurn cliches – and, talking to them, it seems the travails they encountered making the new album feel almost irksome. "We never thought we'd ever be the kind of group to have to face that kind of challenge," Simon says, sitting in a beachside hotel in Santa Monica. "We used to laugh at other bands who did."
With a wolfish grin, he adds: "Drinking too much … it's a funny thing for a Scotsman to worry about."
Growing up in Ayrshire, Simon and the red-haired Johnston brothers became friends in the mid-80s, aged seven, and the three always pointedly talk about each other as family. Ben and bassist James's mum ran a nursing home in Kilmarnock while their dad was responsible for building local playgrounds and skate parks – employing his sons to help out in their summer holidays. Simon's dad is a builder, while his late mother, Eleanor, was a police officer.
"There weren't any bands [where we lived]," says James of the band's upbringing. "We never saw success happen to anyone, so we never had any kind of sense of entitlement. There was no one we could compare ourselves to."
Inspired by Nirvana and Guns N' Roses (the glib working title for Opposites was Use Your Illusion III and IV), the band would practise in the Johnstons' garage "and after a couple of years, the boys' mum could hum one of our tunes," Simon recalls. In January 1996, their first gig came at a youth centre in East Kilbride, supporting Pink Kross who had in turn once supported Hole (the band led by Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love). "We thought 'Yes! We've fucking made it."
Nothing changed immediately. The industry and media were still feasting on the carcass of Britpop, and for three teenagers in Scotland there was no way of fitting in. "It was the swagger of it all … we were quite shy boys, we didn't have that same arrogance," says Simon.
"[Britpop] lacked emotion. We liked music that came from the bottom of people's hearts," James continues, citing US acts they were now listening to like Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Red House Painters. And as for the next wave to be championed by the music press? "Groups like the Libertines just repulsed us, because they seemed to care more about the perception of who they were as people than the music."
According to Simon: "We probably tried to be cool when we were teenagers, but we called our band Biffy Clyro and that's not cool, we make earnest music and that's not cool. We're not nonchalant, we care too much to be cool."
In 2002, the band released their debut album, Blackened Sky, on the independent Beggars Banquet, which struggled to No 78. "No one was interested in a bunch of Scottish kids with tattoos playing rock music like that," a former member of staff at the label says, adding: "There was a review in the NME that was particularly brutal, which led to some fans ringing the switchboard to threaten the writer – which then made it even harder for them to get in the paper."
Nonetheless, the same source adds, the band never wavered in confidence, growing harder and quirkier on their next two albums, The Vertigo of Bliss and Infinity Land. With the benefit of hindsight, Simon says now that "in some ways it was a defence mechanism – making things hard to like gave us an excuse if people didn't like them".
For their fourth album, the first on a major label, there was a recognition that to move forward, they had to simplify everything. That decision coincided with the death of Simon's mother (from complications following previous heart surgery) while he was away on tour. The result, Puzzle, was their most emotionally direct record yet – especially Folding Stars, which lamented "Eleanor, Eleanor, I would do anything for another minute with you".
It was a dark time for the singer, who has said that he spent "weeks – weeks – in my bed" not wanting to get up. But the album went to No 2 and was voted best of 2007 by Kerrang!. Support slots for Muse, the Who, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bon Jovi ensued, and a fifth album, Only Revolutions, was released in late 2009. Six singles came from the record – including the exhilarating Mountains and Bubbles (which perfectly represent Biffy's command of rock dynamics) and Many of Horror, a record that showcased Neil's grasp of balladry so well that it went on to enjoy an ignominious afterlife. Retitled When Worlds Collide in a cover version by 2010 X Factor winner Matt Cardle, it topped the charts that Christmas.
"We were on tour in Australia, when it happened, and thought it was weird enough to be funny," Simon recalls. "It was only when we got home that we worried if it was a terrible thing. But it felt nice to infiltrate things our way. We haven't gone begging to any fucker ever. People have always come round to our way of thinking. And I have to say my mum would have been over the moon about a Christmas No 1!"
In an increasingly corporate musical culture, Biffy's stance on selling out sounds almost archaic. "I'm dreading someone like Coke offering us half a million quid to do something," Simon says, even though he does acknowledge that as label mates on Warners with Bugs Bunny, they're scarcely an underground outfit any more. James insists there's just one company for whom they'd write a song: purveyors of that Caledonian nectar Barr's Irn-Bru.
Few groups remain so grounded: the three of them still live in Ayrshire, as Simon says, "within an hour of each other at all times". "That makes it sound so sinister!" James exclaims, but as he says: "We've grown together, we've become men together."
Last year Ben got married, and James is in a long-term relationship. "My money's still my own!" he laughs.
Simon has been married for five years – his wife is a secondary school teacher. Inevitably she is pestered by pupils for tickets to Biffy shows. But as he says "it's a working-class town and people there are very down to earth... and people respect teachers in the same way they do doctors or nurses."
"And besides," he adds, "she's strict. 'Don't you be asking that again young man!'"
Domestic life has, though, conflicted with life on the road. In particular, after two years of touring Only Revolutions, Ben's drinking was becoming a problem. "I'd never get up and start drinking through the day," Ben says. "I was never hiding my drinking. I just didn't have a stop mechanism. It confused me because I'd be drinking and have a blackout, even when I thought I couldn't be in blackout territory. It started to happen more and more."
"I hope you don't mind me saying this," Simon says, looking across the table at James before returning his gaze at me, "but for about two years Jim has suffered incredible depression because he blamed himself for what was happening to Ben, he thought it reflected on him somehow."
The band had returned to Ayrshire to help recover, but Simon also faced the grief of his wife suffering a succession of miscarriages. "It was really tough... it didn't put a strain on our relationship, it was just the strain of life: life can seem pretty formidable at times," he says.
With the band "it felt like we were losing that connection we'd had all our lives, and my private life was getting on top of me, so it was like 'I can't turn here, because it's so tough', but then, the band... I can't turn there because we're not quite seeing eye to eye."
Instead he pushed himself into the writing of the new record. The result was a group of songs that dealt with these bleak times, and then a further set that saw him turn a corner and resolve to make things better: 40 tracks were whittled down to 20 and split into two discs to reflect the way in which "life deals you good and bad hands".
I point out that making a double album sounds a funny way to deal with the pressure, but Simon says it's simply a reflection of an enduring work ethic. "Our parents were out grafting six days a week when we were growing up. There is something quite Calvinistic about it – it instils something in you."
On the other hand, it's also a record that often revels in a far more Celtic sense of abandon. "The songwriting process needs to remain completely pure. I try and remain a total teenager in that regard. We all do. 'That feels fucking good, man! Let's go!'"
Ben promised to cut down on drinking (he switched to white wine spritzers as part of his plan), and the band headed to LA, where they had recorded the previous two albums. Then came that fateful night.
"I was being told about all this shit that had happened and I'm thinking 'Holy fuck! How did that happen?'" Ben recalls. It's still not clear whether he'd been in a fight or cut his ear falling into a bush, but whatever happened, it proved a turning point.
Simon produced his ultimatum in the cold light of day. "I felt like we'd resolved things at home," he says, "but perhaps we were too chickenshit to really confront the problem. We're men! We were skirting around it. But after that night, we had a decision to make. After everything I'd gone through with my wife as well, I wasn't going to waste 15 years of my life. It was a chance to take control of my life – and to try to guide this ship homewards. It was 'let's fix this...'"
The irony was that the songs on the record they were ready to make addressed that state of mind already. The band hit the studio after all, and threw themselves into five months of recording with renewed purpose. In fact, Ben, who had joined AA, played better than ever – "partly because I was sober," he says, "and partly because I knew I had something to prove."
"It made us all up our game," says his brother.
LA had other benefits: in their beachside house, the band worked their way through prodigious quantities of weed thanks to Ben's easily procured medical marijuana card. And flights of fantasy that they might never have contemplated in the gloaming of Ayrshire were more easily entertained.
"Hiring a mariachi band to record a song can feel a bit extraneous if you're thinking about when to pay your council tax," Simon laughs. "But in La-La Land you can do things that at home would feel completely ridiculous. You can take risks without someone saying 'What do you think you're doing? You're mental.'"
It's a month later when I see them again, albeit briefly. The promotional treadmill is in full whirl but after a Christmas spent with their families in Scotland, the band are once more an easy-going delight to spend time with. (Perhaps especially because James is also now engaged to his girlfriend.)
The rest of 2013 will see the band tour the world, but according to Simon they're already looking beyond that. "For the next three records we're going to change the way we operate," he says. "This is the last of our big rock trilogy – the first three albums were wonky rock records and the last three have been really big and bold, but now we're going to tweak it all. It's important to force a change because we want to be doing this for the next 20 years."
In fact, the singer adds, he'll probably not listen to Opposites again now. Nonetheless, the three allow themselves a final moment of reflection.
The final track on Opposites is called Picture A Knife Fight, and without wanting to ruin the delight of the narrative arc, it ends with Simon screaming, exultant, "We've got to stick together!" to the blisteringly loud sound of crashing drums. It's enough to warm the heart of even the most cynical.
"You've got to feel the belief in each other and to feel the love, and if that starts to dissipate at all then you're in a real bad place," Simon says.
James sums up what an X Factor judge would probably call their "journey".
"If you're that invested in each other's lives, shit can happen because anything you do affects everyone else," he says.
"But we've turned things around and the feeling of pride we have of being together is immense. We feel we can take on the world together. We've got it together and it feels really strong."
Opposites is released on 28 JanuaryFreeIsaac - Play WotL separately - Golden God bug fixed!
[punyman.com]
Downloads
[punyman.com]
Upgrading from 1.0 to 2.0
Changes
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[www.microsoft.com]
Source Code
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Uninstallation
OSX/Linux versions
Thanks to..
Thanks to./DosBoss/'s launcher for inspiration..I am one of those people that recently bought the new Humble Bundle. The version of BoI that comes with the Humble Bundle, includes the DLC, which apparently makes it harder. Me, being a Binding of Isaac noob, as well as a bit of a perfectionist, didn't like this very much.I stumbled upon./DosBoss/'s Launcher after a bit of googling, and it was nice, helped me restore the original version, it was functional, and did it's job well, but the UI was a bit out of place, so I rewrote it.This version is written in C# and uses WPF, and requires.NET 4.0, you probably already have this installed.Achievements and such, have been tested, as a side note, the installer also includes the option to install 1nvisible~'s achievement fix Installation is simple, choose where Binding of Isaac is installed, select if you want the achievement fix or not, and it'll check to make sure you have the Wrath of the Lamb DLC installed, restore the Vanilla version, and install the launcher.If you don't have WotL, what are you doing reading this thread, go play Binding of Isaac!Here is a screenshot of the launcher If you encounter any bugs, feel free to tell me, the launcher should be pretty bug free though.Go into the "the binding of isaac" folder, and run "uninstall.exe" to uninstall the existing installation. Choose to keep Wrath of The Lamb. Afterwards,then install version 2.0Version 2.0 includes support to isolate save files from different versions of The Binding of Isaac. This means that achievements and stats in both the vanillaandare kept separate.Steam achievements should still be unlocked between them, however, because save files are kept separate, achievements may not show in the achievements screen in-game. For example.if you unlock an achievement in vanilla BoI, it will show in the vanilla BoI in-game achievements screen, your Steam profile, but not in the WotL achievement screen, and vice versa.Save isolation works by exploiting the way Binding of Isaac saves it's data, it does so twice. The first is in the serial.txt file located in the same directory as the BoI executable, and the second is the in so.sol shared cache file. As far as I know, only the Windows and OSX versions of Binding of Isaac write the serial.txt file, therefore, this does not work on Linux or the pure SWF file. The launcher blocks Binding of Isaac from accessing the so.sol file, forcing it to read and save from serial.txt instead.(Download this if you're getting errors about missing.NET Framework)The source code is available here at GitHub and is licensed under GNU GPL v3.If at any time you want to uninstall the launcher, go into where Binding of Isaac was installed, and run uninstall.exe. Choose whether you want to keep Wrath of the Lamb or Vanilla, and it will uninstall for youBecause this makes use of WPF, which hasn't been ported to Mono yet, the only way for this to be ported over is if the UI code is completely redesigned in C++. The existing XAML is useless for porting, and has to be rewritten in C++. Unfortunately, I know zero C++ (hoping to learn though), but I've left the source code in case anyone wants to take on the challenge../DosBoss/ for the original launcher 1nvisible~ for coding the achievements fixJanet Jackson Set to Join List of Biggest Celebrity Divorces Ever
Janet Jackson is worth an estimated $250 million. Her husband, the Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana, tops that at $1 billion.
While their divorce promises to be a deeply complex transaction, there is one certainty: it will involve a big number, and thus join the pantheon of costliest celebrity divorces ever:
$92 million: Madonna. Madonna allegedly had to pay a nearly nine-figure sum to Guy Ritchie in 2008. Since then, Ritchie has directed three movies that have earned a combined $440 million worldwide.
$100 million: Steven Spielberg. Granted, Spielberg is worth a lot more now than he was in 1989, but Amy Irving’s settlement is still an impressive haul. This case has achieved a particular notoriety because allegedly a judge said the acclaimed director’s prenup wouldn’t hold up in court because it was written on a napkin.
$100+ million: Tiger Woods. While the exact sum hasn’t been revealed, it’s believed Woods will pay Elin Nordegren at least $100 million. It’s a complex settlement, including Nordegren being set up as the issuer of a $54.5 million mortgage on Tiger’s home. (In short: he needed to make payments on it or the property went to his ex.) It should be noted the amount is nowhere near the $750 million figure thrown around the gossip glossies in 2010.
$150 million: Neil Diamond. Diamond’s 1994 split from Marcia Murphey ended a marriage of 25 years and revealed that “Sweet Caroline” generated some significant royalties.
$168 million: Michael Jordan. Juanita Vanoy Jordan’s 2006 settlement hasn’t stopped His Airness from owning the Charlotte Hornets and becoming a billionaire.
$425 million: Mel Gibson. Gibson’s marriage of 31 years to Robyn Denise Moore ended in 2011 with her receiving half of his $850 million fortune. Gibson’s lawyers had greater success in dealing with an ex-girlfriend and baby mama: In 2016, they got $500,000 of the $750,000 Gibson agreed to pay Oksana Grigorieva canceled after she violated a confidentiality agreement by discussing his alleged domestic abuse during a Howard Stern interview.
The next big divorces? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have a combined net worth of an estimated $400 million to settle. That’s roughly the same as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver (he’s worth an estimated $300 while she’s at $100). The two, however, have declined to end their marriage, even after more than five years separated and both establishing relationships with other people.
As Janet Jackson would sing, that’s the way love goes.
—Sean Cunningham for RealClearLifeNEW DELHI: In what could lead to freedom for thousands of undertrials languishing in jail for years on end, the Narendra Modi government has initiated steps to release prisoners who have served at least half the sentence they would have been awarded if convicted, irrespective of the progress of their trial. However, this largesse will not extend to those who have been held for offences which specify death penalty or life sentence.It is estimated that of the 3.81 lakh prisoners across the country, about 2.54 lakh, or two-third, are undertrials. Many are said to have spent more time in jail than the actual sentence they might have got had they been convicted for the crime they were arrested for.The release of undertrials on personal bond is seen as an important move towards judicial reforms, which would also help in decongesting prisons. It is being touted as one of the major initiatives of the Modi government in its first year in office, and a lot of emphasis is being laid on its early execution.The ministries of law and home affairs are closely coordinating on the matter. Sources said home minister Rajnath Singh and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will meet on Monday to discuss how states can be asked to act upon this plan.The issue was taken up at a preliminary meeting on August 26 when minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju was called for a briefing in the law ministry in which Prasad and law secretaries were present.Sources said the law ministry has conveyed to the home ministry that there is no legal hurdle in the release of undertrials and no amendment is required in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for this purpose.The home ministry has been asked to write to all chief secretaries of states to ensure that a review is carried out on all undertrials and they are released under Section 436A of CrPC if they have completed half the sentence they would have been awarded if convicted.Under the previous dispensation, after Section 436A was inserted in CrPC, the Centre had written to state governments and high courts to set up review committees in all districts but the order was not implemented due to lack of monitoring.The Tihar Jail in New Delhi. (TOI file photo by Ashwani Nagpal)The review panel was to be headed by the district judge and have the district magistrate and the superintendent of police as its members. It is mandatory for the committee to meet every three months and review cases relating to undertrial prisoners and take necessary steps to reduce overcrowding of jails and release those who have been in custody for petty crimes or for a long time due to delay in their trials.Sources said the home ministry, in a fresh communication to be sent shortly to all chief secretaries, will ask for a status report of all such review committees, and a directive to implement this decision in districts where such committees are not in place. The chief justices of high courts, along with the state administrations, will be requested to ensure that the directive is implemented in all districts.Francois Hollande has reached a new record of unpopularity to 96% according to the latest Ipsos-Sopra and Steria Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po (Cevipof).
Only 4% of French people are satisfied with the work of Francois Hollande as President, according to an Ipsos-Sopra Steria and the Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po (Cevipof) released Tuesday by Le Monde.
Of 17,047 respondents from 14 to 19 October 3% say “somewhat” satisfied and very satisfied 1%, against 70% who say they are not satisfied by the action of the head of state and 26% are not neither.
The average rating given by respondents to Francois Hollande was 2.3 out of ten.
The survey conducted regularly since November 2015 systematically gives a percentage of people satisfied very lower than other polls (it rose from 12% in the first wave to 5% in May and June, with a slight r ebond to 6% in September).
In contrast, the number of people who are dissatisfied is also lower than other surveys and that of respondents who were undecided significantly higher.BEIRUT (Reuters) - Air strikes and shelling killed at least 25 people in rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Thursday on a third day of renewed bombing, according to a group that monitors Syria’s civil war, and the mayor of the besieged sector warned of an acute lack of fuel and food as winter encroaches.
Men are pictured next to damaged buildings at a site hit yesterday by airstrikes in the rebel held al-Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail
The bombardment of eastern Aleppo restarted on Tuesday after a four-week pause, part of a wider military escalation by the Syrian government and its allies, including Russia, against insurgents.
The battle for Syria’s second city marks a crucial phase of the five-year civil war, in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and its capture would be a major triumph for President Bashar al-Assad.
His government said on Tuesday it was striking what it called “terrorist strongholds” in Aleppo.
Health officials in the opposition-held part of Aleppo said they had recorded 45 deaths and admitted 363 wounded people as a result of air strikes up to and including Wednesday this week.
Russia says it is not bombing the city, but it is using an aircraft carrier, missiles fired from another warship, and planes launched from air bases in Russia and Syria to strike targets around the country.
The siege and intense bombardment of east Aleppo have created a dire humanitarian crisis, aggravated by frequent air strikes on hospitals and the disruption and pollution of water supplies. Medicines, food and fuel are severely depleted.
“There is only enough to keep the bakeries going to give people at least some bread. People are only getting about 15 percent of what they need,” Brita Hagi Hassan, president of the city council for opposition-held Aleppo, told Reuters.
The United Nations says 250,000 civilians remain in Aleppo’s opposition-controlled neighborhoods, effectively under siege since the army, aided by Iranian-backed militias and Russian jets, cut off the last road into rebel districts in early July
International charity Oxfam said it had moved a large electricity generator to the Suleiman al-Halabi water station that is located on the frontline between east and west Aleppo and still serves both sides of the city under an agreement.
It said all other aid to the besieged area remains cut off.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based organization that monitors the war, said shelling and air strikes from helicopters and jets hit the eastern half of the city, causing severe damage. Air strikes also hit rebel-held areas west and south of Aleppo.
Shelling of government-held western Aleppo by rebels during a failed counter-attack they staged earlier this month killed dozens of people, the United Nations said.
Related Coverage Russia launches multiple air attacks on militant targets in Syria: defense ministry
A senior official in the military alliance fighting in support of Assad told Reuters last week the plan was to recapture the city before a new U.S. president takes office in January.
Donald Trump’s surprise election last week raised hopes in Damascus and Moscow that the United States - which has been providing support for rebels - might change its Syria policy.
Russian news agencies on Thursday cited deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying Russia had begun talking to Trump’s team about Syria and hoped his administration would take a new approach to the Syrian crisis.Creation Edit
According to Dior, the logo was created in a single afternoon. Contrary to popular belief, the silhouette was not modeled on future Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew,[1] or any specific player[2] but was drawn with reference to photographs of several players.[3] The silhouette was chosen specifically because of its ambiguity: the batter could be right- or left-handed and of any ethnic background.[3]
Controversy Edit
For many years, the authorship of the logo was a matter of some dispute as two graphic designers laid claim to creating the piece: Jerry Dior[4] (working for the marketing firm of Sandgren & Murtha) and James Sherman,[5] who is probably better known publicly as a comic book illustrator. In November 2008, ESPN writer Paul Lukas managed to clear the matter up and Dior's authorship is no longer in doubt.[3] Upon closely examining the logo, Sherman declared: "That's not my logo, and I was totally unaware that it existed... The logo I created was very similar, but I designed it in the early 1980s. All I can say is that I was so sports-unaware that I didn't know about the earlier logo. I feel like a total idiot now that I didn't know about it. I'm flabbergasted."[3]
Popularity and influence EditRetired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis testifies at a hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence at the U.S. Capitol on September 18, 2014.
WASHINGTON — Top retired military commanders on Tuesday warned the Senate that it should lift a mandatory cap on defense spending this year or put at risk military readiness as the world enters a new era of widespread conflict.
Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, a former commander of U.S. Central Command, and former Army Chief of Staff Gen. John Keane testified against the budget caps and outlined the increasing dangers before the Senate Armed Services Committee at the behest of new chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who is pressing for more defense dollars and deeper military intervention abroad.
The hearing comes as the White House and Defense Department prepare to release proposed annual budgets Monday that will include a spending cap imposed by sequestration — and a political fight over cuts to troop benefits. Many lawmakers in the Senate and House say the modest $1.7-billion increase to the cap of the $523-billion 2016 defense budget should be removed to allow bigger increases.
“No nation in history has maintained its military power but failed to keep its fiscal house in order,” Mattis said.
But Congress’ agreement to cap defense dollars was meant to force wise choices on reducing spending and “it has failed in that regard,” he said.
Spending caps are set to kick in across the federal government this fall as a way to decrease the nation’s debt and will remain in place into the next decade, keeping defense spending to increases of about 2 percent.
With the fiscal 2016 budget proposals next week, Congress, the Obama administration and DOD are set to begin another grappling match over whether military personnel expenditures such as pay, retirement and benefits should be slashed. The Pentagon has argued those costs are ballooning and will crowd out other needs.
Mattis said the DOD cap should be repealed because it is sapping troop morale and causing uncertainty within the military.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Congress and the military should first develop a foreign policy strategy and then come up with the money to cover it, but the spending limit is upending that process.
“We’ve been allowing budgetary indecision to drive strategy, and that is the worst thing to do,” Kaine said.
The testimony also included former CENTCOM commander Adm. William “Fox” Fallon, who said bickering over budget issues could raise doubts among American allies abroad.
Meanwhile, the |
patient-to-nurse ratios, and patients who persistently press the call button every 5 minutes, the dial may be titrated to effect to produce a stronger vapor pressure.
The approved model is equipped for any combination of medication, says Liotta. “Haldol, Valium, you name it. It is customizable depending on the craziness of patients you have on your ward.” Liotta developed the model while watching the progress of e-cigarette technology. In the future she plans to develop plugins for home use and hookah style for more intimate settings such as the ED fishbowl or hospital staff meetings.
Charge nurse Greg Wilcox had this to say: “The beauty is two fold. Patients seem to chill out significantly, but even if they don’t, hospital staff’s tolerance for stupidity increases, in effect making things run smoother. I plan to crank that diffuser way up on my nights, that’s a promise!”
Press Ganey scores are projected to soar as everyone just feels a little bit more chillaxed. Administration is leery; however, it is projected that many of them will be ditching the suits, donning scrubs, and really pitching in on the floors now.Living organisms have adapted to the day-night cycle and, in most cases, evolved a "circadian clock" – that is: an actual cellular metronome – whose effects are not completely known yet. A scientific team with members from EPFL and the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences has found that in the case of the liver, the rhythm of protein production and release is dictated by both the organisms’ feeding behaviors and their internal clock.
Why is it that we don’t wake up in the middle of the night feeling hungry while it’s hard for us to endure eight hours without eating after breakfast? In our daily life, every one of us realizes that our body responds to the rhythm imposed by the succession of days and nights, which has important metabolic consequences. The jet lag syndrome is another manifestation of the interaction between our internal clock and the environmental cycles.
While many molecular studies have been conducted on living organisms’ circadian clocks, new analytical tools currently available allow a closer inspection of the real impact of this clock on some biological processes, in particular at a level of temporal protein abundance. This is exactly the research carried out in a joint study between EPFL and the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS), thanks to a grant from the Leenaards Foundation disbursed in 2012. Their results have been published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA (PNAS).
The researchers, under the direction of Frédéric Gachon (NIHS) and Felix Naef (EPFL), used mass spectrometry to analyze mice liver proteins. They measured the concentration of more than 5000 different proteins – whereas previous techniques only allowed to identify a few hundreds at best. "We have observed that 6% of the proteins are expressed in a rhythmic manner, explained Felix Naef. This rate seemed low to us, since we know that almost half of the active genes in the liver follow a rhythm in messenger RNA abundance. But the most amazing part was that more than half of these rhythmic proteins originate from genes whose messenger RNA is not influenced by the circadian clock."
This apparent paradox suggests that the circadian clock does not only influence the production of proteins by the genes, but also the way the liver regulated the storage and release of proteins into the body.
The researchers observed an overnight accumulation of proteins, suggesting that their secretion is higher during the day. This results in a maximal plasma concentration during the night, the active period for mice. Unlike humans, mice are nocturnal animals, they eat and are active at night while resting during the day. "Our experiments seem to prove that the pace set by feeding patterns takes precedence over the circadian rhythm. However, it appears that the strongest effect takes place when these two rhythms overlap", said Frédéric Gachon.
A next step in this research will attempt to translate some of these results to humans. "Our work will help develop strategies focused on diet to help treat patients suffering from disorders associated to circadian dysfunctions" said Felix Naef.Wawan Mas’udi charts Joko Widodo’s meteoric rise from furniture maker to president, and the wave of local politicians set to remake Indonesian politics.
Assuming Prabowo Subianto loses his challenge to the result of 2014’s presidential election in Indonesia’s Constitutional Court, on October 20 the Indonesian people will witness a commoner sworn in as the seventh president of the Republic.
Known as a successful furniture producer and exporter in the central Java city of Solo, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is certainly part of wealthy class. But he forged his way from lowly beginnings as an employee of his uncle’s furniture workshop to the owner of export-oriented furniture producer
Jokowi started his own business in 1989 with a loan of Rp 15 million from his father. It wasn’t all easy. The business went bankrupt and in the early 1990s, he was forced to restart, this time with a fresh loan for Rp 500 million from state owned enterprise, State Gas Enterprise(Perum Gas Negara) who at the time was running a national program to assist small and medium-businesses (bapak angkat-anak angkat). Jokowi’s business hit new profit heights during the economic and financial crisis, as the plunging exchange rate of the rupiah to the US dollar brought a boon to exports.
Jokowi was a new magnate in Solo’s furniture industry. In 2002 he formed the Solo chapter of ASMINDO with other furniture producers where he was appointed director, his first organisational portfolio. Here, he also had his first brush with the media, being called occasionally to appear in the Solo Pos. According to Tempo magazine, Jokowi’s success in the export-oriented furniture business also attracted the attentions of retired general Luhut Binsar Panjaitan who had a mining and energy business, and forest concessions in Nunukan. Luhut and Jokowi became business partners six years ago (Luhut owns 49 per cent of shares in Jokowi’s company PT Rakabu Sejahtra.
Solo is one of the first regions to run direct elections for the head of government under Indonesia’s regional autonomy Law 32/2004. Jokowi decided to run for the 2005 direct election only after his colleagues at ASMINDO convinced him that he was good enough to stand on the political stage. Jokowi courted PAN, PKS, and PKB before finally selecting P-DIP Solo, the biggest but most financially deprived party as his political home. That year, his running mate for vice mayor was FX Hadi Rudyatmo (Rudy), a local P-DIP headman known for his extensive grass-root networks, but whose Christian religion made him certain he’d never make mayor.
P-DIP’s decision to back Jokowi’s candidacy was not without resistance, as many party members and activists viewed him as outsider. On this point, Rudy defended Jokowi by reassuring them of his nationalist-ideological blood, pointing to Jokowi’s father as a Sukarnoist. It was also Rudy who assisted Jokowi to build support amongst P-DIP constituents.
The 2005 mayoral election was a contest between Solo’s wealthy businessmen; Purnomo, a batik entrepreneur backed by PAN, Hardono a Golkar furniture businessman, and Jokowi.
In this election, Jokowi (and Rudy) secured 36.62 per cent of the vote, just a few percentage points above the local election threshold, of 30 per cent.
Mayor Jokowi inherited a distraught city. Slamet Suryanto had been voted in off the back of two deeply traumatic riots; once in 1998 during the financial crisis and again in 1999 when Megawati lost the presidential election. In Solo, many believed that the riots reflected structural problems of social poverty and vulnerability.
Slamet rode to victory with the party garnering over 50 per cent of the votes in 1999 and despite successfully consolidating the party as its leader, as mayor, he failed to win trust. He also failed to direct his government and bureaucracy to address basic services such as health, primary education, and local economy.
The Slamet administration also became associated with corruption, incompetence and the absence of policies for ordinary people gave the government a reputation for elitism. Slamet’s credibility as P-DIP’s popular mayor was vanished during his 200 to 2005 term.
Jokowi’s seven-year term as Solo mayor (from 2005-2012) ushered in a radically different mode of leadership. Jokowi make headway in public service and bureaucratic reform, focussing on pro-poor policies and populist leadership approach. Solo was one of the first cities to commit to budgetary transparency, as Jokowi ordered the city to publish budgets and planning. Local NGOs credit this step with reducing budgetary corruption. His policies on health insurance (PKMS) and education subsidies (BPMKS) opened these services up to Solo’s poor.
Jokowi cut the waiting time for a citizens’ identity card (KTP) from days to under one hour. He slashed red-tape bureaucratic procedures to obtain business permits. But his legacy was not just administrative; Jokowi believed that Solo should return its cultural roots. Dozens of street festivals and art performances were organised under Jokowi. In many of the events, he mocked himself as the main performer. Jokowi believed that Solo should be culturally attractive in order to claim back its status as the centre of Javanese culture.
When he first changed from furniture maker and exporter to local leader, Jokowi could never have imagined he’d climb so high in his political career. But it is on the shoulders of the people that he has stood tall.
His populist leadership style was genuine – and something new. He marked his second day in office in 2005 by making an impromptu visit to a slum neighbourhood. This was unprecedented in a city dominated by a culture of Javanese political hierarchy. Historically, the elite of Solo had maintained a visible distance from the people. But it was not simply symbolic; Jokowi managed to preserve ongoing dialogue with his constituents and community engagement while governing the city.
With this approach, Jokowi managed to absorb initiatives proposed by various NGOs, as well as the community’s voices in his policies. His outstanding achievements in relocating street-vendors without violence in 2006 owed to a series of conversations, not only with the vendors, but also related NGO activists.
The NGOs would continue to be a source of inspiration. Wide-ranging policies related tolocal democratic reform adopted during Jokowi’s leadership – like budget transparency, participatory planning, disability inclusion, child protection, and protection of the informal economy – were largely generated by vigorous NGOs in Solo.
Despite wide-ranging initiatives, many in Solo evaluated Jokowi’s achievements as failures since they did not prevent vulnerability among Solo’s poor. Many also believed that Jokowi’s achievements had little prospect of continuity.
There are some justified reasons for such scepticism. At first, activists were concerned with the degree of institutionalisation of Jokowi’s initiatives. In the post-Jokowi period, the mayor and also DPRD could easily revoke the initiatives (for example the health and education subsidy), as the legal frameworks were only established by mayoral-decree or as part of local regulation.
Meanwhile, activists were also uncertain about the commitment of the bureaucracy in preserving reforms.
The city’s financial capacity in the long run was also uncertain, since many social and pro-poor economic programs initiated by Jokowi depended on continuing fiscal transfer from the national government. If the transfers were stopped, the programs would perish. Such concerns were realised, when just in a month after Jokowi left Solo for Jakarta, the city government revoked his protectionist policy for ‘traditional markets’, by granting dozens of permits for the opening of ‘modern-market’ (including minimarts and supermarkets).
Despite the critiques, Jokowi’s initiatives rewarded him with more than 90 per cent of votes in his 2010 re-election. The record re-election impressed upon us one important lesson; that he was the leader the Solo people were looking for. The massive coverage of mass media and euphoric public response clearly signaled that Jokowi’s appeal had resonated beyond the mere 44 square kilometres of Solo city.
As Indonesia’s president-elect-(a mere one-and-a-half years after his remarkable victory in the Jakarta governor election), Jokowi epitomises fundamental and profound changes in Indonesian politics.
Building a political career from a local level, Jokowi’s emergence signified the importance of merit in Indonesian politics. Decentralisation and local democracy had transformed local district,city and provincial politics into a strategic arena for developing a political career, particularly in the context of ongoing political oligarchy at the national stage.
With greater government authority and political autonomy, local political leaders may exploit the opportunity to be popular figures by developing pro-people policies and intimate leadership styles.
Jokowi and many other local figures, such as Winase in Jembrana, Trimawan in Purbalingga, Gamawan in Solok, Hery Zudianto in Yogyakarta, Jarot in Blitar, Risma in Surabaya, and Ridwan in Bandung, show the future; the exemplify how to develop leadership merit in their respective local political and socio-economic contexts.
Political elites should learn that Indonesia’s strengthening democracy, honest commitment to democratic reform is the fundamental element for creating rational political legitimacy, instead of maintaining stubbornly old patronage and oligarchy.
It is through the local that the ‘global’ will be built.
……………
Wawan Mas’udi is lecturer at Department of Politics and Government, Gadjah Mada University. He is completing PhD research on local populism in a decentralised Indonesia (with a focus on Solo under Jokowi) at Victoria University, Melbourne.ESPN NHL reporter Scott Burnside explains why Raffi Torres received such a lengthy suspension for his illegal hit in Saturday's preseason game. (3:36)
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sharks forward Raffi Torres has received the longest suspension in NHL history for a hit on another player when the league banned him Monday for the first 41 games of the season for an illegal check to the head of Anaheim's Jakob Silfverberg.
Torres' latest infraction resulted from a hit in a preseason game Saturday. He was ejected with 7:15 left in the first period. Silfverberg did not return to the game either.
The NHL Department of Player Safety ruled that the hit was illegal because Silfverberg's head was the main point of contact. It was also deemed a late hit and would have been considered interference. Torres waived the right to an in-person hearing and has until Wednesday to decide if he wants to appeal the suspension.
This marks the fifth and most significant suspension for Torres in his career. His previous longest ban had been a 21-game suspension for a high hit on Chicago's Marian Hossa in the first round of the playoffs in 2012 when he played with Phoenix.
Torres was suspended for the final six games of the playoffs in 2013 with San Jose for a hit to the head against Los Angeles' Jarret Stoll. Torres was suspended two games in January 2012 for charging Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser, and he sat out four games in April 2011 for a hit to the head of Edmonton's Jordan Eberle while playing for Vancouver.
Raffi Torres will now go 21 months between NHL games after this latest suspension. AP Photo/Tom Mihalek
The previous longest suspension for player-on-player violence was a 30-game suspension to Chris Simon of the New York Islanders in December 2007 for stomping on the skate of Pittsburgh forward Jarkko Ruutu.
Boston's Billy Coutu received a lifetime ban in 1927 for assaulting two referees and starting a Stanley Cup bench-clearing brawl. The ban was dropped after 2½ years, but Coutu never played in the NHL again.
The Sharks had been counting on getting a boost from Torres this season after he played just 12 regular-season and playoff games the past two seasons because of knee injuries. Now they must go through the first half of the season without him. Torres will be eligible to return Jan. 14 against Edmonton.
Torres will forfeit $440,860 in salary for the suspension. The money goes to the players' emergency assistance fund.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to look at the issue of climate change, the growing concern about climate change and what to do about it. A recent survey of more than 4,000 academic papers published over the last 20 years found [ 97 ] percent of them agree climate change is caused by human activity. This comes as scientists are warning the planet has now reached a grim climate milestone not seen for two or three million years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmoshere has topped 400 parts per million. the 400 ppm threshold has been an important marker in U.N. climate change negotiations, widely recognized as a dangerous level that could drastically worsen human-caused global warming.
Some are arguing the best way to address climate change is to use the controversial practice of geoengineering—the deliberate altering of the Earth to decrease the level of greenhouse gas emissions. While controlling the Earth’s climate system sounds like science fiction, such proposals are already being hatched out by government agencies, scientists, businesses around the world. Supporters of geoengineering endorse radical ways to manipulate the planet, including creating artificial volcanoes to pollute the atmosphere with sulfur particles. This is environmental scientist David Keith explaining the idea.
DAVID KEITH: This geoengineering idea, in its simplest form, is basically the following. You could put fine particles—say, sulfuric acid particles, sulfates—into the upper atmoshere, the stratosphere, where they would reflect away sunlight and cool the planet. And I know for certain that that will work—not that there aren’t side effects, but I know for certain that will work. And the reason is, it’s been done. And it was done not by us, not by me, but by nature. Here’s Mount Pinatubo in the early ’90s that put a whole bunch of sulfur in the stratosphere with a sort of atomic-bomb-like cloud, and the result of that was pretty dramatic. After that and some previous volcanoes we have, you see a quite dramatic cooling of the atmosphere.
AMY GOODMAN: Many scientists and environmentalists have raised concerns about geoengineering technologies designed to intervene in the functioning of the Earth system as a whole. Speaking on Democracy Now! in 2010, Indian scientist and activist Vandana Shiva warned about some of the dangers.
VANDANA SHIVA: These shortcuts that are attempted from places of power—and I would add, places of ignorance—of the ecological web of life, are then creating the war solution, because geoengineering becomes war on a planetary scale, with ignorance and blind spots, instead of taking the real path, which is helping communities adapt and become resilient.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, our next guest has written a new book that lays out the arguments for and against climate engineering, and reveals the extent of vested interests linking researchers, venture capitalists and corporations. We’re joined by Clive Hamilton, professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia. He’s the author of Earthmasters: The Dawn of the Age of Climate Engineering.
Clive Hamilton, welcome to Democracy Now!
CLIVE HAMILTON: Thanks, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: So, what is geo- and climate engineering?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, it’s a range of schemes that are being developed by scientists, particularly in the U.S., to essentially try to counter the effects of global warming by technological interventions in the global climate system. They range from the benign, such as making biochar, a kind of charcoal; through to the science fiction, like putting a cloud of mirrors in space to deflect some sunlight; to probably the premier scheme that receives most attention and which, in my view, is very likely to be implemented in perhaps 20, 30 years’ time, the one that David Keith mentioned, the idea of essentially installing a solar shield, a layer of sulfate particles around the Earth to deflect a certain proportion of incoming solar radiation—so, in other words, to regulate the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth.
AMY GOODMAN: So, why did you decide to write this book?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, I wrote a previous book called Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth About Climate Change, which, as the title suggests, went into detail why it is that here we are in the beginning of the 20th century, where there’s an overwhelming consensus of scientific evidence saying we’re in really deep trouble, and yet we’re not doing anything about it, or our actions are trivial. And so, it seems to me that as long as that goes on, as long as the scientists continue to ring the alarm bell ever more loudly, and as long as governments around the world fail to respond to those warnings—in other words, if plan A isn’t working, then people are going to resort to plan B, and that is geoengineering. And that’s why there’s been this boom in interest, both from scientists and from other people, in these schemes to essentially take control of the climate system of planet Earth.
AMY GOODMAN: The Heartland Institute describes geoengineering as, quote, “much less expensive than seeking to stem temperature rise solely through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.” The Cato Institute argues that, quote, “geo-engineering is more [cost]-effective than emissions controls altogether.” And the Hudson Institute says geoengineering, quote, “could obviate the majority of the need for carbon cuts and enable us to avoid lifestyle changes.” Why are all these groups proponents of geoengineering?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, one thing united about all of those groups is that they have a right-wing political vision. And so, what they like about geoengineering—bear in mind, incidentally, that the Heartland Institute, and another is—in this camp is the American Enterprise Institute, have spent many years repudiating climate science, attacking climate scientists and resisting all measures to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions. And yet here they are endorsing geoengineering, so a response to a problem they say does not exist. And the reason is that, in some cases, if the medicine is palatable, then the patient is more likely to admit that there is a disease or an illness. And in this case, the technological intervention in the climate system is acceptable to a certain kind of conservative thinking, because it, in a way, refuses to vindicate the warnings of environmentalists that there’s something profoundly wrong in our economic and political system, because geoengineering comes along and says, “Well, look, the system can solve the problem.”
AMY GOODMAN: And which are the corporations that are most involved with this?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, most corporations are kind of staying at arm’s length from all of this, as indeed governments are, for the time being. But quietly, behind the scenes, you can see them taking interest. There are a number of powerful or wealthy venture capitalists. Bill Gates is the sort of prominent player here. He’s invested in a range of geoengineering schemes. You can go to the U.S. patent office, and you’ll find Bill Gates’s name on a couple of patents for geoengineering. We’re also starting to see the oil companies, even Exxon, BP, Shell, starting to take an interest. They’re sort of pulling people into independent groups to produce reports, advocating research into geoengineering. And you’ve got some kind of rogue geoengineers, sort of cowboy capitalists, who are going out there right now and doing these kinds of experiments in the ocean, for example.
AMY GOODMAN: So, talk about about what these experiments are.
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, the one that has perhaps attracted most attention is an experiment in so-called ocean iron fertilization, spreading iron slurry on a patch of ocean.
AMY GOODMAN: What is iron slurry?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, basically iron dust or iron sulfate mixed with seawater. Spread it on a patch of ocean, and algal blooms suddenly emerge. You can do this quite quickly. And the idea is that you over—this way, you overcome the acidity of the ocean—I’m sorry, you stimulate the production of algal blooms. They suck up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And all of this sort of marine life that you stimulate then, in theory, sinks to the bottom of the ocean, taking their carbon with them, because, as organic creatures, they have to absorb carbon as they grow. And they grow because we’ve added the micronutrient that is missing—that is, the iron—in the sea.
And so, there’s a man called Russ George, who—an entrepreneur with a colorful history, who’s carried out a couple of experiments here, including one off the coast of British Columbia a couple of months ago, entirely unauthorized and probably illegal. And yet, he was up there spreading iron slurry or iron sulfates from the back of his ship, carrying out a geoengineering experiment, which highlights one of the main concerns that many of us have. There’s virtually no regulation of geoengineering. And when it comes to sulfate aerosol spraying, there’s nothing to prevent a government, any government, or even a corporation or a billionaire with a messiah complex, from launching a program of taking control of the Earth’s weather by installing this kind of solar shield. So the absence of governance, the absence of regulation and the exclusion, particularly of people from poor and vulnerable countries, is a very serious concern.
AMY GOODMAN: What about the mirrors in the sky?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, this is more on the sci-fi end of it. But the idea is to send up a cloud, a large number of small mirrors, that would be stationed in a particular spot between the Earth and the sun, and adjusted in a way, from the Earth, or regulated, so that as the sunlight comes to the Earth, that they’re oriented so that they deflect some of the sunlight so it misses the Earth and heads off into space. And you could adjust them so that you might reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth by, say, 2 percent, which might be enough to offset the warming associated with a doubling of carbon dioxide emissions.
The problem with this is, we’re not—we’re not tackling the problem, we’re just dealing with one symptom, because carbon dioxide emissions continue to go into the atmosphere under this scheme, acidifying the ocean. And so, basically, it just suppresses warming. And one of the dangers—in fact, perhaps the most frightening danger—of solar radiation management of this form is, if at some point in the future we install the solar shield and at some point we have to take it away—let’s say there is some terrible side effect we hadn’t foreseen or there’s some global conflict, because, after all, who’s going to have their hand on the thermostat? If we took away this solar shield, then you’d have this sudden surge of warming that had been suppressed for 10 or 20 or 30 years. And as you know, ecosystems are destroyed not so much because of the amount of warming, but of the rapidity of the increase in warming, because organisms, ecosystems don’t have time to adapt. So that’s a serious concern about installing this kind of solar shield.
AMY GOODMAN: In 2010, we spoke to freelance journalist Gwynne Dyer, author of Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats. He defended geoengineering.
GWYNNE DYER: Geoengineering is short-term interventions to avoid a climate runaway disaster, in order to give us more time to get our emissions down, which, in themselves, will cause a runaway climate disaster if we simply allow them to go ahead. Without geoengineering, you hit that disaster in less than 50 years. And you probably need more than 50 years to get your emissions down. Now, first of all, obviously, you’ve got to do the experiments. You’ve got to figure out: Are there horrendous side effects you don’t want to do? But if you don’t do this, you know who dies first? It’s the people in the tropics and the subtropics.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Gwynne Dyer. Your response?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, I mean, coming from someone like Gwynne Dyer, it reflects the anxiety about global warming and the refusal of the world to respond to it in a significant way. And so, he’s extremely well motivated, and I have a lot of respect for Gwynne Dyer. But you notice he said “short-term intervention.” In other words, the idea is we buy time until we get it right, either technologically or politically. But, of course, Amy, the problem with geoengineering is that the short term will become long-term. I mean, if you’ve got the American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, the Heartland Institute, and already some conservative politicians saying we should go down the geoengineering route—
AMY GOODMAN: Like the Koch brothers?
CLIVE HAMILTON: The Koch brothers—
AMY GOODMAN: Are they involved with this?
CLIVE HAMILTON: They are not, as far as I know, involved in it, but it’s right up their alley. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got involved in it. Certainly Murray Edwards, the billionaire investor in the Canadian oil sands, he is involved in geoengineering.
AMY GOODMAN: In the tar sands?
CLIVE HAMILTON: He’s invested in the tar sands, but he also has put money into a company called Carbon Engineering, managed—owned by David Keith, the scientist we saw, and in which Bill Gates has an investment. But, you see, the reason why these conservatives like geoengineering, it’s because they see it as a substitute for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. They see it as a permanent solution to global warming, not, as Gwynne Dyer was saying, an opportunity to buy time in the short term. They see it as a—the conservatives see it as a vindication of the system. They see it—see geoengineering as a way of protecting the system, of preserving the political economic system, whereas others say the probably is the political and economic system, and it’s that which we have to change.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to look at the Keystone XL for a second, you know, the tar sands, the whole story, the Keystone XL, the controversial pipeline that would deliver tar sands oil from Canada to the refineries in Texas. Earlier this year, a State Department report concluded the Keystone XL pipeline does not threaten the global climate. A number of environmental groups opposed the conclusion in a report called “Cooking the Books.” They said, “In a world constrained by the realities of climate change, the proper measure of any project’s climate impact should not be based on the assumptions inherent in a business as usual scenario that guarantees climate disaster. … There is a climate impact from burning 830,000 barrels per day of any crude that cannot be ignored.” Your response to that, Clive Hamilton?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, the most frightening development for those of us who watch climate change and climate politics over the last several years is that, whereas previously we thought, well, at least the fossil fuel reserves, you know, are running out, now we discover there are these vast so-called unconventional reserves or new ways of tapping into fossil fuels that were previously thought to be inaccessible. And so, suddenly the game has changed in a most unwelcome way. So you’ve got enormous greenhouse carbon dioxide resources buried in the tar sands in Canada. In Australia, where I come from, you’ve got huge new coal mines opening up. And, of course, across many countries, we have fracking getting access to new sources of natural gas. So, to argue that exploiting massive new resources of fossil fuels is not a threat to the climate is—you know, is bonkers, really.
AMY GOODMAN: What do the climate scientists say about geoengineering?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, the climate scientists—there’s a range of views about it. There are some, like David Keith, who are very gung ho, who say that this is the answer to the global warming problem, we really should pursue this rapidly, and so he has a research interest, but he also has a financial interest in geoengineering.
And then you have scientists at the other end. Alan Robock, for example, is a prominent American climate scientist who points of the grave risks associated with attempting to tinker with the climate system of the Earth as a whole. So they tend to focus on the scientific risks. After all, we’re talking about, you know, the mother of all ecosystems, the Earth as a whole, and, you know, we have trouble enough understanding the complexities of local ecosystems, let alone planet Earth.
But, of course, apart from the scientific risks, there are the political risks, the kinds of things that I’ve talked about, the danger that geoengineering becomes a substitute for reducing greenhouse gas emissions—in other words, as a way of protecting the political economic system from the kind of change that should be necessary.
AMY GOODMAN: What is Richard Branson involved with, who founded of Virgin Air?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, Richard Branson has got in early into the geoengineering, and he sees it—you know, he’s one of these billionaires that wants to save the world. And so, among other things, he set up a prize for—a competition for whoever can come up with the best geoengineering scheme, and I think it was a $10 million prize that he offered to the winning entry. And so, he has set up a website, and he’s got some, you know, funky employees there who have this kind of “we can use technology to get ourselves out of this fix.” So he very much comes with this sort of can-do attitude: If we put money into it, we cut through the politics, and we’ll use technology to save the day. It’s a very kind of Silicon Valley view of the world. But, of course, what it doesn’t recognize is that technologies are never neutral. Technologies always come in a political and social context, which is why we see, you know, the Cato Institute and the Heartland Institute backing geoengineering, but bagging or attacking or dissing renewable energy.
AMY GOODMAN: Let me ask you about what’s happening in Australia, as that’s where you’re from. The—Australia pushing for an amendment to the London Protocol on marine pollution and dumping at sea, which would introduce a complete prohibition on the practice of fertilizing the oceans without scientific justification, this just announced by the Australian government?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Yeah, and a bit of a surprise, I have to say, a welcome surprise. I mean, it’s part of a growing push from a range of countries, mostly from the South, but also backed by some Scandinavian countries, to try to develop an international governance structure to regulate research into geoengineering. So I was very pleased to see that the Australian government was taking—was on the side of progress in this particular case. And so, but most countries, including the United States, are kind of taking an arm’s-length view here. We don’t really want to get involved. It’s not big enough yet. And the same, incidentally, goes for some of the big environment groups.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, you talked about this before, putting iron sulfate into the oceans, but the process came to prominence last year after an attempt was made to augment salmon stocks off the Canadian Pacific coast by adding chemicals to the ocean waters?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Yes, it came to prominence through this unauthorized experiment by this colorful entrepreneur, Russ George, who said he was spreading iron sulfate in order to stimulate salmon stocks. But, in fact, he had tried it before, specifically as a form of geoengineering. And he has said quite explicitly—in fact, he’s tried to sell shares in his company, saying, “We can spread iron sulfate on the seas, which will encourage it to suck up carbon dioxide. We will generate carbon credits this way, which we can sell on the international market.” So, you know, it’s very much a commercial venture, which has not very good science behind it. And it’s—so it’s rung alarm bells amongst regulators and certain environment groups, that here we have someone, a rogue geoengineer, who’s taken it upon himself to experiment with these kinds of schemes to affect the planet—the climate of the planet.
AMY GOODMAN: You write that “The potential risks are enormous: disrupting the food chain, damaging the ozone layer, the loss of monsoon rains in Asia.” How?
CLIVE HAMILTON: Well, in the case of the monsoon, the Indian monsoon, which provides the annual water for a billion or more people, one of the—some of the early scientific work on the impact of installing this solar shield around the Earth through a sulfate aerosol layer is that it may—it will certainly cool the Earth, as David Keith said. He’s pretty confident of that, because it mimics volcanoes. But it will also affect and change global rainfall patterns. And one of—some of the studies suggest that it could shift the Indian monsoon.
And, of course, let’s say either the United States or China decides, in a desperate state, to install this solar shield, and it shifts the Indian monsoon, and there’s a massive continuing drought, and people are going hungry. So, here we have a—you start to get a sense of the geopolitical implications of this, because this is not—you know, everyone, through their greenhouse gas is, you know, as an unintended consequence, changing the climate of the Earth, which is happening now. Here you’ve got a government, probably, backed by the military, probably, or in collaboration with their military, actually setting out to regulate the temperature of the Earth, which may suit their interests. It may help fix their climate, but if it’s severely damaging the climate of another country, particularly a poor country, I mean, what are they going to do? If it’s a nuclear-armed country—you know, these are the kind of scenarios that are attracting the attention of the military planners, who are now—the Pentagon, for example, is taking an interest in geoengineering, because they can see some of these longer-term implications.
AMY GOODMAN: Let’s turn to the Pentagon. In 2010, the Pentagon highlighted climate concerns in its main public document on military strategy that’s released every four years, the Quadrennial Defense Review, or QDR. This is Michèle Flournoy, the then-undersecretary of defense for policy.
MICHÈLE FLOURNOY: This is the first QDR to address climate and energy issues, which are both significant factors in the future security environment. Climate change could increase demand for U.S. forces and humanitarian |
Many of us who have made significant donations to the church have wondered how the money is spent. The silence since the church last released detailed accounts in 1959 is concerning and leaves people to speculate on all sorts of things.
I was pleased to find that in the UK, the Charities Commission publishes basic accounts for all registered charities including the church. (These can be found here: http://bit.ly/1iL7Fc7)
The accounts are quite detailed in places, and it is difficult to extract details. Summary reports are given as well as the full accounts. I compiled all the key data available into a simple spreadsheet which is here:
http://sdrv.ms/1hL3MGh
Some things I noticed:
1. Net growth has slowed significantly in the last 5 years to the point that last year membership increased by less than 500.
2. Total number of units has been falling for 5 years, but rose slightly in 2012.
3. For the last 2 years, missionary work has been paid for by the UK arm of the church rather than directly from SLC. This cost is close to £7m per year.
4. The church in the UK regularly receives large transfers of money from “the parent charity”. This seems to have increased in the last 2 years to help cover the costs of missionary work.
5. The UK church donated £5.4m to “the parent charity” in 2011. This was “restricted funds which had accumulated.” These restricted funds are things such as Humanitarian Aid, Book of Mormon fund and Perpetual Education fund which had be accumulating over many years rather than being used for the purpose stated.
5. Genealogy and CES each cost £5-6m a year. This seems extraordinarily large.
6. Large donations were made to the Irish church in 2008 and 2009.
Ultimately, it’s difficult to read too much into these figures, but I thought it was interesting and worth posting.So, You Want to Learn the Code?
This is a self study guide. It will take you, step-by-step, to help you learn each of the alpha-numeric characters and commonly used punctuation in International Morse Code at your own pace.
If you follow the lesson plan precisely, you should be able to learn the International Morse Code have your code speed up to 13 words per minute in four to six weeks, or less.
The course presented herein consists of ten separate lessons. They have been systematically prepared and must be studied in order.
This is no easy task and it takes a lot of time and dedication to learn the International Morse Code.
The instructions were written by US Navy personnel originally for use by the US Navy by the Insuline Corporation of America probably in the 1950s. Since that was more than 50 years ago and the Insuline Corporation of America no longer exists, there is no copyright.
The instructions were scanned and placed in this file. See below.
Note: Neither the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) - the national association for amateur radio -, James E. Cross (WI3N), E. Allen Brown (KZ3AB), the anonymous donor of this material nor anyone else, living or dead, assumes responsibility for the accuracy or content of the scanned (written) file or the associated audio (mp3) file.
The audio code practice sessions were originally recorded on 78 RPM records. You may download the audio file in mp3 format, scratches and all, by clicking on:
Morse-Code-Practice in'mp3' format.
Be advised, this is a B-I-G file, 53.5 MB. So, unless you have a high-speed Internet connection, it may take quite a while to download.
We wish to thank the anonymous donor who supplied these files. In his words, "I believe this is absolutely the easiest way to learn the code."
The Insuline Corp. takes particular pride in presenting this course in the International Morse Code to America's young men and women who want to learn to use this means of communication in order to be able to be of greater service to their country. It is particularly gratifying to have had the cooperation of the members of the very competent staff of the U. S. Naval Training School at Noroton Heights, Connecticut.
We are particularly grateful to
LT. COMMANDER F. R. L. TUTHILL, U.S.N.R.
and
LT. (J.G.) E. L. BATTEY, U.S.N.R.
noted code experts for their painstaking work in writing this
manual and supervising the recording of the code records. INSULINE CORP. OF AMERICA
THE INTERNATIONAL MORSE CODE A Course for Individual Study
This course, consisting of ten scientifically prepared lessons, is designed to provide the student with a means of self-instruction in receiving and sending the International Morse Code.
Upon completion of the course the student will have attained a receiving speed of at least 15 words-per-minute.
With this foundation he will be ready for more advanced practice, such as actually listening to faster code "on the air," especially on the short waves (high frequencies.) The course also provides a splendid groundwork for the man who expects to go into radio work in any of the armed services.
The make-up of the Code should be understood before actually starting the course.
The Code consists of various combinations of dots, dashes and spaces. For purposes of adjusting our thoughts to terms of "sound" we will hereafter refer to a dot as "dit" (or "di"), and a dash as "dah."
All code is based on the following time units, with the "dit" as the basic unit.
Dit. (Basic time unit)
Dah... (Equivalent to three dits)
Element Space. (The space between parts of any character; equivalent to one dit)
Character Space... (The space between any two characters equivalent to three dits, or one dah)
Word Space....... (The space between any two words or groups; equivalent to seven dits)
The student should familiarize himself with these relative time units. They are particularly important when practicing sending.
PHONETIC METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
The phonetic method of instruction (entirely by sound) is used in this course. Each character is introduced to the student as a complete sound, rather than a combination of dits and dahs. If you do not use the sound method, you will go through a double deciphering process.
Listen first to hear the signal, then to determine its "dot-dash" make-up. Learning by sound eliminates the second step. You recognize each signal instantly as the character it represents. Each character has a distinct sound-formation all its own.
At all times think of each character as a sound. Example: di-dah (A); dah-di-di-dit (B); etc. Do not count the number of dits and dahs to determine the character. Think only of the complete sound. The elementary work of recognizing each character by sound is one of the most important phases of learning the code.
The International Morse Code ALPHABET
A di-dah
B dah-di-di-dit
C dah-di-dah-dit
D dah-di-dit
E dit
F di-di-dah-dit
G dah-dah-dit
H di-di-di-dit
I di-dit
J di-dah dah-dah
K dah-di-dah
L di-dah-di-dit
M dah-dah
N dah-dit
O dah-dah-dah
P di-dah-dah-dit
Q dah-dah-di-dah
R di-dah-dit
S di-di-dit
T dah
U di-di-dah
V di-di-di-dah
W di-dah-dah
X dah-di-di-dah
Y dah di-dah-dah
Z dah-dah-di-dit
NUMERALS
1 di-dah-dah-dah-dah
2 di-di-dah-dah-dah
3 di-di-di-dah-dah
4 di-di-di-di-dah
5 di-d;-di-di-dit
6 dah-di-di-di-dit
7 dah-dah-di-di-dit
8 dah-dah-dah-di-dit
9 dah-dah-dah-dah-dit
Ø (Zero) dah-dah-dah-dah-dah (To differentiate Zero from the letter O, it should always be written thus: Ø.)
PUNCTUATION MARKS AND SPECIAL SIGNALS
International Distress Signal (SOS) di-di-di-dah-dah-dah-di-di-dit
Period di-dah-di-dah-di-dah
Comma dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah
Question Mark (IMI) di-di-dah-dah-di-dit
Double Dash (=) (BT) dah-di-di-di-dah
End of Message (AR) di-dah-di-dah-dit
End of Work (VA) di-di-di-dah-di-dah
Wait Sign (AS) di-dah-di-di-dit
Invitation to Transmit (K) dah-di-dah
Hyphen dah-di-di-di-di-dah
Parentheses dah-di-dah-dah-di-dah
Colon (OS) dah-dah-dah-di-di-dit
Semicolon dah-di-dah-di-dah-dit
Decimal Point Sign (R) di-dah-dit
Quotation Marks (AF) di-dah-di-di-dah-dit
Error Sign di-di-di-di-di-di-di-dit
Apostrophe di-dah-dah-dah-dah-dit
Fraction Bar (XE) dah-di-di-dah-dit
Sign Indicating Test (V) di-di-di-dah
Dollar Sign ($)(SX) di-di-di-dah-di-di-dah
FOUR IMPORTANT POINTS
Four major factors in learning to receive code are (1) Concentration, (2) Practice, (3) Confidence and (4) Patience.
CONCENTRATION: This is of the utmost importance. When practicing code, clear your mind of everything else. Permit nothing to interrupt you. Learn to concentrate strictly on the work immediately at hand. Speed and proficiency in mastering the code depends largely on the individual, his ability to concentrate and the amount of effort he applies. Concentration is vitally important when you are first starting to learn the code. You must get the characters firmly fixed in your mind during the primary lessons and this requires every ounce of concentration you can apply. You cannot easily "catch up" later on as the speeds will be greater. Don't let "outside" noises distract you. Keep your mind on the signal you are copying. If local room noises occur, try to disregard them, pay no attention to them. Concentrate only on what you are copying.
PRACTICE: Progress in code reception will be directly proportional to the amount of practice you apply. Speed proficiency is mostly a matter of practice, and more practice.
CONFIDENCE: From the start, resolve that you are going to master the subject of code reception. Do your best at all times. Never permit yourself to become discouraged over your progress. There is no definite known time as to how long it will take a person to learn the code, or to reach certain speed levels. Individual progress will vary. Never give up.
PATIENCE: Don't become impatient regarding the time it may take you to learn the code. You may reach certain speeds above which you find it difficult to progress. If this occurs don't feel that you are lost. Keep plugging steadily and you will succeed. For every student there are certain speed levels where temporary "stagnation" occurs. But be patient, apply yourself conscientiously and you will later make up for lost time.
VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS AND HINTS
Aim to get each character on paper just as soon as possible after hearing it. Immediately upon recognizing a character, stop thinking of it as a sound; think of it then only as a letter or numeral to print or type. This leaves the mind free to grasp the next sound while you are recording on paper the previous character.
When copying, if you miss a character, don't worry about it - go on to the next. Just as soon as the first sound of the next character is heard, stop trying to figure out what the "missing" character was. During periods of practice the aim should be to get down everything possible, without worrying about missed characters. As your ability to copy increases you will miss fewer characters. The more alert you are, the faster you can get characters on paper after hearing them, and you will miss fewer, because you will have more time to think of the next signal.
The faster you can print, type, or write (as the case may be), the easier it will be for you to copy code. When the mind does not have to struggle with the problem of typing, printing or writing in addition to code, full concentration on code is possible. It is urged, therefore, that the student make every effort to increase his ability to print, type and write rapidly and legibly.
Whenever a pencil is used for copying code groups printing must be used. When pencil is used for copying plain language, it is permissible to write (longhand).
The typewriter should not be used until (1) your code speed is at least 12 w.p.m. and (2) your typing speed at least 25 w.p.m. Typing speed should always be considerably faster than code speed. Whether you are using pencil or typewriter, be neat at all times. Avoid "strike-overs." Take pride in your work.
COPYING BEHIND
The real answer to the ability to copy code at high speeds is development of the knack of "copying behind." Contrasted with "copying ahead," where you anticipate what is coming (a faulty, dangerous practice), the ability to copy "behind" should be cultivated as soon as possible. You should start by trying to carry two characters in your head before you record either on paper. As soon as you recognize the second character, you put the first on paper, and so on. By constant practice you will find yourself able to carry several characters in your head at a time, and, later, you will carry whole words.
A simple exercise, which the individual can carry out by himself is is suggested to train the mind along the lines of "copying behind."
Take a clean sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left-hand side of the line, write a list of simple 3-letter words (CAT, DOG, MAN, BOY, MUD, etc.). Then, while spelling the first word (CAT) out loud, write on the right-hand side of the paper the next word down on the list (DOG). Then spell out loud the word DOG, but at the same time write down the next word (MAN). Continue this process down the entire list. This may be found difficult at first, but a rather quick improvement will be noticed after the third or fourth trial. The mind is thus being trained to carry one word, while another part of the mind is directing the writing of a different one. Upon such a simple foundation may be laid the future ability to copy several words behind.
AN AUXILIARY CHARACTER MEMORIZING SYSTEM
If difficulty is encountered in memorizing the sound-formation of each character, the following system may be found helpful.
Make up 36 small cards, preferably from cardboard. On one side of each card print a letter of the alphabet or numeral. (It will take 36 cards for the entire alphabet and numerals 1-Ø.) On the reverse side of each card put the "sound symbol" for the respective character (di-dah, if the character on the face of the card is A; dah-di-di-dit if the character is B, etc.). Shuffle the cards and run through them, first with the face-side up, then with the reverse-side up. As you come to any given printed character repeat to yourself the sound of that character. Example: If you come to the numeral 4, repeat to yourself "di-di-di-di-dah"; then you can check yourself by turning the card over. If using the back of the cards, the procedure will be reversed; you will say the sound-symbol to yourself and then repeat the character that it represents, checking yourself by looking at the face of the card. Care must be taken to always use the "sounds"; never call a character by "dot-dash," etc.
A helpful trick is to carry a set of these cards in your pocket, taking them out from time to time throughout the day and running through them. This will be found particularly useful throughout the early stages of the course.
IMPORTANCE OF MIXED-CHARACTER GROUPS
The greater part of this Code Course consists of groups of mixed-characters (letters and numerals), all characters being given in equal quantities. The reason for this type of study is that the proficient operator must be able to recognize all characters with equal ease. It is a fact that the letters most used in every day English are, in code, easiest to remember and fastest to form (have the smallest number of dits and dahs). On the other hand, those letters used the least in English have the most complicated arrangement of dits and dahs and are both hard to remember and take longest to form. By constant practice on mixed-character groups, all characters are learned equally well. The use of mixed-characters gives you the only sure foundation upon which to build a satisfactory receiving ability.
GENERAL HINTS
Advancement in code is primarily a matter of practice. Apply as much time as possible in practice, but don't go beyond the point of fatigue. If you find your mind getting tired and the characters become confusing, stop practicing. Relax awhile and begin again.
As you go about your daily duties, whistle or repeat to yourself as rapidly as possible the code symbols for the signs on billboards, street signs, etc. It is good practice.
In copying, if you miss a character or make a mistake, don't become confused. Just make a dash (-) on the paper in place of the missed character, and think only of the next character to be heard. If you permit yourself to worry over a character missed, you will lose one or more following characters. It is natural to miss a character occasionally, but when you do don't worry about it.
Don't look back over what you have copied. It will disrupt your train of thought.
Ability to copy code cannot be acquired in a day. It takes time. Realize this and don't become discouraged over seemingly slow progress.
To learn how to receive and send code is an educational accomplishment. The lessons of this course are designed to carry you to your goal quickly and with the minimum of effort.
REGARDING SENDING PRACTICE
Information on the correct use of the telegraph key is given elsewhere in this booklet. IMPORTANT: Use of the key should not be attempted until completion of Lesson No. 4. It has been proven by experience that students should not start sending practice until they can successfully and easily recognize all characters. The reason is simple: In learning to send correctly we must first know how good code sounds.
Upon completion of Lesson No. 4, it is suggested that the student combine sending practice with his receiving practice, sending the material covered, lesson by lesson. While learning Lesson No. 5, the student should practice sending the material covered in Lesson No. 4. Upon completion of Lesson No. 5, sending practice based on the material in that lesson should start. Never attempt to send the material contained in any lesson until you have first mastered its reception.
In order to acquire the correct formation of each character, it is recommended that while practicing any given lesson, the student play through the appropriate record, sending each character after it is heard and trying to make his sending.sound like the recorded characters. Practice sending to yourself out of a book or newspaper. It will increase your receiving speed.
THE TEN LESSON COURSE
The course presented herein consists of ten separate lessons. They have been systematically prepared and must be studied in order. Caution: Do not attempt to start any lesson until you have thoroughly mastered all preceding lessons. Each lesson is outlined individually and the method of approach explained in detail.
Follow the instructions carefully.
LESSON No. 1 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use Lesson No. 1. This lesson is divided into two sections. Section 1, on the first half, covers the characters E I S H 5 4. Section 2, on the second half, covers the characters T M O Ø 9 X. The object of this lesson is to learn these twelve characters.
PROCEDURE:
First play the recording through, following along character by character with the letters and numerals shown at the bottom of the page. Repeat this as many times as necessary, until you are familiar with the sound of each character.
When you feel you can recognize each character by sound, close the instruction book and play the record through, printing each character neatly as heard. Check your results. Repeat this practice until you make 100% copy (no errors).
As soon as you make perfect copy of Lesson No. 1, proceed to Lesson No. 2. Do not attempt the second lesson until you master the first.
LESSON No. 1
E E E E I I I I S S S S H H H H 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 E I S H 5 4 5 H S I E 4 S 5 I H 4 S 5 H 4 H I 5 S E H I S E 4 5 H S I E S H 5 4 H S E I 5 S 4
T T T T M M M M O O O O Ø Ø Ø Ø 9 9 9 9 X X X X T M O Ø 9 X 9 Ø O M T X O 9 M Ø X O 9 Ø X 9 O T Ø M O T M X Ø O T 9 M X Ø 9 T O X 9 M Ø
LESSON No. 2 - INSTRUCTIONS
The object of (his lesson is to learn the characters A R L W J 1 (Section 1) and U F P V 2 3 (Section 2).
PROCEDURE:
First, review Lesson No. 1.
Second, play recording No. 2 through, following each character as shown at the bottom of the page.
Repeat this until you are familiar with (the sound of each character of the new lesson.
Third, close the instruction book and play the recording through, printing each character carefully as heard. Check your results. Repeat this procedure until you make 100% copy on the entire lesson.
While practicing Lesson No. 2, occasionally review Lesson No. 1 in order to keep the mind refreshed on all characters so far learned.
When Lesson No. 2 has been completed, proceed to Lesson No. 3. Do not even listen to Lesson No. 3 until the first two lessons are completely mastered.
LESSON No. 2
A A A A R R R R L L L L W W W W J J J J 1 1 1 1 A R L W W J 1 J W L R A 1 L J R W 1 L J W 1 L A W R L A R I W J A L R 1 L
U U U U F F F F P P P P V V V V 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 U F P V 2 3 2 V P F U 3 P 2 F V 3 P 2 V 3 V P U F 3 2 V P F U 2 3 F V P U F 2 V P 3 U 3 F 2 V
LESSON No. 3 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use recording No. 3. The object of this lesson is to learn the characters N D B 6 7 8 (Section 1) and G Q Z K C Y (Section 2).
PROCEDURE:
First, review Lessons No. 1 and No. 2.
Second, play recording No. 3 through, following each character as shown at the bottom of the page.
Repeat this until you are familiar with the sound of each character of this new lesson.
Third, close the instruction book and play the recording through, printing each character as heard, always taking care to print legibly. Check your results. Repeat this procedure until you make 100% copy of the entire lesson. While practicing Lesson No. 3, occasionally review Lessons No. 1 and No. 2 to keep all characters fresh in your mind.
When, and only when, Lesson No. 3 has been mastered, proceed to Lesson No. 4.
LESSON No. 3
N N N N D D D D B B B B 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 N D B 6 7 8 7 6 B D N 8 N B 7 D 6 8 B 7 6 8 7 N 8 D B B 6 8 B N 7 D 6 B
G G G G Q Q Q Q 7 7 7 7 K K K K C C C C Y Y Y Y G Q 2 K C Y C K Z Q G Y G Z C Q K Y Z C K Y C G Y G Y Q C Z K Y G C Q K Z Q Y Z C K Y Q C Z K G
LESSON No. 4 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use recording No. 4. This lesson covers all letters of the alphabet and all numerals. The object is to increase the speed of recognizing and printing all 36 characters.
Speed attained by [the end of] this lesson is approximately 5 words per minute.
PROCEDURE:
First, review Lessons No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3.
Second, play recording No. 4 through, following each character as shown at the bottom of the page.
Repeat this several times, until you are able to recognize all 36 characters as heard.
Third, close the instruction book and play the record through, printing each character as heard and keeping your printing as neat as possible. Check your results after each playing. Repeat this procedure until you make perfect copy of the entire lesson. If any difficulty is encountered with certain letters, stop and review the lessons in which the difficult letters were covered.
When Lesson No. 4 has been thoroughly mastered, proceed to Lesson No. 5. (Start Sending Practice at this point.)
LESSON No. 4
T 4 6 W 8 M 1 A L 5 Y 7 Z C Ø P K H V U N E 2 J Ø Q Z V R K P G X Z O J Y 4 U W B M J Q H P 9 3 C X 9 A 5 B 7 G 2 8 N 6 V R T J F Q Ø S K Y D L Z F 1 Q P J 1 A B 9 X 4 F Z V T C U Ø 8 B 3 W L Q
LESSON No. 5 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use recording No. 5. The object of his lesson is to learn to receive 2-character groups. Speed attained by this lesson is approximately 7 words per minute.
PROCEDURE:
First, review Lesson No. 1.
Second, play recording No. 5 through, following each character as shown at the bottom of the page. Repeat this several times, until you are familiar with the sound of the various two-character combinations.
Third, close the instruction book and play the recording through, printing each group as heard, leaving a space between each group as you print. Remember that neatness is important. Check your results after each playing. Repeat this procedure until you make perfect copy of the entire recording.
Review Lesson No. 4 occasionally, if any difficulty is encountered in recognizing individual characters.
When Lesson No. 5 has been completely mastered, proceed to Lesson No. 6.
LESSON No. 5
41 CJ UT 57 NR OL Ø6 29 SC BP HK QV 38 Ø4 XJ WF 21 65 73 YZ IG BZ ND 64 Ø9 71 QD CS HT AE 65 AX JR Ø3 GW VC EQ XU 26 MB AT RS IZ Ø2 ME NK YV NA 68 14 DC UO BD AK GJ HE RF DW PN IK MQ ZO TU YX LA JP
LESSON No. 6 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use recording No. 6. The object of this lesson is to learn to receive 3-character groups. Speed attained by this lesson is approximately 8 words per minute.
PROCEDURE:
First, review Lessons No. 4 and No. 5.
Second, play record No. 6 through, following each character as shown at the bottom of the page.
Repeat this several times, until you are familiar with the sound of the various three-character combinations.
Third, close the instruction book and play the record through, printing each group as heard, leaving a space between each group as you print, and not forgetting neatness. Check your results after each playing. Repeat this procedure until you make perfect copy of the entire recordings. Review Lessons No. 4 and No. 5 as necessary.
When you can make perfect copy of Lesson No. 6 with ease, proceed to Lesson No. 7.
LESSON No. 6
924 385 175 FOE QHJ SPM GIW AIR 173 AZY 675 NHR QMS FOB PAV 937 483 GBW AKI TCN GZP SML BVU OWE HYG FRJ 928 3Ø1 YOZ 317 VUO WEH GJF RJD JER XBI 386 KGP TWV KSH UGM QOY 183 592 YRA BCL NJV 285 376 UXD BCO
LESSON No. 7 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use recording No. 7. The object of this lesson is to learn to receive 4-charactcr groups. Speed attained by this lesson is approximately 9 words per minute.
PROCEDURE:
First, review Lessons No. 5 and No. 6.
Second, play recording No. 7 through, following each character as shown at the bottom of the page. Repeat this several times, until you are familiar with the sound of the various four-character combinations.
Third, close the instruction book and play the record through, printing each group neatly as heard, leaving a space between each group as you print. Check your results after each playing. Repeat this procedure until you make perfect copy of the entire recordings. Review Lessons No. 5 and No. 6 as necessary.
Proceed to Lesson No. 8, when Lesson No. 7 has been mastered 100%.
LESSON No. 7
1579 DKOA NLKJ PWVF 13Ø2 QESU 8641 IZXJ MVCH GTRY YSWT KVUD 1Ø72 NOXU ERCM JBXH 5938 AILF PQGZ 7462 VABE QUWG MKTE HLXJ 2814 STRD JYXO 569Ø IFZC MWOD PFCM UJTG MYLV SOUK QIZR BAHE DXRK VQUC PMHN SWOS TLBI EADG
LESSON No. 8 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use recording No. 8. The object of this lesson is to learn to receive 5 character groups. Speed attained by this lesson is approximately 10 words per minute.
First, review Lessons No. 6 and No. 7.
Second, play recording No. 8 through, following each character as shown at the bottom of the page.
Repeat this several times, until you are familiar with the sound of the various five-character combinations.
Third, close the instruction book and play the record through, neatly printing each group as heard, leaving a space between each group as you print. Check your results after each playing. Repeat this procedure until you make perfect copy of the entire recording. Review preceding lessons as necessary.
Upon completion of Lesson No. 8 (when this lesson can be copied without error), proceed to Lesson No. 9.
LESSON No. 8
LUYNI MQVKZ GDUJI 6158Ø BFOKV 7Ø239 TCHAW Ø5689 GRJES 32971 TOJIM FGHNV BWRZL Ø8426 CPSUQ KAEYX DXRBW 98352 ZLYMI 647ØJ 43921 UQXVN WMBOT PACHF 678Ø5 LYZCD SREJG DNIRB ZRUKG WXPHM KTAFC GLSEV 189Ø6 YQJZO RKPAL UCLZD MCWIO BFGUM
LESSON No. 9 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use recording No. 9. The object, of this lesson is to learn to receive at 15 words per minute. 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-character groups are used in this lesson.
PROCEDURE:
First, review Lessons No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8.
Second, play recording No. 9 through, following each character as shown on the bottom of the page. Repeat this several times, until you are familiar with the sound and spacing of the groups of different lengths.
Third, close the instruction book and play the record through, printing carefully each group as heard, leaving a space between each group as you print. Check your results after each playing. Repeat this procedure until you make perfect copy of the entire record. Review preceding lessons as necessary.
Upon successful completion of Lesson No. 9, proceed to Lessons No. 9 A and No. 10.
LESSON No. 9
JAGZK QESU 41 FOE CJ POFE 385 UT 957Ø8 YKXG DIFEQ NVCH 57 VHJ NR BNVD 924 OL SAWNR JYVF BLPFS PWVF Ø6 SPM 29 ICUT BCO SC COGUL CQOZ PEBIT 1972 BP GZW HK WAVF DCT QV SHVXO 684Ø FAOZX GTRY XJ AUR WF SVJE YIE YZ GNNKL AILF TJMGA TLBI 35 QMS AP LNPM AKI QG 46132 BDSE
LESSON No. 10 - INSTRUCTIONS
Use recording No. 10. The object of this lesson is to learn the Punctuation Marks and Special Signals commonly used in radio work.
PROCEDURE:
First, play record No. 10 through, following the material shown at the bottom of the page. Repeat this as many times as necessary, until you are familiar with the sound of each punctuation mark and special signal.
Second, close the instruction book and play the recording through, putting down on paper each punctuation mark, etc., as heard. Check your results after each playing. Repeat this procedure until you can make a perfect copy of the entire recording.
LESSON No. 10
..,,?? = = AR AR VA VA AS AS K K - -( ) : : ; ; " " E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E'' / / V V $ $ SOS SOS
EXAMPLES: MARY WORE JANE'S SO-CALLED HAT; IT WAS 1/2 SIZE TOO SMALL. "MISFIT" WAS NO WORD FOR ST EEEEEEEE FOR IT. BUT WHY DID SHE WEAR IT?
SENDING
How to Grasp the Key
Place the thumb against the left edge of the key knob; the first finger on top of the knob at the rear and lapping over the rear edge just a bit; and the second finger against the right edge of the knob, about in the center or slightly to the rear of center. The thumb and second finger should press gently against the side, enough to hold the key and partly aid its upward motion after depression, but in no event should the grip be tense. The first and second fingers should be slightly arched, not held out straight. The third and fourth fingers should be permitted to curl naturally, toward the palm of the hand, but they should not be tightly clenched. Keep the fingers, hand and wrist relaxed at all times.
CORRECT METHOD OF GRASPING KEY
Correct Sending Posture
Sit upright in your chair, square with the operating table, with your arm on a line with the key. The arm should rest lightly on the table, with the muscle of the forearm supporting the weight, and with the wrist off the table. The key should be mounted so that the knob is approximately 18 inches from the edge of the table.
Repeating, the audio code practice sessions were originally recorded on 78 RPM records. You may download the audio file in mp3 format, scratches and all, at: Morse-Code-Practice in'mp3' format
Be advised, this is a B-I-G file, 53.5 MB. So, unless you have a high-speed Internet connection, it may take quite a while to download.
The instructions were scanned and placed in this file.Manspreading is a recent term coined by women about men who take up too much room in public transport. It’s recently made news because so many women have taken a stand to cease this horrifying act of iniquity. And to that I can only shake my head and sigh.
Manspreading is not an issue; it’s not even remotely close to an issue. People talking about it and putting it in the spotlight is the issue. Women are making mountains out of molehills here, and it’s not benefitting anybody. Videos and articles about the perils of manspreading have absolutely no substance because it is an unsolicited pity-party for women by women. It is all about shaming an entire gender based on the faults of a very select few men.
A man who spreads his legs apart isn’t going to burn the train down, so don’t get your panties in a twist. It’s not an epidemic, it’s not a concern, it’s not even something that should be addressed publicly. If you see a man who is taking too much room, you can kindly tell them to keep it shut. There is no need to make a PSA about something like this. You want to make a difference? Start somewhere else. Focus on the poor, the hungry, the sufferers of injustice. If you want to make the world a better place, this is the last place to start.
Are first world women so fragile that they get offended at the slightest male act that isn’t to their liking? If your biggest concern is manspreading, then you are leading a very privileged life, |
certainly was to those stationed there. Hitler had already invaded Poland and the war was a reality in Europe. Camp Swift was planned in 1940 and it’s nearly 3,000 buildings were constructed in an incredible 120 days in early ’42, at a cost of $25, 000, 000.
Today, Camp Swift sits like hundreds of National Guard facilities around the country, hardly more than a parking lot for Army Reserve equipment and vehicles. But at its peak, this installation had more impact on Bastrop County than any occurrence natural or man-made, before or since. The population eventually reached 50,000, (some sources say as many as 90,000) which more than sextupled the civilian census. On any weekend, 20 – 25,000 soldiers would be trucked to Bastrop on flatbed trucks where they would board buses to Austin. Kerrville Bus Company, who had the contract for this weekend transmigration, was not immune to the tire rationing then in place, and frequent blowouts would leave stranded buses all along this route. Soldier on Pass in Austin Texas 1943
Old postcard Basically, Camp Swift was an Infantry training facility, but combat nurses were trained here as well. The drain of talent from local hospitals caused a shortage of nurses that continued until after the war. Infantry training for European bound troops took advantage of the Colorado River to practice river assaults and crossings. US Field Artillery
Old postcard As a Prisoner of War Camp, it housed mostly German soldiers captured from Rommel’s elite Afrika Corp. Some 300 Russians who were forced to fight on the German side were also confined, but had to be segregated from the Germans. At least eleven Germans remain buried on the former grounds of the Camp.
Escape attempts were rare enough to let the Germans work unsupervised after 1944. When escapes were attempted, they usually had a humorous conclusion. One man was treed by a local bull and shouted for help to those looking for him. Another was bitten in the buttocks by a tracking dog where he had pocketed a hunk of bologna. Adding insult to injury, the guard dog was a German Shepherd. Escapes were far more frequent and successful with the 3,000 mules brought to the Camp by the 10th Mountain Division. Frequent herds of 100-200 had to be rounded up almost weekly, and three who were too wild to recapture were left behind.
The helpful librarians at the Bastrop Public Library will gladly direct you to the Camp Swift files. Additional files are kept at the Museum at 702 Main Street.
One of the files contains a History of Camp Swift by O.P. Houston and Walter E. Long. Included is a poignant letter written by one of the prisoners who worked in a camp office. It was found in his typewriter after he was sent back to East Germany, which was then under Russian occupation. In his words, the letter follows: Good-by big country, rich country, after 1000 days I’m leaving you forever.
Good-by you level farm land, you cotton raising state,
You proudest soil under the sun: "My Texas".
Good-by especially to you, Fortress Swift
With your barracks and training grounds;
You took it from me, finally this consciousness
Of mine to belong to that brave mankind.
Good-by busy office at this post,
Good-by dear desks and copies and typewriters.
Good-by folks, all you clerk-typists and levely
Stenographers, with silk stockings, powdered faces
And rouged lips. I was amazed seeing you sitting
Liesurely at hard work with "cokes" at hand.
Good-by America: I’m going to England as a joung slave
And then to Russia as an old one.
Good-by – You swell life. Three officers
Old post card A recent visit to Camp Swift confirms what the library files say: that there’s hardly anything left of the camp. I spoke with Master Sergeant Robert West who had a few interesting stories. As late as 1989 a former German POW returned for a visit. THE POW CEMETERIES The POW cemetery is now on land that was given back to the former owners, when the camp was decommissioned in 1946. Three other cemeteries exist and fencing is currently being installed around two of them. The third cemetery consists of only three graves, a father and two sons who were killed by Indians. MSG West also says that two cougars reside at Camp Swift, one golden and another darker one. Sightings were as recent as last year. WORK, PAY AND LIFE AT THE CAMP
While each barrack housed 16 prisoners, if all prisoners had all returned from their contract work outside the fence, there wouldn’t have been enough barracks for them all. Contractors had to provide off base housing, while the Army provided the MP guards.
Prisoners were paid 80 cents per day while the farmers and/or contractors paid the government the going rate of 2.60 per day per prisoner. Prisoners were unable to spend all of their script and some at Camp Wallace in Texas City donated $440.00 to the local YMCA who had given them books. Officers weren’t required to work and Junior Officers were paid 20.00 per month, Captains, 30.00, and Field Grade and above 40.00.
Ten Texas Universities provided camps with correspondence courses and university credits! In addition, mail from Germany was promptly forwarded and Swiss monitors visited the camps to insure The Geneva Convention rules were being complied with.
It’s likely that German children had their equivalent for "What did you do in the war, Daddy?" One can imagine hearing: "Well, up to ’43 I was an Oberfeldwebel (Master Sergeant) in the Afrika Corps, then I went to Texas and stuffed olives." Stuffed Olives? Our researcher read where prisoners near Alvin grew peppers and tomatoes and canned them along with olives.
This puzzled us until a photo was found of a bunch of smiling POWs sitting at a sorting table stuffing strips of pimento peppers into imported olives. Nice work if you could get it.
The Bastrop museum files also contain a letter from 1993 wherein a former POW thanks the Bastrop Historical Society for information they furnished him and enclosed two snapshots of a German funeral at Camp Swift. One shows the flag draped casket (POWs were even allowed to fly the Swastika Flag) being carried by pallbearers and the other shows a US MP Honor Guard firing a salute.
Washington received many complaints that the prisoners were being treated too well. FDR defended the policy by reminding Americans that the Germans held US prisoners. After the war, the wisdom of this was apparent in the statistics on the mortality rates of American vs. Russian POWs. Camp Swift prisoners were sent to England for two more years where they helped clean up some of the mess (and presumably were told not to do it again) before they were sent back to two Germanys. For those of you under 40, we won. 1946 found Camp Swift with a skeleton crew of 800. This is the year the dictionary formally recognized such words as jerk, cheesecake (as in leg art) and jive. Congressman Lyndon Johnson visited with all of Bastrop Co. mayors at a barbecue in Bastrop State Park and it is here (some historians believe) that LBJs lifelong fondness for Elgin sausage began. Their Honors wanted Camp Swift reactivated, LBJ wanted to be reelected. Shortly before elections, a convoy of Troops from the 12th Cavalry at Camp Hood (approximately 1000 men) conspicuously occupied the Camp. Johnson was reelected, the troops inconspicuously convoyed back to Camp Hood and Camp Swift was reduced to lumber being sold at $5 per truckload. The current Editor at the Bastrop Advertiser, Davis McAulty recently visited the site of the POW cemetery. His flowing and detailed description made us feel we needn’t visit the site ourselves (besides, there are cougars out there). Mr. McAulty is a policeman’s dream eyewitness. This is one guy who would get the number of the get-away car. According to the Editor: "The site is overgrown by pines, and a small sandstone wall defines the perimeter." His estimate of 10 –12 marker-less graves matches our researchers total of 11. Most but not all of the graves are visible due to the depression in the soil where they were evidently exhumed for return to Germany or else became cougar chow. 10th Mountain Division Memorial Highways
TE photo Camp Swift monument at the gate
TE photo According to the Texas Department of Transportation, Highway 290 to Austin from Elgin, Highway 95 from Elgin to Bastrop and highway 71 from Bastrop to Austin make up the three Tenth Mountain Division Memorial Highways.
1998
© John Troesser Related Articles
Murder at Camp Swift 1942 - The Tragic Death of Little Lucy Maynard Related Topics:
Small Town Sagas | World War II
See BastropI know, you are thinking soap, water, hockey mask, chain mail, and gloves right? Eh. there is a little more to it than that. You see Maine Coon cats have exceedingly fine dense fur and a LOT of oil glands to go with it. As a result, the fur is dang near impermeable to water. Washing them adequately using just soap and water is an exercise in frustration (not to mention death by a thousand cat scratches). Therefore more extreme measures must be taken.Here are the supplies you will need:1 jar original Goop hand cleaner1 bottle of original ivory liquid dishwashing soap1 gallon jug of white vinegar1 bottle pet shampoo/baby shampoo1 curry comb, waterproofOptional equipment as needed:personal protective equipment as required (gloves, chain mail, hockey mask, etc.)sedatives (feline and/or human) as required.plenty of gauze and turniquets as needed to staunch the flow of blood.Step 1:Using the curry comb, brush the cat thoroughly to get as much loose hair as possible off. You may find that your cat may undergo an incomplete form of mitosis during this procedure, resulting in copious quantities of excess hair, often enough to make another whole entire cat, while not actually loosing any of her own. This is normal and expected. It is impossible to do this too much or too long, as the cat will continue to generate hair as long as you continue to brush. At no point will the cat go bald. this is a physical impossibility. The only exception to this is if instead of brushing you shave the cat. While doing so will certainly assist in the washing of said feline, it is rather embarrassing for the cat (and possibly dangerous for you). This certainly would fall under an alternative process category however.Step 2:After the excess hair is disposed of properly and the garbage trucks are on thier way to the landfill, or perhaps the clothing manufacturer, slather the cat liberally with Goop. Rub it in thoroughly in order to help loosen and dissolve the vast quantities of oil that the cat hair has absorbed. Scientists are currently studying means to exploit these oil deposits for use as motor fuel. However, current extraction methods tend to be rather hard on the cat and results in oil contaminated with vast quantities of fur and crushed cat guts and blood. And unfortunately results in a non-renewable resource as the cat gets pureed in the process. While Goop is non-toxic, it might be best if you can prevent your cat from attempting to lick themselves while this process takes place. Also try to keep the Goop out of thier eyes.Step 3:Rinse the Goop off the cat and then lather the cat up with the Ivory Dish Washing Detergent. While the cat is lathered up, curry comb the cat again to remove as much hair as possible. Make sure you have a strainer over the drain to prevent massive greasy furballs from hopelessly clogging the sewage system. Your MUD district/Public Works Department will thank you as will your neighbors.Step 4:Rinse the cat using a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Ensure you keep the vinegar out of the cat's eyes unless you just like the feeling of having your flesh flayed by a very irate cat.Step 5:Lather, Rinse, Repeat using the baby shampoo/pet shampoo. Your feline is now soaking wet but clean. Use several large absorbant towels to both protect you from claw marks and dry the cat. Did I mention that Maine Coon Cats have very absorbant thick dense fur? Be prepared to work at this for some length of time, and even then, your cat may look like a very large and bloated drowned wharf rat, especially when your cat is as fat a mine is, (with a furry tail) for several hours afterwards.good luck and godspeed....A Photoshopped image that always seems to circulate with the moon/Mars hoax. (Via Facebook)
There is so much fake stuff on the Internet in any given week that we’ve grown tired of debunking it all. Fake Twitter fights. Fake pumpkin-spice products. Amazing viral video? Nope — a Jimmy Kimmel stunt! So, rather than take down each and every undeservedly viral story that crosses our monitors each week, we’re rounding them all up in a quick, once-a-week Friday debunk of fake photos, misleading headlines and bad studies that you probably shouldn’t share over the weekend. Ready? Here’s what was fake on the Internet this week:
1. Mars will not appear as big as the moon on Aug. 27 (… or any day ever). In the latest iteration of a chain e-mail hoax that’s been plaguing the Web since at least 2002, many a frenzied Facebook user shared a message this week claiming that — for one night only! — Mars would appear as clear and as large as the moon. This should already sound implausible to anyone who’s taken a ninth-grade science class: The moon is 240,000 miles away from Earth; Mars, even at the nearest part of its orbit, is more like 34 million miles away. (Here is a helpful diagram that shows what the two look like from those distances.)
Incidentally, we wouldn’t want it to get any closer, either: As NASA warned in 2005, during another iteration of this dumb rumor, “if Mars did come close enough to rival the Moon, its gravity would alter Earth’s orbit.”
2. The lamestream media did not “cover up” the racially motivated mass murder of nine white office workers. According to a new strain of memery popular with the #AllLivesMatter crowd, the national media has been suspiciously silent on the case of Omar Thornton, a black delivery driver who shot nine white co-workers at the Manchester, Conn., beer distributor where he worked. Presumably, this silence is a sign of the media’s anti-white racial bias. In reality, it’s a sign that the Hartford Distributors shooting happened five years ago, in 2010 — so we’ve stopped talking about it!
When Omar Thornton killed 9 whites for being white, the anti-white media were silent. #TeachingRacism #charelston pic.twitter.com/ntILdVmCXz — End Cultural Marxism (@genophilia) June 28, 2015
Just reading up on this worthless dirt bag Omar Thornton. Guess three amigos Jackson, Sharpton Obama missed this one #AllLivesMatter — Jeff Viening (@Rico_Tubbs11) August 9, 2015
If you tweet about white privilege and have never heard of Omar Thornton, you're the problem — Chalk'e (@ChalkGod) August 9, 2015
@AP why didn't you report on the actions f Omar Thornton #WhiteLivesMatter — Rick Curl (@sptswrtrrick) August 9, 2015
But the media doesn't show what Omar Thornton did lol — robin (@red_robin_96) August 8, 2015
The case was actually widely covered at the time: Here are stories from the Associated Press, the New York Times, USA Today and CNN. (Also, w/r/t the whole “media bias against white people” thing, research and history shows it’s quite the opposite.)
3. North Koreans are not on Tinder. One of the more hilarious parts of Tinder’s lengthy public meltdown Tuesday was the credulous assertion that the hook-up app was somehow revolutionizing romance in North Korea, a notoriously closed and isolated state. How, the good people of Twitter wondered, does a country without access to the global Internet find time to online date?
"hi is this tinder i can't swipe right on this phone help pls" @Tinder pic.twitter.com/dqUU1Uh6fq — darth™ (@darth) August 12, 2015
Welllll … they probably don’t, as Vox’s Max Fisher explained Aug. 12. For one thing, North Koreans aren’t allowed to have foreign smartphones. And the state-produced Android smartphone that the country does allow can’t run Tinder. The mix-up seems to come from one of two places: 1) Foreigners visiting North Korea could be running the app, apparently just to meet each other, and/or 2) foreigners abroad could falsely list North Korea as their location using Tinder’s “passport” feature.
4. Macy’s didn’t refuse to hire an applicant because she had served in Afghanistan. An old and long-debunked Instagram rumor was resurrected late last week when the Facebook page of Joe the Plumber posted it with the prompt to “share if you have more respect for our vets than Macy’s does.” (More than 330,000 people shared.) According to Army Specialist Kayla Reeves, who originally posted her story to Instagram in February 2014, a Macy’s manager told the 21-year-old during an interview that she wouldn’t know how to “approach people” or deal with difficult customers because she’d served overseas. At the time, Reeves believed her service had cost her the job.
That doesn’t seem to be the full story, though. In later statements to local news outlets and on its Facebook page, Macy’s claimed to have offered Reeves a job, which she didn’t take. That doesn’t mean a store manager didn’t make inappropriate statements during her interview, of course — but it would seem to indicate that the outrage is a little overblown.
5. A mother is not suing Netflix because her daughter got pregnant on a “Netflix and chill” date. First, a definition: “Netflix and chill” is basically teen-speak for sex. Over the course of the past three months, the phrase has achieved full-blown meme status. And the pranksters at Huzlers.com, never ones to miss out on a trend, published a fake news story this week claiming a St. Louis woman sued the streaming video service after her daughter had sex and got pregnant while watching it. (Quote: “It’s like Netflix intentionally makes their movies boring so that one can fall into this trap.”)
The story, like everything on Huzlers, is fake; that hasn’t stopped nearly 400,000 people from liking and sharing it. If nothing else, one hopes it will acquaint more parents with the meaning of “Netflix and chill” — if your kid says that’s what he or she is up to, you might wanna pay attention.
Did we miss any other notable fake stuff this week? E-mail caitlin.dewey@washpost.com — or stay tuned until next week, because surely some more shenanigans will go down in the meantime.
Liked that? Try these:BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary plans to impose a new tax on Internet data transfers, a draft 2015 tax bill submitted to parliament late on Tuesday showed, in a move that could hit Internet and telecoms providers and their customers hard.
The draft tax code contains a provision for Internet providers to pay a tax of 150 forints (37 pence) per gigabyte of data traffic, though it would also let companies offset corporate income tax against the new levy.
Within hours of the tax provision being published over 100,000 people joined a Facebook group protesting the levy, which they fear providers will pass on to them. Thousands said they would rally against the tax, which they said was excessive, outside the Economy Ministry on Sunday.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has in the last few years imposed special taxes on the banking, retail and energy sectors as well as on telecommunications providers to keep the budget deficit in check, jeopardising profits in some sectors of the economy and unnerving international investors.
Economy Minister Mihaly Varga defended the move on Tuesday, saying communications technology has changed the way people use telecom services and therefore the tax code needed to be changed. His ministry said it expects the tax to generate annual revenue of 20 billion forints.
However, fixed-line Internet traffic in Hungary reached 1.15 billion gigabytes in 2013 and mobile internet added 18 million gigabytes, which would generate revenue of 175 billion forints under the new tax according to consultancy firm eNet.
Traffic has probably grown since, eNet partner Gergely Kis told Reuters, so the tax could hit Internet providers by more than 200 billion forints, if left unaltered.
The entire internet service sector’s annual revenue came to 164 billion forints at the end of 2013, according to the Central Statistics Office (KSH).
The government’s low estimate of revenue suggests it will impose a cap on the amount of tax any single Internet provider will have to pay, and in view of the public reaction the ruling Fidesz party asked the government to set a maximum level on the tax payable by individuals.
“The Fidesz parliament group insists that the data traffic tax be paid by service providers, therefore we propose changes to the bill,” Fidesz parliament group leader Antal Rogan said in an emailed statement.
“We think it is practical to introduce an upper limit in the same fashion and same magnitude that applied to voice-based telephony previously.”
Under the current tax code private individuals’ tax payments are maximised at a monthly 700 forints ($2.9) while companies cannot pay more than 5,000 forints a month.
A government spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
STOCK HIT, INTERNET USERS UNITE
Analysts at Equilor Securities said on Wednesday that the Internet service market leader, Deutsche Telekom’s (DTEGn.DE) subsidiary Magyar Telekom MTEL.BU could expect to pay about 10 billion forints if there was no limit on the proposed tax.
“Although corporate taxes offset this amount Magyar Telekom has paid only 200-300 million forints worth of such tax in recent years because its parent company used tax breaks,” Equilor noted.
“The company could theoretically pass on the burden to its clients but that requires a business policy decision so it’s too early to say much about that. The tax could, however, boost uncertainty about a resumption of dividend payments at Magyar Telekom.”
Magyar Telekom recently said it would pay no dividend for 2014 in order to keep its debt in check.
The company said the “drastic” new tax threatened to undermine planned investments in broadband network infrastructure, and called for the proposal to be withdrawn. It said industry players were not consulted about the idea.
Magyar Telekom shares were down 2.9 percent at 1221 GMT, underperforming the blue chip index.BUX, which was down 0.3 percent.
The Association of IT, Telecommunications and Electronics Companies said in a statement on Wednesday that the tax would force them to hike prices, which would reflect in consumer prices in general and hinder economic growth.
“The real losers of the Internet tax are not the Internet companies but their clients, users, and all Hungarians who would now access the services they have used much more expensively, or in an extreme case, not at all,” the Association said.
Balazs Nemes, one of those who began the Facebook page protesting the move, said: “In more developed nations, broadband Internet access is considered part of human rights.
Related Coverage Hungary ruling party proposes cap on planned Internet tax - statement
“Only the darkest dictatorships want to control the Internet either financially or with raw power,” he said.
“We pay VAT, the Internet service providers pay corporate taxes, so what justifies making web use a luxury when we do basic things like arranging medical appointments, university applications or banking online?”5 years ago today, Eric introduced The Liberty Papers to the world. A blog that was once a general “classical liberal” home has significantly expanded, as those of us writing here have grown and changed. When the doors first opened, we generally followed a Constitutionalist small-l libertarian mindset in general, and as Eric pointed out, were not anarcho-capitalists or neolibertarians. Since, I think we’ve grown to span the range from anarchist to RLC-style Republican writing. Some contributors, for various reasons, have moved on. Some new folks have joined us in those 5 years. Through it all, though, we’ve worked hard to be a consistent voice in favor of liberty in all its forms.
In 5 years, we’ve written nearly 4,000 posts, had almost 33,000 comments, and have crossed the traffic thresholds of 1.5M unique visits and 2M page views. If you had told me personally back in 2005 that some of the posts I’d written would have reached as many people as they have, I’m not sure I’d have believed it. We’ve had contributors interviewed on cable news networks, had traffic spikes (described below) as we broke a major story picked up by both Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, and in general have either elated or enraged people on all sides of the aisle. Even more importantly, though, from meeting many of our contributors and from interacting with them over 5 years, I believe that everything that we’ve done at this site has been from the heart. We’re not about deference to conventional wisdom or spewing the party line — at various points I’ve seen almost every contributor to this site willing to slaughter the sacred cow if he thought it had to be done. Our readers won’t always agree with us — hell, we contributors don’t always agree with each other — but I know that intellectual honesty is never sacrificed. That fact itself has generated a great deal of respect from me for everyone who writes here, and I hope it has done so for those of you who visit as well.
Eric, the founder of The Liberty Papers, was able to get an exception to his no-blogging policy and sent along this message:
5 years, what a cool thing that is! I remember how upset I was by Kelo and how I felt the need to respond. I started the Life, Liberty and Property group (does it still exist?), I encouraged all of my friends online to have a new Tea Party (I’m pretty sure I was the original Tea Partier) and I started The Liberty Papers. Boy, this has gone way beyond what I thought it would do. This group has broken news stories, helped influence politics, been the lead item on Google News lord knows how many times and some how managed to keep going in the face of blog fatigue. I am very pleased that they put my post in their top posts of all time, but when I compare to some of the other folks that write here, I feel fairly lucky and rather humbled. I regret not being able to participate in this effort and all the other online efforts around liberty, smaller government and more individualism. But I made some choices about my career that ended up with employer desired limits on what I can say and write publicly. I’m looking foward to 5 more years ……. and perhaps one or two anonymous comments when the urge strikes!
So how does a blog such as this celebrate a milestone like this? We thought the way to remember 5 years is to highlight the best of those 5 years. Over the past few weeks, we’ve worked as a group to catalog some of the top posts we’ve written, and then balloted them off to build up a top-10 list. I’ve presented that below, and suggest you take a look there and through the archives. I’d also like to open the comments to contributors and commenters alike. Do you have a specific memory of something that’s occurred here, or a post you really enjoyed? Feel free to offer your thoughts.
It’s been a good five years. Many times through the past five years, we’ve talked about fulfilling one of Eric’s promises in this opening post — to take longer-form writing and expand it into more permanent articles called “Liberty Papers”. In generating the posts making up our internal ballot, we’ve done the hard work and identified most of the posts which fit that criteria. While I can’t say that I was able to devote the necessary time to actually have that ready by this anniversary, it’s on the way.
Top 10 Liberty Papers posts of the last 5 years:
#1. The Sovereign Individual – Eric: When Eric first developed the idea of this site and offered contributor spots to those of us in the wake of the Kelo ruling, one may ask why we’d have joined the site. This essay is an example of the writing and the depth of thought that convinced us all to follow behind Eric. Due to his own career aspirations (holding a job with too much public visibility to present controversial opinion) he had to cease blogging, and I hope you read this essay and realize that the general fight for liberty is worse off for his absence. Of all the posts in our balloting, this one is the only to achieve unanimous votes for inclusion.
#2. The Case Against an Article V Constitutional Convention – Doug Mataconis: Those of us in favor of liberty often look at our Constitution, see the way that it has slowly been eviscerated by the ever-wider interpretation of its clauses, and wonder whether we might be able to “plug the holes” in the document. Doug points out, powerfully yet pragmatically, why the conditions that led to even the imperfect document we have no longer exist. He points out all the reasons that simply demanding change is likely to result in something worse than we have today, and nothing like libertarians might expect.
#3. The Politics of Liberty – Chris: If you’re looking for a logical foundation for basically 90% of libertarian or classical liberal thought, you’re not going to do much better than this piece. One of the things that has always impressed me about Chris’ writing and thinking is his ability to boil complex issues down to their roots, and explain them from those roots up. His posts can sometimes be very long, but that is due to necessity — you can’t write a foundation for all libertarian thought in 800 words. Unlike me, though, he wastes very little space.
#4. Liberty and Racial Discrimination: Responding to David Duke – tarran: Running up to the 2008 election, Ron Paul was a lightning rod for racial tension. Much was due to his own tone-deafness on the subject, and much was due to many unsavory elements of society finding his room within his stances for economic liberty to fit their own discrimination. Because of this, many people associate Ron Paul’s libertarian leanings (and libertarianism in general) with being an apologist for racism and discrimination. tarran wades into the depths of controversy to defend libertarianism and destroy some arguments of David Duke.
#5. The Scales of Justice Need Rebalancing – Stephen Littau: The statue of the goddess of justice is often depicted blindfolded, with scales and a sword. The scales denote impartiality, the sword signifies the punishment, and the blindfold suggests that the facts shall be weighed without consideration to he who presents them. As we all, know, the practice does not live up to the ideal. Juries are swayed by appeal to authority, by character rather than evidentiary consideration, and by the fact that often the state can easily out-spend and out-defend their argument. Cases that should be tried in a court of law are tried in the court of public opinion, and the question of a “fair trial” stretches the limit of fair. Stephen blows the doors off the prosecution-friendly system we have, and even — note my previous statements about sacred cows — suggests that our civil liberties are better served by furnishing through public funds access to the same level of experts & attorneys for the defense as for the state. When the cost of error is stealing years of a man’s life, I find it hard to disagree.
#6. You Should Want What I Want – Quincy: Much of politics is simply human biology and social evolution run on a massive scale. We’re simple tribal creatures, trapped in our own minds and our own biases. Some people think that those who don’t share those biases are depraved and immoral. We call those people conservatives. Some people want to enshrine those biases into law. We call those people leftists [okay, and some conservatives]. Quincy lays out the basis for these people, while arguing why their impulses to ban everything in sight are completely incorrect, immoral, and incompatible with human individualism.
#7. Homeland Security document targets most conservatives and libertarians in the country – Stephen Gordon: I mentioned above the point at which we broke news catching the notice of both Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, and this is the post in question. DHS released a report basically claiming that everyone with a distrust of federal power, believing in limited government or states rights, and/or a fan of Ron Paul, might just be a domestic terrorist. No, I’m not exaggerating. Read it, and you’ll see why it was probably the highest traffic day we’ve ever had.
#8. On Tea Parties and Republican hypocrisy – Jason Pye: The Tea Party movement exploded on the scene in early 2009, and drew a lot of compliment and a lot of criticism across the ‘sphere — we offered both here. Both our compliments and our criticism did include the same point, as suggested by Jason in the post: “The involvement of politically polarizing figures will ruin and destroy the credibility of a good movement.” Jason’s post came early in the Tea Party movement, and yet with folks like Palin and Huckabee seizing “leadership” of the movement, it seems that he has been proven correct.
#9. Mercantilism, Fascism, Corporatism — And Capitalism – Brad Warbiany: One of the hardest political subjects to grasp is economics, largely due to constantly misused terminology. This post simply and directly defines the terms and explains how they’re misused.
#10. Libertarianism and Democracy (pt 1), Libertarianism and Utilitarianism (pt 2) – Brad Warbiany: These two posts became a bit of a two-part series based upon comments, but at this point they still fit together quite nicely. The first post of this pair is a response to a leftist who complained that libertarianism is anti-democratic. In short, one is a moral system and the other is a political system, making the statement in itself nonsensical. The second post compares libertarianism to utilitarianism, which is much more apt as both are moral systems. Those who support socialism often [misguidedly] do so for utilitarian ends. Crowing to them about liberty accomplishes little, because they are working from different first principles. Showing them that socialism isn’t the best utilitarian system is a much better tactic.
Honorable Mentions:
The below two posts advanced far enough in the voting to merit mention, falling just short of the above:
Ramos and Compean Should NOT be Pardoned – Stephen Littau: In the waning days of the Bush administration, conservatives argued a pardon for two Border Patrol agents who were convicted of shooting an unarmed illegal immigrant in the back while he fled resisting arrest, and then covered it up. Stephen pointed out quite well that even if the facts those advocating pardon suggested (that the fleeing immigrant was a drug smuggler), a pardon was STILL not warranted.
An Open Letter To Neal Boortz – Jason Pye: Neal Boortz, a prominent libertarian/Republican radio host and advocate of the FairTax, was actively pushing for Mike Huckabee in the 2008 elections. He did this, one must think, because of Huck’s support for the FairTax, as having listened to Boortz quite a bit, the two agree on very little else. Jason Pye, in intense detail, explained all the reasons why Mike Huckabee is and should be anathema to libertarians. Replete with enough supporting links to crash Internet Explorer (sorry, bad example, that’s not saying much), I think that this post is one that should be kept around in the run-up to 2012, when Huck may return.
That wraps it up. As mentioned, feel free to post your memories of the last five years down below in the comments.Statistics Lebanon has been appointed to create an opinion poll to determine which presidential candidate Lebanese Christians favor, the company confirmed Monday, according to Lebanese media reports
According to the report the polling involves 4,600 Christian citizens from different sects who will be chosen randomly, the reports said.
Statistics Lebanon would reportedly ask one question: “Who is your candidate for the presidency?”
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, the March 8 presidential candidate, had proposed carrying out the poll.
Aoun’s March 14 rival, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, has supported the idea.
The Lebanese parliament failed on June 24 and for the 25th time in a row to elect a president to replace Michel Suleiman whose term ended on May 25.
As in the past sessions the parliament was unable to reach a quorum because the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group and its ally Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc MPs boycotted the sessions.
The poll idea
Talk of the idea first emerged during a May 15 press conference held by Aoun, who put forth a number of proposals to overcome the presidential vacuum. Amid the proposals was a general public opinion poll to identify the person with the greatest Christian popular support.
Two weeks later, on June 2 Geagea, visited Aoun at his residence, to announce the signing of a memorandum of intent between the two, culminating a series of indirect negotiations between them after a quarter century of hostility and enmity.
During his visit to Aoun, Geagea was asked his opinion concerning Aoun’s proposals about the presidential vacuum. Geagea replied that he did not mind the holding of a Christian public opinion poll regarding that issue in particular. Thus, it seemed as if the two largest Christian factions were in agreement on the idea, giving the impression that the proposal was being seriously considered.
One of the individuals most involved in this effort is Lebanese parliamentarian and secretary general of Aoun’s parliamentary bloc, Ibrahim Kanaan, who for months represented Aoun in negotiations with Geagea and subsequently drafted the memorandum announced by the two parties according to Al-Monitor.
Kanaan indicated that the idea was always on the table but not necessarily as a procedure that could lead to electing a president. However, Aoun made it part of his official proposals for reaching a solution, allowing for the convention that the Lebanese president |
immediately check the Skimm or news on Facebook? If you like to be in the know, we’d like you to join us on the ECA Press team! Department of State 3 STATE-USA-ECA-53 Cultural diplomacy, Editing and proofreading, Storytelling/blogging/vlogging, Writing Your primary task will be to sort through news alerts each day and aggregate them into our online news portal. Each morning by 9:00 a.m. EST, we then send a short summary that you will write of the top foreign affairs, public diplomacy, and international education news to thousands of colleagues throughout the State Department, both in the United States and overseas, as well as our partners across the United States. It’s a great way to stay up-to-date on current topics in public diplomacy, both in the press and on social media. It only takes a few hours a day, and can be compiled the evening before, so the schedule is super flexible. If you are interested, you can also take on additional duties, like helping us write exchange participant highlights for the website. Join a team that has been creating people-to-people relations for more than 75 years! United States 2018-05-08 12:53:35 1
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Monitoring and Analyzing China’s Industrial Policy on Social Media Use Chinese and English social media to analyze trends in discussion of China’s industrial policy Chinese-Mandarin req'd; Analytical writing, Economic analysis, Research, Social media management, Writing 1 Monitoring and Analyzing China’s Industrial Policy on Social Media Use Chinese and English social media to analyze trends in discussion of China’s industrial policy Department of State 1 STATE-CHN-54 Chinese-Mandarin Analytical writing, Economic analysis, Research, Social media management, Writing Increased focus on industrial policies like Made in China 2025 is a critical piece in China’s economic strategy, and as such is constantly being discussed across social media – in both English and Chinese. Using Weibo, Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms, virtual interns will research how Made in China 2025 is discussed online, looking for trends from both thought leaders as well as general social media users. Interns will collect and analyze data and information, compiling them into a weekly report. The internship is a great opportunity for those with strong Chinese language and social media skills to understand such a pivotal part of China’s economic policy. BEIJING China 2018-06-08 05:00:22 1 ECON
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Adopt a U.S. Embassy Program Recruit the next generation of diplomats by inspiring high school students to learn first-hand about the formulation and implementation of foreign policy through a program being spearheaded by the Bur... Analytical writing, Social media management, Storytelling/blogging/vlogging, Writing 1 Adopt a U.S. Embassy Program Recruit the next generation of diplomats by inspiring high school students to learn first-hand about the formulation and implementation of foreign policy through a program being spearheaded by the Bureau of Human Resources called the "Adopt a U.S. Embassy Program." Department of State 1 STATE-USA-HR-3 Analytical writing, Social media management, Storytelling/blogging/vlogging, Writing The "Adopt a U.S. Embassy Program" provides an innovative platform to expose high school students to a pathway to a career in diplomacy through experiential learning and regular engagement with U.S. diplomats. Students get a backstage pass to diplomacy to inspire a new appreciation for public service and become thoughtful global citizens. High school student "Missions" will be paired with a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to carry out a school year-ling digital exchange via Digital Video Conferences. An Embassy (or Consulate) and its sister ‘Student Mission’ will connect at least once a month. U.S. diplomats share perspective on the goals and objectives they carry out on behalf of the U.S. government, highlight skills they use to be successful in leading their teams, discuss interagency cooperation, and educate the students about the importance of public service and its impact. The VSFS intern will assist the DIR for the Midwest in marketing the program to high schools across the U.S. as well as assist in monitoring the progress of the program which will include capturing success stories, lessons learned, as well as compile metrics. United States Ideal candidates for this internship have: Background in marketing and communications. Strong writing skills. Experience with program management and curriculum development is a plus. Social media skills a must. 2018-06-20 16:14:32 1
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Digital Storyteller to engage young Panamanian leaders and entrepreneurs Research/draft creative and engaging multimedia content (social media, videos, blogs, graphics, etc.) for engaging young leaders in Panama to help them create positive change in their communities. Spanish req'd; Cultural diplomacy, Data analysis, Data visualization, Design thinking, Editing and proofreading, Graphic design, Infographic design, Marketing, Research, Social media management, Storytelling/bloggin... 1 Digital Storyteller to engage young Panamanian leaders and entrepreneurs Research/draft creative and engaging multimedia content (social media, videos, blogs, graphics, etc.) for engaging young leaders in Panama to help them create positive change in their communities. Department of State 1 STATE-PAN-4 Spanish Cultural diplomacy, Data analysis, Data visualization, Design thinking, Editing and proofreading, Graphic design, Infographic design, Marketing, Research, Social media management, Storytelling/blogging/vlogging, Survey / polling design, Videography, Writing Our office manages the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Network. The Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) empowers entrepreneurs to strengthen their capacity to launch and advance their entrepreneurial ideas and effectively contribute to social and economic development in their communities. Primary project tasks include developing social media: --Research and draft multimedia content (social media posts, blog posts, videos, graphics/infographics, etc.) relevant to young Panamanian leaders, with a particular focus on leadership, professional development, and entrepreneurship as well as women’s empowerment. --Review network member submissions about their experiences and projects in the Google Form platform and draft social media and blog content highlights. PANAMA Panama The position requires the use of G Suite tools, such as Google Drive and Google Docs, and the Slack messaging platform. 2018-06-21 09:57:26 1 PAS
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Enhance Customer Service and Communications for HR Assignments The International/Domestic Support Division (IDSD) in the Human Resources Bureau at the Department of State is seeking help to improve communications and transparency with our clients within our agenc... Data visualization, Graphic design, Infographic design 1 Enhance Customer Service and Communications for HR Assignments The International/Domestic Support Division (IDSD) in the Human Resources Bureau at the Department of State is seeking help to improve communications and transparency with our clients within our agency. Department of State 1 STATE-USA-HR-5 Data visualization, Graphic design, Infographic design We would like you to help us improve our communications and transparency within our office and our clients by taking certain data sets and process flows from our Human Resources Bureau and design infographics and visuals to help tell a story of what to expect transferring to a new assignment. We will also be looking for assistance with drafting content for newsletters and our internal blog site. Interest in logistics, Human Resources, process flow, and communications are key. United States Interns should have communications, customer service understanding, and an interest in Human Resources and logistics. The International/Domestic Support Division (IDSD) is in the Human Resources Bureau at the U.S. Department of State. The HR Technicians in this Division are responsible for providing guidancGetty Images
When infants can’t sleep, it usually means Mom and Dad aren’t getting much shut-eye either. That, in turn, can double the risk of depressive symptoms in mothers, cause strife in marriages and result in costly trips to the pediatrician.
For wiped-out parents wondering whether or not to sleep-train their restless babies, a new study in Pediatrics has some good news: strategies that let babies cry it out for limited periods while teaching them to sleep on their own can help families sleep better in the short term without causing long-term psychological damage in kids or weakening the bond between babies and parents.
The study looked at two sleep-training methods known as controlled comforting and camping out, both of which let babies cry it out for short amounts of time. Controlled comforting requires the parent to respond to their child’s cries at increasingly longer intervals to try to encourage the baby to settle down on her own. In camping out, the parent sits in a chair next to the child as he learns to fall asleep; slowly, over time, parents move the chair farther and farther away, until they are out of the room and the infant falls asleep alone.
(MORE: A History of Kids and Sleep: Why They Never Get Enough)
While neither strategy is as extreme as letting babies cry all night by themselves, they have been criticized over concerns that they may cause long-term emotional or psychological harm in babies, interfere with their ability to manage stress or cripple their relationship with their parents.
The new study by Australian researchers involved 326 children who had parent-reported sleep problems at 7 months. Half of the babies were put in the sleep-training group, in which parents learned helpful bedtime routines as well as the controlled-comforting or camping-out technique (parents could choose which strategy they wanted to use), and half were put in a control group that did not use sleep-training. The researchers followed up with the participants and their parents five years later. (By the study’s end, about 30% of families had dropped out.)
By age 6, the researchers found no significant differences between the kids in either group in terms of emotional health, behavior or sleep problems. In fact, slightly more children in the control group had emotional or behavioral problems than in the sleep-trained group.
Researchers also found no differences in mothers’ levels of depression or anxiety, or in the strength of parent-child bonds between families who had used sleep-training and those who hadn’t.
(MORE: Why Sleep Is the Ultimate Parental Bugaboo: Go the F— to Sleep Offers a Clue)
Meanwhile, earlier data from the study show that sleep-training does work: babies learn to go to sleep easier at bedtime and stay asleep longer at night. Based on the findings, the authors conclude that sleep-training is safe and effective, and call for an increase in parent education about these methods as well as more training for health specialists to recommend the procedures.Tesla antenna power visualization, powered by Verold Studio + three.js
(checkout the visualization here)
It takes two antennas to unlock your car’s doors remotely: a transmitter antenna inside the vehicle and a receiver antenna inside the handheld controller. Both antennas communicate in a low frequency.
The production for the new Tesla Model X is starting soon, and Premo has designed the antennas that will be installed in this model. Each car will have five to six transmitter antennas: one in the driver’s door, one in the passenger’s door, one in the bumper, one in the trunk and one more in the interior.
Traditional antennas work in low frequency (125/134 kHz) but for highest precision and low susceptibility to low frequency noise, Premo has adopted a 20kHz technology. To test the antenna prototypes, the Premo QA team built a custom testing platform to measure the strength of the controller’s signal around the car.
The original graph that Premo was using to visually represent the data from the measurements looked like this.
Can’t figure out what these stacked slopes mean? We don’t blame you. The main reason why this render of a 3D graph is hard to read is that there is no correlation between the real 3D space where the measurements were taken and the 3D space represented by the axis of this graph.
RSSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indication. The experiment basically consisted of measuring the RSSI value up to 10k different points in space. So, each measurement had four parameters: RSSI value, and X, Y, Z coordinates. Each slope in the image represents all the measurements for a given Z axis value. The peak of the slope represents the highest RSSI value and the bottom represents the lowest.
The problem is you can’t do much better with traditional graph generating tools. In this case, you either distort space like this graph does or end up getting a solid block where only the outer measurements are visible.
But fortunately, if you are a JS developer, you can use three.js to generate more realistic 3D graphs. Combine that with the power of Verold Studio, and you’ll be creating mindblowing 3D graphs sooner than you think.
We’ve used Verold Studio to help Premo showcase their new antennas at Electronica 2014. The result is an interactive application that runs in your browser. And it looks like this.
How we made it
Unlike the original graph, this scene is self-explanatory. Each point in the cloud represents one measurement. As the legend indicates, colour is used to represent the strength of the RSSI value. The highest values are purple and the lowest ones are red.
Thanks to Verold Studio, we were able to implement this simulation in just a few hours. The first thing we did was import the 3D model of the car and tweak the materials to make it look as realistic as possible. On this alternative version of the project, we modified some meshes to open the car’s doors.
The next step was setting up the scene. This included applying a ground texture and setting up the scene lighting.
Once the model and the scene were ready, we set up the camera. Premo wanted the camera to automatically orbit the car. There is a ‘Camera Controls’ component in our Asset Library that does exactly that, so we didn’t have to write any code. We just downloaded the component and attached it to the scene. This component allows users to stop the automatic rotation (clicking anywhere on the scene) and take control of the camera.
The next thing we had to do was transform the test data into a 3D graph. For that we used Verold Studio’s Code Editor. We had a CSV file with all the raw data in a table and downloaded it with a standard XMLHttpRequest. Once we had the position and strength for each data point, it was simply a matter of creating billboard particles and placing them in the scene, next to the car. The strength of each data point was translated into a colour for each particle and made slightly transparent to give it an ethereal quality.
We’ve been using web technology all the way, so publishing the project and integrating it in a larger application or just adding some custom UI is quite easy. In this case, the last thing we needed to do was include a title, some logos and the graph legend, so we grabbed the code from the project and added some HTML/CSS using a code editor.
This project is just one example of the potential of three.js + Verold Studio for data visualization. Join the Verold community and start creating your own simulations today!
(This post was originally posted on the Verold blog by Carlos Sánchez, our lead designer and the developer behind this awesome project)Hillary Clinton has tonight stood on a stage with Al Gore to remind Floridians – and anyone else tuned in online – that climate change is a clear and present threat to the US and the world.
Outlining what a Clinton administration would do to tackle the phenomenon, she sought to underline just how different her views were from her opponent, a man who almost makes it his hobby to ignore scientific data of any kind.
“The Paris agreement is our last, best chance to solve the climate crisis,” Clinton told the audience in Miami. “Trump wants to cancel it.”
Reminding the audience that Trump claims climate change is a Chinese hoax, she said: “We can’t risk putting a climate denier in the White House.”
“Our next president [must] step up to the challenge, to protect our planet, to grow our clean energy economy.”
She reaffirmed her focus on building new solar and wind power plants, and retrofitting the electrical infrastructure to make sure clean energy sources can efficiently connect to the grid. Clinton also said that she hopes to cut oil consumption by a third.
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“If you need additional convincing, just remember what happened this week,” she added, making a pointed reference to Hurricane Matthew.
This powerful hurricane robbed several Americans of their lives shortly after it killed around 1,000 people in Haiti. Clinton claimed it was likely to have been more destructive thanks to climate change, and although there is no direct data to support that just yet, she’s almost certainly right.
Sea surface temperatures are indeed at all-time highs, and studies show that this is making powerful hurricanes and typhoons increasingly more destructive. Although most fear the terrifying wind speeds, it’s actually the storm surges that hurricanes bring that kill the most people through drowning or building collapse.
While cutting down on America’s fossil fuel consumption, she also said she wants to build better flood defenses against these increasingly potent hurricanes.
“Let’s focus on what’s really important in this election. This is what I want you to hear and understand,” Clinton declared. “One in eight homes in Florida could be underwater by the end of the century.”
Hurricane Matthew unleashed most of its fury on Haiti. NASAThe latest release of Phaser is now ready, with some great new features for your games.
Article by Richard Davey. Posted on 22nd Apr 2016. @photonstorm
We're pleased to announce the release of Phaser 2.4.7. This version encompasses another raft of fixes, updates and new features. Many hours of hard work were put in to diligently working through the GitHub issues list, and fixing and closing down as many issues as we possibly could.
My thanks to all those who contributed to this release, either by way of telling us about an issue, providing a fix, or just testing out the release candidate.
There are a few internal changes in 2.4.7, nothing that breaks the public-facing API, but if you do some deep-dive work in Phasers guts then you may want to check out the change log, and commit history, to be sure it doesn't impact your own code.
We are now splitting our time between development of Lazer, and Phaser 2.5. We decided, after much discussion with the community, that we owed it to Phaser to go out on a high, so 2.5 will be the version in which we do just that. After this Phaser will enter the LTS (long-term support) stage of its life.
This is when we impose a feature freeze, locking the API down and responding only to bugs. This is a necessary step to allow us to focus on Lazer while still ensuring Phaser is given the support it deserves.
Read MoreSheffield can rightly be considered the Steel Capital of the United Kingdom, with a history of steel production that dates to the early 19th century. Although it has been reduced over the last 50 years, due to offshore competition, the city is very proud of its heritage — especially the guys at Field Cycles, whose steel frames are forging a reputation for innovation and very vibrant colour schemes.
Each frame produced by the Sheffield-based team has been a surprise, whether it’s a girder-forked 29er MTB or the eye-searingly bright paintwork on their Classics road bike. Their latest is no different, built for a mate who gave them carte blanche to push the boundaries of their creativity. This street-track bike is the result, decorated with one of the most striking coast of paint we’ve seen for a while.
That top tube is actually an oval Reynolds tandem boom tube, which challenged the mitering skills of Harry Harrison, Field’s builder. It makes for a solid front triangle, which tapers into a slender seat stay arrangement, adorned with a tiny bridge etched with the Field logo. Fillet-brazed joints produce a seamless surface for the graphics to be applied to, taken care of by their partners, CROMAWORKS.
These photos were taken by Tom Smith, Field Cycles’ designer, at a significant location: It’s the site of Sheffield Forgemasters, manufacturers of some of the world’s largest steel castings and forgings, for applications like nuclear reactors and the Royal Navy’s Astute submarines. The scale of Forgemasters and Field may be slightly different but the passion for quality steel products is shared by both.
PS: A gorgeous Field Cycles roadie is Miss January in the 2014 Cycle EXIF Custom Bicycle Calendar. Make every month special by ordering yours here.Well, the time is almost upon us. As I start writing this, it is currently 4:20 PM (I won’t even make a joke about that), and the time is ticking down until we ring in the new year with people shooting off fireworks or trying out their shotguns. I look forward to it, really.
This time last year, I was preparing to spend the day with my niece. We had all the movies laid out, ready to watch them. It was going to be a night of Anastasia and She-Ra. We were going to have SO much fun. What really happened though, was we fell asleep and she woke me up at midnight because she heard a big BOOM outside. We missed watching the ball drop-oops. That’s not something I like to do. In the last three years, that’s kinda been our thing. We watch the ball drop together and it’s usually just her and I, celebrating a new year and talking about what we’d like to see change/happen in the next 365 days.
It is now 4:24. I’m being slow with my posting today, but mostly because I’m looking for gifs to represent my emotions. Hey, I love gifs and if you’re not familiar with them, make them one of your resolutions. EXPRESS YOURSELF THROUGH GIFS!
I’ve thought a lot about what I’d like to change/see happen in 2014. I guess it’s the usual. I always have that goal to QUIT SMOKING and LOSE A FEW POUNDS. However, in 2012, I did successfully break the habit of biting my nails! I’m rather proud of that one…but I do have other goals, too.
I will continue chasing my dream of writing. One of these days I’m going to tackle that sucker and I’ll become a well known author with lots of fans (I have 592 right now. Last year I only had 67!), and my books won’t be able to sit on the shelves for more than a day.
Okay, so facing reality, I probably won’t reach JK ROWLING status, but I’ll be that woman from Kentucky who made it happen. I was so happy to watch Jimmy Rose chase his dreams this year, and one of his quotes stuck with me.
“I wanna be the one that says I chased it.”
That’s who I want to be, too. I don’t want to be on my deathbed thinking “what if?”. So that’s why I jump and I don’t look down. I don’t look back. I just keep jumping, no matter how far up I am, and one of these days, I’m going to land in the right spot and it will be glorious.
I could get super emotional and ramble on for the next twenty minutes about what writing means to me, and how happy I will be when I finally embrace my dream at the end of the rainbow (it’s 4:36 now), but I can’t and that’s really not the point of my post.
2014 should be the year of dreams coming true for everyone. No matter what it is that you want to do, this is going to be your year to make it happen. You cannot simply sit back and wait for your dreams to come true. You need to chase after that little bugger and tackle its hind-end to the ground!
If you have a crush and you’ve been afraid to act on it, don’t be. Tell him/her exactly how you feel and see what happens. The worst they can do is tell you no. I wish I would’ve listened to that advice a lot sooner.
If you want to lose 10 pounds, do it. Eat healthy, sleep more, and go for walks. Did you know the biggest woman in the world lost 25 lbs simply by clapping her hands together? Go watch some Richard Simmons videos and get out there, Girl/Guy! Shake your thang!
If you want to write a short story to publish for others to read, do it. Don’t be afraid. Someone out there will love it and you just don’t realize that yet. WRITE WHAT YOU LOVE. Don’t write for others. Write for YOU. That’s the best advice I can give you.
Get a new pet. Go rescue a dog or cat from a pet shelter and give them a new lease on life-it’ll be a new lease on life for you, too.
Get a haircut.
Visit loved ones more. They may not be here for 2015 and that’s just the facts.
Life is too short. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Live for today, always.
Be kind to others. You have no idea what they’re going through and your smile may make a difference for them.
Laugh often. It is the best medicine, you know.
Smile.
Love.
Live.
This is the advice I can offer to you. This is the advice I can only hope you will take to heart. Yes, the new year is about changes, but we have to be willing to change with it if we truly want to see a difference.
Pray.
I don’t know your religion and I surely am not forcing mine upon you, but no matter who you pray to, pray often and pray for goodness. Pray selflessly and whole-heartedly.
I hope 2014 is the year you’ve been waiting for, because I have a feeling it’s the year I’ve been looking forward to my whole life.
AdvertisementsWith Fading Memory, Terry Pratchett Revisits 'Carpet People'
toggle caption Rob Wilkins/Courtesy of Clarion
Sir Terry Pratchett is one of Britain's best-selling authors. His science-fiction series Discworld has sold millions of copies worldwide. Pratchett is incredibly prolific — since his first novel was published in 1971, he has written on average two books every year.
But in 2007, 59-year-old Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. As a result, Pratchett can no longer read.
"When you read, I'm sure you don't realize that your eyes are going backwards and forwards and to this place and that place. Mine don't do that," he says.
Yet he continues to write, using dictation software. His latest book, The Carpet People, was originally published when Pratchett was just 17 years old. As the author struggled with memory loss, he went back to the story and re-edited it line by line. The new edition is being released in the U.S. this fall.
Pratchett spoke to NPR's Arun Rath about his long career, his approach to science-fiction and his memory.
Interview Highlights
On deciding to re-release The Carpet People
There's always going to be a difficulty here. An author writes a book, and that's the book at that point. And if the author writes the book again, then somehow something has gone wrong, if you see what I mean.
On the book's main characters
If they were too different from us, we can't sympathize with them in any way, I should imagine. It's very straight-forward. They're very small, they're in a carpet, and that's it. But they don't know they're in a carpet. To them it's like this great big forest.
On writing using dictation software
The style comes from the computer, in a sense. I give it the words, I watch them come down, and if they seem to me to be the right words there, I think I'm on a winner. It really isn't a problem. I'm a bit of a techy anyway, so talking to the computer is no big deal. Sooner or later, everybody talks to their computers — they say, "You bastard!"
On continuing to write as he loses his memory
Siren voices tell me, "You don't have to keep going on." And then you think, "I'm a writer. What do I do? Sit there watching my wife clean up?" I don't know. I like being a writer. The book I'm writing right now is gonna be a good one, I believe. If it gets really bad, get the little men to go into the flying saucer and take me away from it all.A list of the top 30 most attended IIHF World Championships (out of 76 total). The 2015 tournament, in Prague and Ostrava (Czech Republic), holds the record for overall attendance and the record for average spectators per game. Not included are the Olympic tournaments, which though they are run as an IIHF tournament, have been separate from the World Championships since 1972.
Despite reluctance in some circles to have such a tournament in Olympic years, three of the five most attended World Championships overall have taken place on years that coincided with the holding of a best-on-best tournament, either the Olympics (2010 and 2014) or the World Cup of Hockey (2004).
It should be considered that because of a changing pool-size of teams through the years, the number of games contested at the IIHF World Championships can range from 32 in 1979 to 64 in 2012 and beyond, therefore "attendance per game" is an equally important statistic to measure the success of a given tournament. Nine tournaments have had averages over 9,000 spectators per game, and five have topped the 10,000 mark.
In an effort to broaden the sport's appeal, the number of top division teams was increased from a mere 8 (as late as 1991) to 16 (starting in 1998), leading to an influx of lesser teams that could negatively impact average attendance. To combat this, some organizers have aggressively pushed the sale of day passes that bundle popular games with less sought-after ones.
There are three countries with four of the top 30 most attended tournaments: Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland, and three countries with three of the top 30: Austria, Switzerland and Germany. There are 13 separate nations who have hosted the championships at least once, and are represented on the top 30.
List [ edit ]
† = indicates teams who won the championship as hosts
See also [ edit ]First, do no harm with your smartphones.
Photo by Jupiter Images/Getty Images
Visiting the doctor can be … well, awkward. No one enjoys donning an onionskin gown and waiting in a chilly room for a pelvic exam or prostate probing and testicular palpation. Perhaps a colonoscopy will be performed or a catheter placed. Fresh humiliations lie at every turn and within every orifice.
Medical emergencies thrust us into even less dignified circumstances, without the luxury of a mental rehearsal. But what’s the worst that can happen? The nurses notice you haven’t kept up with your manscaping? Dr. McDreamy has to cut away your shapewear to plug a sucking chest wound? Totally worth it.
We shake off these humbling experiences the moment we leave the physician’s office or hospital, confident that what happened behind the privacy curtain will stay there. But now we have a different kind of exposure to worry about: becoming some doctor’s 140-character case study or the latest trophy on his Facebook wall. That’s what happened to a 23-year-old model admitted to Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital last June for excessive alcohol consumption. An emergency department physician allegedly took photos of her in which she appears anxious and disheveled. He’s accused of having posted the unbecoming shots on Facebook and Instagram.
In a similar incident in August, an off-duty employee of Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., photographed an attractive female patient in the emergency department and posted the image on Facebook, with the blandly pervy caption “I like what I like.” He and several colleagues implicated in the misconduct are now free to seek upskirt opportunities elsewhere.
About 30 percent of state medical boards report having fielded complaints of “online violations of patient confidentiality,” according to a recent survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. More than 10 percent had handled an episode like the one at Northwestern Memorial, involving what the survey refers to as “online depiction of intoxication.” A study by QuantiaMD reports that 13 percent of physicians admit to having used public online platforms to hash out specific cases with fellow practitioners. Names are withheld, but providers may inadvertently supply other details that allow patients to be identified.
The immediacy and presumed anonymity of online sharing make it easy for a patient to become a doctor or nurse’s chief complaint. According to the Federation of State Medical Boards, one patient took offense at a blog entry in which a physician branded another patient “lazy” and “ignorant” for repeatedly failing to control her glucose level. The FSMB cites this grievance as an example of how “use of social media and social networking may undermine a proper physician-patient relationship and the public trust.”
A Missouri doctor’s criticism of a habitually tardy mother-to-be outraged many patients but drew sympathy from her colleagues at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center: “So I have a patient who has chosen to either no-show or be late (sometimes hours) for all of her prenatal visits, ultrasounds, and NSTs,” the OB-GYN fumed to her Facebook friends. “She is now 3 hours late for her induction. May I show up late to her delivery?” The doctor also revealed that the patient had previously had a stillbirth.
At University Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., an administrative employee resigned in December 2009 after tweeting a water-cooler rumor she’d heard involving then-Gov. Haley Barbour. The tweet intimated that the hospital had once opened after hours, at taxpayers’ expense, to accommodate an exam at the governor’s convenience. Federal privacy regulations are so strict that without explicit permission, it’s a violation even to disclose that a person has received care at a particular facility.
A lack of compassion sometimes spawns disregard of patients’ privacy rights. At Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center in Lake Geneva, Wis., two nurses were terminated in February 2009 for posting the X-ray of a patient who had presented for treatment with a sexual device lodged in his rectum. The nurses, who apparently had no other duties to attend to, snapped cellphone pics on the sly and shared at least one of the images on Facebook.
When online privacy breaches first began to occur, many institutions had no applicable rules governing the use of electronic content. At Stony Brook University Medical Center on Long Island, development of such a policy quickly became a priority in January 2010, when a photo began to circulate showing a medical student posing with a dissected corpse in the anatomy lab. (Federal privacy protection does, in fact, extend to deceased people under most circumstances.)
Lots of unauthorized disclosures can be attributed to technological naiveté or sheer carelessness. A piece in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology points out that many social media sites have followed the lead of Google Plus in simplifying privacy settings, allowing even techno-rubes to shield their conversations from public view. Yet a recent article in Teaching and Learning in Medicine laments that 62 percent of medical students and 67.5 percent of residents on Facebook neglect to modify the default visibility preferences.
Despite the flak over these and other indiscretions, a recent Harris Interactive poll indicates that 79 percent of Americans trust health care professionals to safeguard sensitive information. Providers will have to be more cautious than ever, though, as new crowdsourcing apps are introduced. The collaborative nature of popular platforms like Sermo may tempt clinicians to volunteer confidential details about their patients. Other apps use crowdsourcing to generate shared medical image databases. Figure 1 automatically detects and blocks out faces on uploaded images but relies on users themselves to obscure tattoos, moles, and other distinguishing features.
Some doctors have misgivings about employing social media in the service of patient care: “What if one finds something that is not warm and fuzzy?” frets resident physician Haider Javed Warraich in a post this week on the New York Times’ Well blog. Despite his reservations, Warraich defends the practice, pointing out that doctors have used online intel to gauge suicide risk, discover relevant undisclosed criminal histories, and contact the families of unresponsive patients.
Social networking was also helpful on the day of the Boston Marathon bombing. Doctors near the finish line tweeted accounts of the attack to local emergency personnel six minutes before official announcements were made, giving staff critical time to prepare for the arrival of victims.
But until the utility of online sharing in health care contexts becomes obvious to hospital operatives, they’ll continue to view it the way the rest of us regard twerking—if we ignore it long enough, surely it will just go away. Nearly 60 percent of the health care professionals surveyed by InCrowd report having no social media access in clinical settings at work.
The American Nurses Association, American Medical Association, and other trade groups have tried to soften administrators’ hard line by setting standards for social media use in the workplace. They’ve published guidelines packed with nuggets like “Pause before you post” and “Be aware that any information [you] post on a social networking site may be disseminated (whether intended or not) to a larger audience.” These insights will undoubtedly be useful to CompuServe subscribers. In addition, the AMA urges its members to maintain separate personal and professional identities, a strategy that’s likely to work as well for doctors as it has for Anthony Weiner.
In 1999 the California HealthCare Foundation issued a report titled “The Future of the Internet in Health Care: Five-Year Forecast,” by Robert Mittman and Mary Cain of the Institute for the Future. Some of the authors’ predictions fell short—notably, they failed to anticipate The Google. (“Weaknesses in Web browser and search engine technologies,” they observe, “will limit the appeal of the Internet to health care providers.”) But overall, the forecast proved remarkably prescient. Its conclusions about online privacy foreshadow the equilibrium most contemporary patients and providers have reached: “[T]here will inevitably be several well-publicized incidents of people being harmed by public releases of their health care information—those exceptional cases will shape the debate,” the report predicts. “[I]n the end, people and organizations will have to learn to live with a less-than-perfect combination of technologies and policies.” Even health care executives must eventually relent and entrust doctors and nurses with the weighty responsibility of unfettered social media access. For now, their duties will be limited to saving lives.
This article is part of Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, visit the Future Tense blog and the Future Tense home page. You can also follow us on Twitter.- Advertisement -
Simon Johnson, writing for The Atlantic Online, puts forth the argument that America's economy |
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1006000000 392523501 1007000000 392960211 1008000000 393390220 1009000000 393812259 1010000000 394216951 1011000000 394652671 1012000000 395071884 1013000000 395536207 1014000000 395989006 1015000000 396346675 1016000000 396648525 1017000000 397078802 1018000000 397483845 10190000In my previous post - downloading youtube videos with a Perl one-liner - I used Perl's special variable $_. This is just one of many Perl's special variables.
One day last year I decided to go through all the Perl's special variables carefully so I could become a better Perl programmer and make a cheat sheet which I could always keep on my desk and look things up when needed.
As I explained in the previous cheat-sheet post (awk's cheat sheet), the cheat sheets are for learning things better and not doing things blindly and looking the stuff each time up. Here is another example why cheat sheets are helpful - suppose you programmed for 5 hours and then sat back in your chair to relax for 10 minutes. You could relax by taking cheat sheet in your hands and just scan through it and remember a thing or two.
This cheat sheet contains all the perl's special variables, their description and examples where possible.
It can be nicely printed on one sheet of paper by having two pages per side. Two on one side and two on other. That's how I have printed it.
Available as usual in.doc and.pdf formats.
Download Perl's Special Variable Cheat Sheet
PDF document: perl.predefined.variables.pdf
MS Word (.doc): perl.predefined.variables.doc
See you next time!SEATTLE -- Pot-infused bacon? There's a shop for that.
A Seattle butcher said he's found a way to marry marijuana and meat - by feeding pot plants to pigs.
"We're able to make anything you can imagine," said William von Schneidau, who runs BB Ranch Meats in the heart of Pike Place Market. "Somebody requests something and we make it, and make some extra of it, and see if people like it."
Von Schneidau, who has long experimented with meat - even feeding vodka to hogs in the past - said he can't remember how he came up with the idea to feed pot to pigs.
"I don't smoke, but I guess it's foggy," he said, chuckling.
He partnered with a local medical marijuana grower earlier this year to take the remnants of pot plants and feed them to swine on a ranch in Snohomish.
"People have been asking all these questions. 'Do you think (the pigs are) feeling it? Are they stoned?' and I'm like, 'Wait a minute. Let's back up here for a second.' All we're trying to do is to help the local ranchers and to figure out some ways to shorten the carbon footprint," von Schneidau said.
The shop sold four pigs in various forms earlier this year, including with pot-infused bacon. The meat "tasted savory," von Schneidau said, adding that he has a small amount leftover that he's using to make into prosciutto.
A few feet from his store - in front of the famous, glowing Pike Place Market sign - tourists stood by another pig Tuesday, posing for pictures and putting money into its bank.
"It seemed like a good cause," said one visitor from Philadelphia, as she placed coins into Rachel the Pig, the Market mascot which raises money for charity.
When asked about the other pig at the nearby butcher shop, she laughed.
"Hash pigs! Let's give more money," she said, chuckling. When asked about what the pot pigs might taste like, she joked, "I'll take the fifth."
"We haven't fed them any sour pickles yet," von Schneidau said about future possibilities, "but we'll see what happens."Audi and Porsche have been pulled into Volkswagen’s emission-cheating scandal. The US environmental regulator has broadened its investigation and found that the Porsche Cayenne and five Audi models also have software cheating federal pollution standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended its list of affected vehicles to include a new 2015 Porsche Cayenne and the yet-to-come 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L, and Q5. It also includes the 2014 Volkswagen Touareg.
“The NOV [notice of violation] alleges that VW developed and installed a defeat device in certain VW, Audi and Porsche light duty diesel vehicles equipped with 3.0 liter engines for model years (MY) 2014 through 2016 that increases emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) up to nine times EPA’s standard,” the EPA said in a statement on Monday.
The newly-issued NOV covers an “unknown” number of 2016 vehicles.
The EPA also claimed that the German car-maker had installed illegal “defeat devices” on approximately 10,000 or more vehicles which have been sold in the US since the 2014 model year.
“VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “All companies should be playing by the same rules.”
The EPA’s new notice of violation stems from an investigation that followed its first NOV, issued for Volkswagen’s 2.0 liter engines in September. At the time, the EPA reported that VW vehicles contained emissions cheating software and launched its investigation.
Volkswagen cheated on emission tests with tricky software - EPA http://t.co/EBnwLF3pSppic.twitter.com/i5Nha5I47E — RT America (@RT_America) September 19, 2015
The US used updated testing procedures specifically designed to detect potential defeat devices as it probed all 2015 and 2016 light duty diesel models available in America.
“That testing led directly to the alleged violations covered under today’s NOV,” the EPA said.
However, Volkswagen has denied that defeat software was installed in the 3-liter V6 diesel power units.
“Volkswagen AG wishes to emphasize that no software has been installed in the 3-liter V6 diesel power units to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner,” the company said in a statement.
It also said that Volkswagen will “cooperate fully” with the US regulator to clarify this matter “in its entirety.”
Volkswagen to start worldwide recalls in January http://t.co/4FUc58jFAMpic.twitter.com/lMkWxJaqSc — RT (@RT_com) October 7, 2015
Earlier in October, the carmaker said that, in January 2016, it would start recalling 11 million cars that had been equipped with diesel engines affected by the emission scandal.
Criminal investigations were opened by German, US and French authorities after Volkswagen admitted to selling cars that manipulated emission test results worldwide.Outspoken gay marriage supporter Brad Pitt has shut down rumors he is feuding with his ultra-conservative mother over their drastically different political views.
Jane Pitt stunned the movie star’s fans earlier this year when she penned an article for her local Missouri newspaper, The Springfield News-Leader, urging her fellow Christians not to vote for President Barack Obama in November’s election, because he supported same-sex marriage.
The piece quickly went viral and led many fans of the writer’s son to question whether Jane’s opinions negatively affected her relationship with Pitt and her daughter-in-law-to-be Angelina Jolie, who are both big supporters of gay rights and Obama.
Now the actor reveals the trio get along just great and respect each others’ beliefs, although he confesses they do sometimes talk things out over the dinner table.
He tells People magazine, “It’s a nice, very open discussion. We grew up with a specific set of rules and challenging
those rules has never been a closed door. Certainly our views can evolve…
“I come from a Christian family, and (gay marriage) goes against Christian beliefs, as far as what’s going to get you into heaven or not. My argument is, that may be as you believe, and it may be true in the end – I don’t think so – but let your God make that call.
“In the meantime, we live in a country where everyone should be treated equally, so let’s treat everyone equally.”Again going back to the PBS source, pointed earlier on this blog.
Ok now here is a must read interview of Milton Friedman. It talks about Friedman’s views of markets, quantity theory of money, Friedman’s rejection of Keynes theory of great depression, though he had great respect for Keynes the economist, on Nixon, on Ronald Reagan, his role in Pinochet’s Chile etc etc.
First the topic of the post:
INTERVIEWER: On a personal level, what contact did you have with him?
MILTON FRIEDMAN: With Keynes? The only contact I had with him was to submit an article to theEconomic Journal, which he was editor of, which he refused and rejected. I had no personal contact with him other than that.
INTERVIEWER: What did the rejection say?
MILTON FRIEDMAN: Well, it was an article that was critical of something that A.C. Pigou, a professor in London and at Cambridge, had written. And Keynes wrote back that he had shown my article to Pigou. Pigou did not agree with the criticism, and so he had decided to reject it. The article was subsequently published by the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Pigou wrote a rejoinder to it.
🙂 So there was just one piece of talk between the two great great economists!!
And what about the respect for Keynes the economist?
INTERVIEWER: When did you begin to break with Keynes and why? What were the first doubts you had?
MILTON FRIEDMAN: Very shortly after the war, when I came to the University of Chicago and started working on money and its relation to the economic cycle. I cannot tell you exactly when, but very shortly thereafter, as I studied the facts, they seemed to me to contradict what Keynesian theory would call for.
INTERVIEWER: What was it that you studied that made you begin to feel that this didn’t add up?
MILTON FRIEDMAN: Let me emphasize [that] I think Keynes was a great economist. I think his particular theory in The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money is a fascinating theory. It’s a right kind of a theory. It’s one which says a lot by using only a little.
So it’s a theory that has great potentiality. And you know, in all of science, progress comes through people proposing hypotheses which are subject to test and rejected and replaced by better hypotheses. And Keynes’s theory, in my opinion, was one of those very productive hypotheses—a very ingenious one, a very intelligent one. It just turned out to be incompatible with the facts when it was put to the test. So I’m not criticizing Keynes. I am a great admirer of Keynes as an economist, much more than on the political level. On the political level, that’s a different question, but as an economist, he was brilliant and one of the great economists
Fascinating again.
What is particularly interesting is the interview mention of something called Mont Pelerin meeting. The website of the society says:
After World War II, in 1947, when many of the values of Western civilization were imperiled, 36 scholars, mostly economists, with some historians and philosophers, were invited by Professor Friedrich von Hayek to meet at Mont Pelerin, near Montreux, Switzerland, to discuss the state and the possible fate of liberalism (in its classical sense) in thinking and practice.
The group described itself as the Mont Pelerin Society, after the place of the first meeting. It emphasised that it did not intend to create an orthodoxy, to form or align itself with any political party or parties, or to conduct propaganda. Its sole objective was to facilitate an exchange of ideas between like-minded scholars in the hope of strengthening the principles and practice of a free society and to study the workings, virtues, and defects of market-oriented economic systems.
Members who include high government officials, Nobel prize recipients, journalists, economic and financial experts, and legal scholars from all over the world, come regularly together to present the most current analysis of ideas, trends and events.
It so happened that Friedman was member of the first meeting of this MPS. So questions were asked on this:
INTERVIEWER: You were invited to Friedrich Hayek’s first Mont Pelerin meeting in 1947. Why?
MILTON FRIEDMAN: Well, I was invited primarily because of my brother-in-law, Aaron Director. He was an economist teaching [at] the University of Chicago, and when Hayek’s Road to Serfdom was submitted to American publishers, one publisher after another rejected it. He was finally published by the University of Chicago Press, partly because of Aaron Director’s intervention. He wasn’t at Chicago at the time, he was in Washington, but he knew the director of the press, and he also was very close to Frank Knight, who was a professor at Chicago. And so Aaron had a considerable role in getting The Road to Serfdom published.
Also, he had studied at the London School of Economics and had met Hayek [there] before. One of the people whom Hayek was in touch with when he was exploring the possibilities of having the Mont Pelerin meeting was there. And so Aaron organized a group from the University of Chicago. There was myself, there was George Stigler, there was Frank Knight, and there was Aaron Director.
INTERVIEWER: What kind of people gathered at Mont Pelerin, and what was the point of the meeting?
MILTON FRIEDMAN: The point of the meeting was very clear. It was Hayek’s belief, and the belief of other people who joined him there, that freedom was in serious danger. During the war, every country had relied heavily on government to organize the economy, to shift all production toward armaments and military purposes. And you came out of the war with the widespread belief that the war had demonstrated that central planning would work. It reinforced the lesson that had earlier been driven home, supposedly, by Russia.
The left in particular, or the intellectuals in general in Britain and the United States, in France, wherever, had interpreted Russia as a successful experiment in central planning. And so there were strong movements everywhere. In Britain a socialist [Clement Attlee] had won the election. In France there was indicative planning that was [in] development.
And so everywhere, Hayek and others felt that freedom was very much imperiled, that the world was turning toward planning and that somehow we had to develop an intellectual current that would offset that movement. This was the theme of The Road to Serfdom. Essentially, the Mont Pelerin Society was an attempt to offset The Road to Serfdom, to start a movement, a road to freedom as it were.
Now, who were the people who were there? There were economists, historians, mostly economists and historians, but a few journalists and businessmen, people who, despite the general intellectual current moving towards socialism, had retained the belief in free markets and in political and economic freedom. They were those people whom Hayek happened to know, or whom he had met, whom he had run into in the course of his travels.
This is really interesting stuff. I was not aware of such a society. Must have been some confluence of thoughts. It must have led to the flow of thought from Keynesian to Friedman/Hayek. When you have such brains together working for a common cause, what else would you expect. Somehow we in economic research do not pay much attention to this flow of economic thought. I mean what were the factors that led to Keynesian thoughts spreading all around the world. or Friedman’s? True they were good economists and had great research, but there are so many others as well. The circumstances lead to the flow or shift of thought. What were they?
Friedman also points that the funding for this MPS came from Swiss:
INTERVIEWER: What was Hayek’s role at these meetings, and what was he like personally? This must have been the first time you met him.
MILTON FRIEDMAN: No, I had met him before that. I had met him in Chicago when he was in the United States lecturing on The Road to Serfdom. Hayek’s role? Number one, he was responsible for the meeting. He organized it. He selected the people who were going to be there. He helped to line up some of the money that was used to finance it, though a considerable part of that came from a Swiss source. That’s why it was held in Switzerland. So far as his role at the meetings was concerned, he gave a talk at the opening session which set out what he had in mind. Along with several other people, he set up the agenda and presided over some of the sessions, participated in the debates, and was a very effective participant from beginning to end.
Very interesting again this Swiss connection.. There were some funny moments as well.
INTERVIEWER: Some of those debates became very, very heated. I think [Ludwig] von Mises once stormed out.
MILTON FRIEDMAN: Oh, yes, he did. Yes, in the middle of a debate on the subject of distribution of income, in which you had people who you would hardly call socialist or egalitarian—people like Lionel Robbins, like George Stigler, like Frank Knight, like myself—Mises got up and said, “You’re all a bunch of socialists,” and walked right out of the room. (laughs) But Mises was a person of very strong views and rather intolerant about any differences of opinion.
A must read speech. I can just reproduce every word of the speech on this post.
I covered two pieces from the same source earlier:
More to follow…
AdvertisementsAs Australia rolls towards the polls this Saturday, election talk is everywhere: seeping into cafes, dining rooms and cold nights at the pub.
While public confidence in the schoolyard barbs and robotic debates of the main party leaders is dubious, there's still a feverish expectation in the air. Or maybe it's just the promise of Australia's traditional election fare, the Democracy Sausage.
But for the hundreds and thousands of New Zealanders living and working in Australia - myself included - the chatter falls short. Because none of us can vote.
There are an estimated 650,000 New Zealanders living in Australia under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, which supports the free movement of Australians and New Zealanders across the Pacific.
A lost road to citizenship
Traditionally, the agreement meant New Zealanders and Australians could live and work in either country and receive the same benefits; cementing the shared history, culture and values between the countries.
Australians moving to New Zealand can still vote after one year, receive welfare after two, and become citizens after five.
But after increasing numbers of Kiwis crossed the ditch, fears of New Zealanders simultaneously stealing jobs and lapping up welfare turned public sentiment against them.
After increasing numbers of Kiwis crossed the ditch, fears of New Zealanders simultaneously stealing jobs and lapping up welfare turned public sentiment against them.
The Howard-led Australian government tweaked the arrangement in 2001, blocking a clear pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders. Since then, New Zealanders entering Australia have been granted Special Category Visa (SCV) status.
Essentially guest workers, Kiwis are considered permanent residents for tax purposes, but without access to government benefits, student loans or the ability to apply for citizenship.
It's estimated that 250,000 to 350,000 New Zealanders living and working in Australia since 2001 are subject to these limitations.
The instability of this "guest worker" status was highlighted last year, as hundreds of New Zealanders with criminal records were detained and deported after a change to the Migration Act, which saw the visas of low as well as high-level offenders revoked.
"It is a human rights issue," New Zealand Labour MP Kelvin Davis told me in November.
"Some people […] have come across as babies: they've been educated in Australia, they've found work in Australia, they've married and had children and grandchildren in Australia. They consider themselves Australian; they just happen to be officially New Zealand citizens."
Snubbed by democracy
Recently, an additional pathway to citizenship has been announced for New Zealanders living in the country for five years or more, to be introduced in July 2017.
READ MORE: Where is Australia's aid agenda heading?
But with the required minimum income capped at AUD$53,900 for each of those five years, many Kiwis - especially students, those on unstable wages and new business owners - will still miss out.
The Department of Immigration estimates that only 60,000 to 70,000 New Zealanders on "special" visas will be eligible for the new pathway.
While vocal support from politicians is growing, the silencing of New Zealanders on election day still stings.
"[P]ermanent residents should be given full voting rights just as any Australian citizen," argued Election Watch deputy editor Heath Pickering last week, referring to New Zealanders on SCVs as well as the more than one million permanent residents in Australia. "The prejudice against enfranchising non-citizen residents sits in stark contrast to democratic principles."
While restricting voting to citizens is considered "reasonable" by human rights law, non-citizen voting has long been acknowledged as valuable for social cohesion and nation-building, especially since European unification in the 1960s.
While restricting voting to citizens is considered'reasonable' by human rights law, non-citizen voting has long been acknowledged as valuable for social cohesion and nation-building...
In New Zealand, permanent residents as well as Australians, Tokelauans, Niueans and Cook Island Maori can vote after one year. Even during Brexit, anyone from a Commonwealth country such as Australia and New Zealand could register to vote while residing in the UK. Meanwhile, every EU citizen has the right to vote in another EU country.
That such an arrangement isn’t in place for New Zealanders in Australia, where many have lived, worked and paid taxes for decades, seems more suggestive of nasty employer relations than the chummy "sibling rivalry" portrayed by media and politicians.
Advocacy group Oz Kiwi have advised New Zealanders unable to vote to discuss their situation with politicians at the polls, but others are less hopeful.
"She has my vote! That is once I can become [an] Oz citizen and vote!" commented one New Zealander in response to a speech from Australian Labor Party MP Clare O'Neil. Another added: "She'd get my vote… oh that's right, we can't!"
Even more cutting is the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme on July 1, a day before elections. While New Zealanders are obliged to pay a levy in their taxes towards the scheme, they can't claim it. And because their children aren’t granted citizenship until their tenth birthday, families that desperately need help won't get it either.
In a column last year for New Zealand's Sunday Star Times, MP Phil Goff wrote how "Australians like to tell us they're our best mates [... but] sometimes, to be frank, it just doesn't feel like that.
"Kiwis living long-term in Australia aren't getting a fair go."
This coming election holds a bitter taste for many Kiwis; and it's a taste that sits oddly against the celebrated Democracy Sausage, and the promises of a country that will tease but not take them.
Megan Anderson is a Melbourne-based freelance journalist.
The views expressed in this article |
Fighting Dogs of the Shikoku Island League announced that they've agreed to terms with Ramirez. The Fighting Dogs -- possibly an unfortunate nickname -- are an independent league team in Japan and not part of NPB.
Ramirez's wife also announced the news on social media...
Can wait for this season with our #KochiFamily Arigatou gozaimasu🙏🏻 @kochifightingdogs @junkitakomi @colbysan3🙏🏻 A photo posted by _____💎Mrs. Juliana Ramirez____ (@mrsjulianaramirez) on Jan 8, 2017 at 4:06pm PST
Ramirez, who will turn 45 on May 30 this year, hasn't played in affiliated ball since 2014, when he appeared in 24 games for the Cubs' Triple-A squad. He hasn't played in the majors since 2011, when he logged five games for the Rays before being hit with a 100-game suspension for his second violation of the the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Ramirez retired from the major leagues in lieu of serving that suspension. He's since gone a long way toward reconstructing his image, particularly during a stint as a minor-league instructor for the Cubs.
Ramirez, of course, stands as one of the great right-handed hitters of all-time. Across parts of 19 major-league seasons, most of them with the Indians and Red Sox, Ramirez batted.312/.411/.585 with 555 home runs and more than 4,000 times on base. Given the level of competition he's likely to face in his upcoming stint, don't be surprised if he can still produce..Universities need to stop giving students caps and gowns when they graduate. Instead, I recommend they give them helmets and wrap them in bubble wrap. The reason is that in college they become so weak and bruise so easily that there is little chance they can function in a free society without hurting themselves. In fact, many college students are too emotionally immature to encounter classic literature without becoming emotionally unraveled.
Take Rutgers student Philip Wythe. Last year, he suggested that The Great Gatsby was so potentially traumatizing it should be accompanied by the following warning: “Suicide, Domestic Abuse, and Graphic Violence.” As Kirsten Powers aptly noted, “If (college students are) going to be traumatized by The Great Gatsby then they are going to find day-to-day life unbearable once they step outside the child-care programs that are passing for universities today.”
Students like Wythe don’t just wake up one day with the intellectual fortitude of a five-year old. It takes a lot of coddling to make these young adults as weak as preschoolers. One of the means by which this is achieved is the so-called campus free speech zone. These zones assume a default position that campus speech is disallowed until officially authorized.
An extreme example of this mentality was once found at the University of Cincinnati (UC). Their free speech restrictions limited discourse to a zone that was merely 0.1% of the physical area of the campus. In other words, students could traverse 99.9% of the campus without having to encounter potentially offensive speech. All speech was presumed to be unlicensed and prohibited in these areas. Fortunately, Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) successfully sued the school and overturned the broad ban on speech at UC.
But the damage has been done to the broader campus culture. Speech zones, which limit the amount of discourse, are combined with speech codes, which strike at the content of discourse. Arguably, the latter are more dangerous because they advance the notion that one has a right to be unoffended. This is the mentality that actually encourages young people to proactively suppress speech they find offensive.
And we are beginning to see the effects. Michael Bloomberg, himself no political conservative, noted this trend in a commencement speech at Harvard University. Speaking specifically about the trend towards silencing commencement speakers, he said, “In each case, liberals silenced a voice of individuals they deemed politically objectionable.”
Bloomberg almost got that one right. The people doing the silencing were not liberals. They were illiberal leftists. As Kirsten Powers points out in The Silencing, there is a big difference between the two. Liberalism presupposes tolerance of opposing views. In contrast, the illiberal leftist seeks to destroy dialogue. As Powers puts it, these illiberal leftists seek monologue on their side, and silence on the other side.
If you think Powers is exaggerating ask former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. His planned 20-minute talk at the University of Chicago took over an hour as screaming protestors constantly interrupted him.
Or ask Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. He suffered ten interruptions and was forced to take a 20-minute break when he tried to give a speech at the University of California-Irvine.
Or ask Tom Tancredo who tried to give a speech at Michigan State University’s law school until angry protesters set off fire alarms. It was almost as bad as the time Tancredo tried to speak at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill while angry protesters actually broke windows during the middle of his speech.
The illiberal mob doesn’t always reserve its fanatical intolerance for campus visitors. They are equally likely to exhibit it towards members of their own university community. One of their most favored techniques is joining organizations they hate and then trying to subvert the core beliefs of the organization in an effort to get thrown out of the organization.
Why would they do such a thing? It’s simple. After they get thrown out of the organization, they try to have it shut down for being “discriminatory” or “non-inclusive.”
It is worth noting that this tactic is not new. The KKK used to employ it in the 1950s. Klansmen would actually try to join the NAACP in order to change the group’s core beliefs. They even went all the way to the Supreme Court in an effort to strip the NAACP of its tax-exempt status – all for refusing to reveal their membership lists so they could target and harass NAACP members en route to destroying the organization.
It is sad that contemporary campus “liberals” are actually using KKK tactics in their efforts to destroy campus organizations. Their targets are not black organizations. Their targets are usually Christian organizations that refuse to relinquish their deeply held religious views concerning sexual morality. Of course, these guerilla tactics are almost always implemented with the backing of university administrators who pass and then selectively enforce “non-discrimination” policies.
I am old enough to remember when the goal of a college education was to expand one’s horizons. Now the goal is to learn to be more emotionally volatile than the person whose ideas you seek to negate. As one of my readers recently put it, college is no longer providing a comprehensive education. It’s just a prep course for fascism.
Eventually, this mentality spreads to the larger culture. So employers beware. After graduation, these petulant children are headed for your workplace.
Source: This column and the previous one were (somewhat informal) reviews of the first half of The Silencing by Kirsten Powers. Go get a copy and read it … before it is banned from a campus near you!How task killing became dogma
What Froyo changed
What you should be doing
As a general rule, people have a hard time dealing with change. Android, being perhaps the fastest changing mobile OS in history, can leave people in the dust as the platform evolves. Things don't work the same from release to release. Some of this is user-facing, and people can adapt. But some changes are deeper system level alterations that people might not notice at first, and then might not understand why they've changed. The functionality and usefulness of task killers is one such advance. A lot has changed in the underlying Android OS regarding how background processes are managed. The solution, at the time, was to use task killer apps.Task killers like Advanced Task Manager and Advanced Task Killer became extremely popular in the Android Market because people saw performance and battery life benefits from ending background services. It was the snowball effect from here on out. Every new Android user was told to go get a task killer first thing when buying a new phone. Some carriers even included them on on phones and recommended them to customers. It became Android dogma thatBut starting in Android 2.0, memory management got much, much better. Apps couldn't spawn processes only to leave them forever. The OS would gauge the level of system RAM, and close unneeded background services. Users on phones like the Droid could clearly tell that this was happening. With only 256MB of RAM, some memory-heavy apps would reliably cause the OS to close other apps running in the background. This is why many apps now use persistent notifications. Having that notification running will keep a background process it is connected to from being ended.When Android 2.2 Froyo was released, users and developers alike noticed something had changed again. Task killers didn't work properly anymore. If a user closed a particular app, it would just show up again. That's because the API for closing other tasks was removed. Now the "end" command has basically become "restart". Only the immediate background app can be closed. Associated services will stay put.battery trying to free this memory. The apps will just restart, putting additional strain on the system. The only way to completely end a process now is to find it in the Manage Applications area of the Settings app, then tap the Force Stop button. It's just as destructive as task killing was, but it is more hidden and not accessible via an API.Google likely changed the API because ending tasks at random can cause system glitches in the worst case. At best, you'll likely notice worse performance from your apps as they try to reconcile their assigned tasks with the fact that you are constantly interrupting them by ending them. Watchdog. We told you all about it a few weeks ago in a Market Roundup. Check that out for the full rundown.What Watchdog basically does is poll the CPU to watch for apps that are getting greedy. This is really the holy grail of Android process management. It's quiet, sits in the background, and solves most of your task management needs. You'll be alerted if something goes wrong, and then Watchdog will allow you to restart the offending task. While doing this with an app that isn't misbehaving is a bad idea, you have little choice in cases when an app is legitimately out of control.Users with root on their device are able to undertake some additional steps to control tasks on Android. An app we really can't live without on our rooted handsets is called Autostarts. We introduced you to this last month, but we keep finding reasons to recommend it. Killing processes is a bad thing for system stability and battery life (especially under Froyo), but Autostarts lets you keep unneeded apps from starting up in the first place.Also for root users, is an app called AutoKiller. Don't let the name fool you; it isn't an aggressive task killer that's going to make your apps go all wonky. All it does is tweak the Android process manager to be more aggressive in ending background services. This won't end tasks midstream, it just ends unneeded apps a little sooner. You mileage may vary, some users find this helps quite a bit, others not so much.Most users that adopt a more modern way of managing (or not managing) their tasks see a big upside. A phone can feel faster, and the battery may last longer. When it comes down to it, killing tasks is just a hassle you don't need to deal with anymore. Everyone on Android 2.0 and higher should rely on Watchdog, or an app like it, to monitor for runaway background processes.As more Android users are bumped up to Froyo, or just buy new devices, they will find their task killers inoperable. It's important they are steered away from this obsolete method of task management. Tell us about your task killing experiences in the comments.UPDATE @ 7 p.m. (Sept. 6):
Brock Turner registered Tuesday morning as a Tier III sex offender behind a pane of transparent glass connected to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office lobby — the same as everyone else, Sheriff Gene Fischer said.
“People can come and see it,” Fischer said. “They’re subject to public viewing.”
It was the latest interaction between the news media, the authorities and Turner, the former Oakwood resident who left jail after three months of a six-month sentence stemming from a sexual assault he committed while a swimmer at Stanford University.
His mother, Carleen, attempted to block the view of the cameras, lifting her white cardigan across the lobby-side of the window as husband Dan remained seated. She finally gave up as her son, behind the glass, filled out a questionnaire about the assault victim.
Race: “American,” he wrote.
Eyes: “Don’t know”
Hair: “Black”
ZIP Code of where occurred or city: “Palo Alto, CA”
What did they say you did? “Sexual Assault”
The Turners left without addressing the media. Among the other stops on the day’s schedule was a visit in Lebanon to register his probation with state officials. He’ll be required to register again with Fischer’s office before Dec. 5.
Sugarcreek Twp. Police Chief Michael Brown said he spoke twice in past months with Dan Turner — once, when Brown noticed him in the driveway — but said the family has not asked for “special attention” from police.
Carleen Turner made two calls to dispatch over the Labor Day weekend in which she expressed that someone sent the residence food that they didn’t order, and that cars were driving past the house taking pictures.
“… I just want to make sure there’s no nonsense starting,” she said during the afternoon call.
Minutes later, she called again. She was concerned about another protest starting.
“So I really, really, really need someone over here to make sure they stay in line,” she said.
A sergeant drove past the house and spoke to her by phone, Brown said. Later in the day, police found “several broken eggs along with an egg carton” on the driveway and sidewalk.
Records show how Sugarcreek Twp. leaders braced for the homecoming.
“Brock Turner is scheduled to be released from prison this Friday afternoon,” Township Administrator Barry Tiffany wrote last week in an email to trustees. Police “Chief (Michael) Brown has been getting calls from the media and is ignoring them at this point.”
The emails streamed in from national media: The Guardian, Associated Press, four different people at CNN, two from the Daily Beast and a handful from TMZ. One AP request came by fax, another, also from TMZ, by FedEx.
“Sergeants,” Brown wrote, forwarding an email from TMZ after the sentencing. “I’m sure it goes without saying, but no one at STPD is authorized to speak to the media nor give any statement related to the Turner family.”
Like other organizations the Dayton Daily News and WHIO cover, including the Oakwood City School District in the days after Turner’s sentencing, Fischer and Brown are now accustomed to the requests.
“Most of them are by phone,” the sheriff said, reading off his most recent list, which included “CNN with a 212 area code … NBC News with a 312 area code, Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Inside Edition, TMZ, Fox TV in Oakland, Calif., AP in Columbus.”
“We’ve got a freelance ABC guy out of Kentucky that’s been camped out in the lobby,” Fischer said. “He told me this morning he was in town yesterday looking for me on the golf course.”
Fischer said this is the busiest his office has ever been with the media. He’s made attempts to return media calls so his deputies “can continue to do what they’re supposed to do.”
“Hopefully, I can go back to being a normal sheriff now,” he said.
UPDATE @ 9:15 p.m. (Sept. 2): Members of the Sugarcreek Twp. Fire Department are using fire hoses to clean chalk-written messages off the sidewalk, driveway and the street in front of the Brock Turner residence in Sugarcreek Twp.
The words that were scrawled included “rapist” and the following: “Its [sic] your job to hold your son/self responsible so he/you don’t hurt my daughters.”
The dozen or so protesters — some of whom where armed — have left the neighborhood. Only reporters, police officers and firefighters remain in the neighborhood.
About a dozen protesters arrived to find they were outnumbered by roughly twice as many reporters, who stood at the neck of the cul de sac. A Cincinnati news chopper circled overhead as a neighbor mowed his lawn.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said another neighbor as he looked skyward.
About a block away, neighbors chatted with Sugarcreek Twp. Police Chief Michael Brown, who declined comment, as a police sergeant watched the armed protesters through binoculars.
Still another neighbor walked up to a front porch carrying a case of Miller Light.
Some protesters who commented asked that their names not be used.
“The reason we decided to bring the kids is to teach them, at a young age, that 20 minutes of wrongdoing to someone…that can ruin your life forever,” said one mother who brought her children.
She said she is “furious” that she has Turner and his family as neighbors. “They feel like a cancer to us and we need to get them out of here.”
One of the male protesters said he fears that Turner would repeat offense because of the lax sentence he was given in the Stanford case.
UPDATE @ 10:57 a.m. (Sept. 2):
Brock Turner entered a hotel in Palo Alto with his mother and father, according to KTVU-TV.
Turner — wearing sunglasses — did not answer questions from the media. There were about 100 media outlets outside the jail this morning.
There were three protesters when Turner walked out of the jail, according to KTVU-TV. A larger protest is scheduled for later today in California.
At a protest today in Santa Clara, Calif., Rep. Loretta Sanchez said, “Today, Brock Turner is a free man. A judge ignored the horror of the crime. He ignored the voice of the victim – such an eloquent voice. And he ignored the moral and legal duty to impose a just punishment.
“Ninety days in jail for rape is not justice. Six months is not justice,” Sanchez told people in the crowd. “To the courageous survivor: Your message not only touched our hearts, but it is a clarion call for action. We want you to know you are not alone. We are with you and we are going to see this through to see justice is done.”
UPDATE @ 9:29 a.m. (Sept. 2)
Brock Turner was released from Santa Clara County Jail this morning at 9:08 a.m. Eastern/6:08 a.m. Pacific time.
The former Oakwood swimmer carried a coat in his arms and did not speak to reporters as he left. He got into a white Chevy SUV, with a man and woman in the back seat, according to KTVU-TV.
UPDATE @ 8:02 a.m. (Sept. 2)
Speaking to reporters outside the Santa Clara County Jail, Sheriff Laurie Smith said Brock Turner would be released within the next couple of hours.
Smith added extra security is in place for Turner’s release. She said he will walk out the front of the jail as other released inmates, adding he will not receive any special treatment.
UPDATE @ 6:26 a.m. (Sept. 2)
Brock Turner will be released from the Santa Clara County Jail today.
Jail officials in California tell this news organization Turner is expected to be released during daylight hours. Protests are expected outside the jail.
Turner, whose family lives in Sugarcreek Twp., has five days to report to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office to register as a Tier III Sex offender.
After Turner registers as a sex offender, the sheriff’s department will send postcards to Turner’s neighbors, alerting them to his nearby residence.
FIRST REPORT (Sept. 1)
Brock Turner will receive no special treatment when he returns to Ohio, but law enforcement in Greene County are monitoring social media for threats and protests, officials told this news organization.
“We’re not treating him with kid gloves,” Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer told WHIO and the Dayton Daily News. “We’re going to treat him like every other sex offender that comes through the doors.”
Fischer said Turner, the ex-Oakwood swimmer who was convicted in a sexual assault in California, will be required to register as a Tier III sex offender. The status requires Turner to fulfill certain requirements, including registration four times per year for the rest of his life.
Following his release from Santa Clara County Jail in California on Friday, Turner will have five days to report to Fischer’s office in Xenia. After that, the sheriff’s department will send postcards to Turner’s neighbors, alerting them to his nearby residence.
Turner’s family moved to Sugarcreek Twp. from Oakwood around the time of the assault. The Turner family could not be reached by telephone this week.
“We will go down to his house where he is living to confirm he is living there,” Fischer said. “We will pop in unannounced from time to time to make sure he’s living where he says he’s living.”
He’ll also be required to meet with a state officer for his three-year probation.
Fischer said local law enforcement expect protests near the Turner residence in the coming days. Already this summer, armed protesters appeared in front of Turner’s house.
Jail officials in California tell this news organization Turner is expected to be released during daylight hours. Protests are expected outside the jail.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith is preparing for Turner’s release as well, she told WHIO-TV affiliate KPIX-TV.
“I think that protesters are going to be angry, I think a lot of people are angry over this case,” Smith said. “It’s too light of a sentence for a rapist. But we’re just going to make sure that the public and everyone that’s there is safe on the morning that he’s released.”
Smith also sent a letter to California Gov. Jerry Brown urging him to sign an assembly bill backed by bay area lawmakers that was inspired by the case. It would send convicted sexual predators to state prison instead of county jail, KPIX-TV reports.
Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University, told the Dayton Daily News she’s focused on unseating Judge Aaron Persky, who sentenced Turner to six months, of which he’ll serve three. She said efforts of those concerned with the sentence should be focused on changing the system.
“We’re very focused on the judge,” she said. “I don’t support vigilantism or mobs.”
Dauber said she hopes Turner does not re-offend.
“My concern was that he really wasn’t held accountable,” she said. “The concern is always that, if an offender is not held accountable, that he might not get the message and he may re-offend.”
Fischer said he was concerned with preparing for the now-canceled presidential debate at Wright State University when Turner’s sentencing first made national headlines.
“I don’t know enough about the case to judge it,” said Fischer. “Knowing a little bit about it, I wouldn’t want my kids around a sex offender at all.”With the recent news of Green Man expanding the bottled offerings and new location opening it seems fitting that their beer was going to reach more markets.
With that, a recent press release hit confirming that exact thought. Starting in June Green Man Brewing will be hitting the shelves in Georgia being the fifth state in their portfolio the others being; North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.
In Georgia, Athens, Augusta, and Gainesville will be the first cities Green Man will be hitting with expected areas to grow. They will be primarily be sold at off premise retailers in the form of 6 packs. They’ve partnered with wholesale distributors Leon Farmer and Company in Athens and Gainesville and J&L Ventures in Augusta.
Their flagship beers, IPA, ESB ( my personal favorite), and the Porter will be the first to hit shelves with seasonal 6 pack bottles and cans following.FIRSTLY I wish to thank the Carlton Football Club for my brief time at the club and I wish the team well for the remainder of the season.
More generally I want to thank the AFL and the wider football community for allowing me to be part of their game, and for their continued support over the past 40 odd years. I have loved it all, the good and the bad.
I wish to thank all the players, coaches, assistants, football staff, presidents, directors, club volunteers, fans and everyone who has helped me and worked with me in my journey in this great game. I particularly thank my most recent team which has had to endure more than necessary in this difficult recent time.
It has been a varied career which has taken me the breadth of this great country and I believe the game, and I, have matured greatly during the past decades.
This concludes my coaching journey but I will enjoy viewing the game from afar and its progress.
I particularly want to thank my family who have been resilient and loyal beyond the call of duty at all times. I look forward to enjoying some of the spare time I now have as a family more than ever before.
To the media I wish you well - despite our constant battlefield......you might even miss me!
I bear no grudges and I have no regrets. I have achieved some amazing football highs with some wonderful people and endured tough times with great support.Ever find yourself at work, wondering how your furry ball of love is doing? You know, that food processing machine that sits around all day doing its best to be useless? You know… your cat? If you’re crazy enough, you can get the PetChatz two-way videoconferencing apparatus for pets. Not only can it alert you when your kitty is around (we say kitty, but really, it could work with anything, we suppose), but it can call him with a special tone and scent. And once he’s in front of that screen and he can see you, and you him, and you’ve “talked” for a while… just press a button to dispense a treat! Isn’t that neat? Yeah… it’s neat. It’s also so neat how expensive it is: $349. Yeah, that’s neat too, isn’t it? Cats are neat. Neat and appreciative. Cats are grand. Yeah they are.
You can pre-order now.
[ Product Page ] VIA [ Technabob ]Share
Have tattoos become so mainstream that even your local produce are getting them too? Well, yes and no. The fruits found in your nearest supermarket may soon feature some permanent skin branding, but not because it’s the new cool thing – it’s just more environmentally conscious.
New regulations have passed in the European Union that will allow produce companies to use iron oxides and hydroxides on the skin of fruit. This combination of chemicals enable companies to laser cut logos, labels, and barcodes onto the food item and make this “tattoo” clearer to the human eye. This technology, created by a Spain-based company called Laser Food, opens a new way to brand produce that are normally shipped without fancy packaging. Rather than slapping on annoying stickers most people forget to peel off, the laser etching lets the branding become one with the skin – and consumers can eat right through the engravement.
The laser cutting technology can do more than just eliminate sticker material. Companies can now etch QR codes or barcodes to help consumers scan and learn more about the product, such as nutritional information or the company that grew the crop. Supermarkets can also cut their logo onto the produce as a way of seamless marketing.
Despite the laser technology, Laser Food promises that the process is gentle on fruits and will not damage the goods underneath the skin, making it possible to laser cut more fragile fruits like bananas and tomatoes. The company also boasts machines that can laser cut up to 54,000 pieces of fruits per hour. Laser Food is not the only company that have previously tried to switch companies from sticker branding to laser cutting. Eurolaser has also attempted to market similar technology, but it was only recently that the EU passed the regulations on using iron oxides and hydroxides to help condition fruit skins for their engravement.
It’s a novel piece of innovation for sure, but convincing companies to switch to this new (and likely expensive) method might take some time. Still, we’re on board with anything that takes away those silly produce stickers that always seem to be in the way.FILE - In this April 24, 2013, file photo, North Korean soldiers stand on steps overlooking the border village of Panmunjom, North Korea, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War. South Korea said on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, that North Korean soldiers shot at and injured a fellow soldier who was crossing the border village to try to defect to the South. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the injured North Korean was being taken to a hospital after crossing the border village of Panmunjom. Defections are rare by that route. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean soldiers shot at and wounded a fellow soldier who was crossing a jointly controlled area at the heavily guarded border to defect to South Korea on Monday, the South’s military said.
North Korean soldiers have occasionally defected to South Korea across the border. But it’s rare for a North Korean soldier to defect via the Joint Security Area, where border guards of the rival Koreas stand facing each other just meters (feet) away, and be shot by fellow North Korean soldiers.
The soldier bolted from a guard post at the northern side of Panmunjom village in the Joint Security Area to the southern side of the village, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. He was shot in the shoulder and elbow and was taken to a South Korean hospital, the South’s Defense Ministry said. It wasn’t immediately known how serious the soldier’s injuries were or why he decided to defect.
South Korean troops found the injured soldier south of the border after hearing sounds of gunfire, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said, requesting anonymity, citing department rules. South Korean troops didn’t fire at the North, he said.
The defection came at a time of heightened tension over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, and could escalate animosities between the rival countries. North Korea has typically accused South Korea of enticing its citizens to defect, something the South denies.
About 30,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, but most travel through China.
Panmunjom, once an obscure farming village inside the 4-kilometer-wide (2 1/2-mile-wide) Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, is where an armistice was signed to pause the Korean War. Jointly controlled by the American-led U.N. Command and North Korea, the DMZ is guarded on both sides by hundreds of thousands of combat-ready troops, razor-wire fences and tank traps. More than a million mines are believed to be buried inside the zone.
American presidents often visit Panmunjom and other DMZ areas during their trips to South Korea to reaffirm their security commitment to the South. President Donald Trump planned to visit the DMZ to underscore his stance against North Korea’s nuclear program when he came to South Korea last week as part of an Asian tour, but his plans were thwarted by heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing at the border area.
At Panmunjom, North Korean soldiers wearing lapel pins with the images of late North Korean leaders often use binoculars to monitor visitors from the South. They stand only several meters (yards) away from tall South Korean soldiers wearing aviator sunglasses and standing motionless like statues. This makes the area a popular stop for visitors from both sides.
Areas around Panmunjom were the site of bloodshed and defection attempts by North Koreans in the past, but there have been no such incidents in recent years.
The most famous incident was in 1976, when two American army officers were killed by ax-wielding North Korean soldiers. The attack prompted Washington to fly nuclear-capable B-52 bombers toward the DMZ in an attempt to intimidate North Korea.
In 1984, North Korean and U.N. Command soldiers traded gunfire after a Soviet citizen defected by sprinting to the South Korean sector of the truce village. The incident left three North Korean soldiers and one South Korean soldier dead. In 1998, a North Korean solider fled to South Korea via Panmunjom.Tories and Lib Dems urge government to reconsider ID card plan following loss of memory stick containing information on offenders
Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, was today accused of being worse than "the Keystone Cops" at keeping data safe following the loss a memory stick containing the sensitive personal data of thousands of persistent offenders.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, made the accusation after it was revealed that the stick containing three sets of information from the J Track system - the cross-government electronic system for monitoring offenders - had been lost by an external contractor.
The Tories and the Lib Dems both urged the government to reconsider its plan for the introduction of an ID card database following the incident. PA Consulting, the contractor that lost the data, has also worked on the ID card project.
The missing data included the names, addresses and dates of birth of around 33,000 offenders in England and Wales, with six or more recordable convictions in the past 12 months on the Police National Computer. Also lost were the names and dates of birth, but not addresses, of 10,000 prolific and other priority offenders, and the names, dates of birth and, in some cases, the expected prison release dates of all 84,000 prisoners held in England and Wales.
Data from the Drug Interventions Programme was also on the stick, but only offenders' initials were included, not their full names.
Clegg said today: "I'm just gobsmacked, like everyone else is, that the government can be so systematically incompetent in failing to keep our data safe.
"Frankly the Keystone Cops would do a better job running the Home Office and keeping our data safe than this government, and if this government cannot keep the data of thousands of guilty people safe, why on earth should we give them the data of millions of innocent people in an ID card database?"
Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said: "The public will be alarmed that the government is happy to entrust their £20bn ID card project to the firm involved in this fiasco, at a cost of millions of pounds to the UK taxpayer.
"This will destroy any grain of confidence the public still have in this white elephant and reinforce why it could endanger - rather than strengthen - our security."
Smith was informed of the loss on Tuesday. Today she described the loss today as "completely unsatisfactory", saying the information should not have been downloaded on to a memory stick.
"This was data that was being held in a secure form, but was downloaded on to a memory stick by an external contractor," she told the BBC.
"It runs against the rules set down both for the holding of government data and set down by the external contractor and certainly set down in the contract that we had with the external contractor."
Scotland Yard said last night it had not launched a formal investigation, but was helping the contractor, PA Consulting, to "review the circumstances of the loss of data".
The J Track system was developed for the Home Office by PA Consulting and installed in 2004. The government said the transfer of data to the contractor had now been suspended. A Home Office source said the contractor's premises had been searched and officials were viewing CCTV footage.
The prisoner information is highly sensitive because if it falls into the wrong hands it could leave some criminals with spent convictions open to retribution at the hands of victims, raising the possibility of the government being sued.
David Smith, the deputy information commissioner, said that "searching questions" would have to be answered about how the information was protected. "It is deeply worrying that after a number of major data losses and the publication of two government reports on high-profile breaches of the Data Protection Act, more personal information has been reported lost. The data loss... reinforces the need for data protection to be taken seriously at all levels."
The incident is the latest in a series of disturbing security breaches, after the high-profile loss last November of two CDs containing child-benefit details - the personal details of almost half the UK population.
In the nine months since, top secret files on al-Qaida and Iraq's security forces were found on a commuter train and handed in to the BBC by a member of the public, followed a few days later by a second batch of files on terrorism being found on a train.
Keith Vaz, the chair of the home affairs select committee, said today that it was "deeply disappointing that a loss of this kind had happened yet again".
Vaz said that Home Office ministers had previously given "absolute assurances" that data-protection blunders would not happen again and that lessons had been learned.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What is also worrying is that a separate organisation was involved in looking at this data.
"One would expect the Home Office to have this data but if you hand out memory sticks almost like confetti to companies that are meant to do research for you, then you need to be absolutely certain that when you give such information away, the company concerned... have put into practice procedures that are just as robust as the procedures that I hope the government has followed since the loss of the child benefit [discs]."
Vaz said the implications of the loss of prisoner data were "very, very serious indeed".
He added: "I've written to Jacqui Smith today to say I am deeply disappointed with what's happened in the view of what ministers have said to the select committee."
Welsh Conservative MP David Davies, a member of the home affairs select committee, said that the loss of the data was "disastrous".
He told Today: "One of the problems is that it is very hard to get rid of people who are not doing their jobs properly.
"Once you get into the government civil service, you're virtually unsackable no matter how incompetent you actually are."
Davies said that nothing had changed since John Reid, the then-home secretary, declared the Home Office "not fit for purpose" more than two years ago.
Davies added: "I think Jacqui Smith is going to have to do a lot of explaining to the home affairs select committee when we go back in October."All Categories VoIP Phones - Corded IP Phones - Cordless IP Phones - Conference Phones - Video Phones - USB Phones - Call Center Phones - Skype for Business Phones - Speakerphones - Phone Accessories Video Conferencing - Lifesize - Grandstream - Logitech - Polycom VoIP Conference Phones VoIP Headsets - Corded Headsets - Wireless Headsets - Softphone / USB Headsets - Bluetooth Headsets - |
{S}
ז זָכְרָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם, יְמֵי עָנְיָהּ וּמְרוּדֶיהָ--כֹּל מַחֲמֻדֶיהָ, אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ מִימֵי קֶדֶם; בִּנְפֹל עַמָּהּ בְּיַד-צָר, וְאֵין עוֹזֵר לָהּ--רָאוּהָ צָרִים, שָׂחֲקוּ עַל מִשְׁבַּתֶּהָ. {ס} 7 Jerusalem remembereth in the days of her affliction and of her anguish all her treasures that she had from the days of old; now that her people fall by the hand of the adversary, and none doth help her, the adversaries have seen her, they have mocked at her desolations. {S}
ח חֵטְא חָטְאָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם, עַל-כֵּן לְנִידָה הָיָתָה; כָּל-מְכַבְּדֶיהָ הִזִּילוּהָ כִּי-רָאוּ עֶרְוָתָהּ, גַּם-הִיא נֶאֶנְחָה וַתָּשָׁב אָחוֹר. {ס} 8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore she is become as one unclean; all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness; she herself also sigheth, and turneth backward. {S}
ט טֻמְאָתָהּ בְּשׁוּלֶיהָ, לֹא זָכְרָה אַחֲרִיתָהּ, וַתֵּרֶד פְּלָאִים, אֵין מְנַחֵם לָהּ; רְאֵה יְהוָה אֶת-עָנְיִי, כִּי הִגְדִּיל אוֹיֵב. {ס} 9 Her filthiness was in her skirts, she was not mindful of her end; therefore is she come down wonderfully, she hath no comforter. 'Behold, O LORD, my affliction, for the enemy hath magnified himself.' {S}
י יָדוֹ פָּרַשׂ צָר, עַל כָּל-מַחֲמַדֶּיהָ: כִּי-רָאֲתָה גוֹיִם, בָּאוּ מִקְדָּשָׁהּ--אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָה, לֹא-יָבֹאוּ בַקָּהָל לָךְ. {ס} 10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her treasures; for she hath seen that the heathen are entered into her sanctuary, concerning whom Thou didst command that they should not enter into Thy congregation. {S}
יא כָּל-עַמָּהּ נֶאֱנָחִים מְבַקְשִׁים לֶחֶם, נָתְנוּ מחמודיהם (מַחֲמַדֵּיהֶם) בְּאֹכֶל לְהָשִׁיב נָפֶשׁ; רְאֵה יְהוָה וְהַבִּיטָה, כִּי הָיִיתִי זוֹלֵלָה. {ס} 11 All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul. 'See, O LORD, and behold, how abject I am become.' {S}
יב ל וֹא אֲלֵיכֶם, כָּל-עֹבְרֵי דֶרֶךְ--הַבִּיטוּ וּרְאוּ, אִם-יֵשׁ מַכְאוֹב כְּמַכְאֹבִי אֲשֶׁר עוֹלַל לִי: אֲשֶׁר הוֹגָה יְהוָה, בְּיוֹם חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ. {ס} 12 'Let it not come unto you, all ye that pass by! Behold, and see if there be any pain like unto my pain, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of His fierce anger. {S}
יג מִמָּרוֹם שָׁלַח-אֵשׁ בְּעַצְמֹתַי, וַיִּרְדֶּנָּה; פָּרַשׂ רֶשֶׁת לְרַגְלַי, הֱשִׁיבַנִי אָחוֹר--נְתָנַנִי שֹׁמֵמָה, כָּל-הַיּוֹם דָּוָה. {ס} 13 From on high hath He sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, He hath turned me back; He hath made me desolate and faint all the day. {S}
יד נִשְׂקַד עֹל פְּשָׁעַי בְּיָדוֹ, יִשְׂתָּרְגוּ עָלוּ עַל-צַוָּארִי--הִכְשִׁיל כֹּחִי; נְתָנַנִי אֲדֹנָי, בִּידֵי לֹא-אוּכַל קוּם. {ס} 14 The yoke of my transgressions is impressed by His hand; they are knit together, they are come up upon my neck; He hath made my strength to fail; the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand. {S}
טו סִלָּה כָל-אַבִּירַי אֲדֹנָי בְּקִרְבִּי, קָרָא עָלַי מוֹעֵד לִשְׁבֹּר בַּחוּרָי; גַּת דָּרַךְ אֲדֹנָי, לִבְתוּלַת בַּת-יְהוּדָה. {ס} 15 The Lord hath set at nought all my mighty men in the midst of me; He hath called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord hath trodden as in a winepress the virgin the daughter of Judah.' {S}
טז עַל-אֵלֶּה אֲנִי בוֹכִיָּה, עֵינִי עֵינִי יֹרְדָה מַּיִם--כִּי-רָחַק מִמֶּנִּי מְנַחֵם, מֵשִׁיב נַפְשִׁי; הָיוּ בָנַי שׁוֹמֵמִים, כִּי גָבַר אוֹיֵב. {ס} 16 'For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water; because the comforter is far from me, even he that should refresh my soul; my children are desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed.' {S}
יז פֵּרְשָׂה צִיּוֹן בְּיָדֶיהָ, אֵין מְנַחֵם לָהּ--צִוָּה יְהוָה לְיַעֲקֹב, סְבִיבָיו צָרָיו; הָיְתָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם לְנִדָּה, בֵּינֵיהֶם. {ס} 17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands; there is none to comfort her; the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that they that are round about him should be his adversaries; Jerusalem is among them as one unclean. {S}
יח צַדִּיק הוּא יְהוָה, כִּי פִיהוּ מָרִיתִי; שִׁמְעוּ-נָא כָל-עמים (הָעַמִּים), וּרְאוּ מַכְאֹבִי--בְּתוּלֹתַי וּבַחוּרַי, הָלְכוּ בַשֶּׁבִי. {ס} 18 'The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against His word; hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and behold my pain: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. {S}
יט קָרָאתִי לַמְאַהֲבַי הֵמָּה רִמּוּנִי, כֹּהֲנַי וּזְקֵנַי בָּעִיר גָּוָעוּ: כִּי-בִקְשׁוּ אֹכֶל לָמוֹ, וְיָשִׁיבוּ אֶת-נַפְשָׁם. {ס} 19 I called for my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and mine elders perished in the city, while they sought them food to refresh their souls. {S}
כ רְאֵה יְהוָה כִּי-צַר-לִי, מֵעַי חֳמַרְמָרוּ--נֶהְפַּךְ לִבִּי בְּקִרְבִּי, כִּי מָרוֹ מָרִיתִי; מִחוּץ שִׁכְּלָה-חֶרֶב, בַּבַּיִת כַּמָּוֶת. {ס} 20 Behold, O LORD, for I am in distress, mine inwards burn; my heart is turned within me, for I have grievously rebelled. Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is the like of death. {S}
כא שָׁמְעוּ כִּי נֶאֱנָחָה אָנִי, אֵין מְנַחֵם לִי--כָּל-אֹיְבַי שָׁמְעוּ רָעָתִי שָׂשׂוּ, כִּי אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ; הֵבֵאתָ יוֹם-קָרָאתָ, וְיִהְיוּ כָמֹנִי. {ס} 21 They have heard that I sigh, there is none to comfort me; all mine enemies have heard of my trouble, and are glad, for Thou hast done it; Thou wilt bring the day that Thou hast proclaimed, and they shall be like unto me. {S}Fearless is my 6th motivational video. And I think I can rightfully claim that this is my best work yet. Once again I’ve used the usual suspects as speeches sources – Eric Thomas, Les Brown, Jaret Grossman and I’ve added a new one this time – Gregg Plitt. The movies inside the video are Cindarella Man, Goal, Fast Girls and Warrior, everything else is part of different youtube videos or ads.
FEARLESS
My favorite quotes from the video:
You can have whatever you are willing to struggle for. Success does not require you to look through the window, it only requires you to look in the mirror. Everybody’s got a dream, everybody has a goal, but when you know your why – You can’t quit. You can’t give up. If there is no money, you make up some, you go print it.. If nobody’s giving you an opportunity, you create it!
Fearless main purpose is to show you that you should chase your dreams and never ever GIVE UP! I really believe that the reason we have dreams is so we could achieve them and those who chase their dreams are those who live. That’s why I do what I do. I want to inspire people.
Please if you have any suggestions about the next video – like speeches, or movies, or videos you would like to see share them in the comments below. Maybe you know better speeches than I do. And I do my videos for you, so I think that you should be part of the process as well.
Enjoyed the video? Don’t forget to hit the share buttons below the post, so your friends and family could see it as well.
All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible. – T. E. LawrenceYAOUNDE/MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces surrounded the kidnappers of a French family in northeast Borno state on Thursday in an operation to rescue the hostages, a Nigerian military source said.
French Minister for Veteran Affairs Kader Arif (C) speaks to members of a French military field hospital at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, December 25, 2012. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3BWBZ
French, Nigerian and Cameroonian officials earlier denied French media reports that the family, who were seized in Cameroon and taken over the border, had been freed.
The Nigerian military located the hostages and kidnappers between Dikwa and Ngala in the far northeast, the military source in Borno said, asking not to be identified.
Dikwa is less than 80 km (50 miles) from the border with Cameroon where the three adults and four children were taken hostage on Tuesday.
A senior Cameroonian military official declined to comment saying the matter was too sensitive.
Citing a Cameroon army officer, French media reported earlier on Thursday that the hostages had been found alive in a house in northern Nigeria.
“This is a crazy rumor that we cannot confirm. We do not know where is it coming from,” Cameroon Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary told Reuters by telephone from the capital Yaounde.
“What is certain is that the French tourists who were abducted are no longer on our territory. However, we are in touch with the Government of Nigeria to intensify measures to continue the search for them along our common border,” he said.
French gendarmes backed by special forces arrived in northern Cameroon on Wednesday to help locate the family, a local governor and French defense ministry official said.
Nigerian military spokesman Sagir Musa earlier also said the report on France’s BFM television of the hostages being released was “not true,” while Didier Le Bret, the head of the French foreign ministry’s crisis center, said the information was “baseless.”
The abduction was the first case of foreigners being seized in the mostly Muslim north of Cameroon, a former French colony.
But the region - like others in West and North Africa with porous borders - is considered within the operational sphere of Boko Haram and fellow Nigerian Islamist militants Ansaru.
On Sunday, seven foreigners were snatched from the compound of Lebanese construction company Setraco in northern Nigeria’s Bauchi state, and Ansaru took responsibility.
Northern Nigeria is increasingly afflicted by attacks and kidnappings by Islamist militants. Ansaru, which rose to prominence only in recent months, has claimed the abduction in December of a French national who is still missing.
Related Coverage France says working with Nigeria, Cameroon on hostages
Three foreigners were killed in two failed rescue attempts last year after being kidnapped in northern Nigeria and Ansaru, blamed for those kidnaps, warned this could happen again.
The threat to French nationals in the region has grown since France deployed thousands of troops to Mali to oust al Qaeda-linked Islamists who controlled the country’s north.
The kidnapping in Cameroon brought to 15 the number of French citizens being held in West Africa.MinnPost photo by Bill Kelley Alberto Monserrate
At a recent meeting of the Minneapolis School Board, Alberto Monserrate voted in favor of a new five-year strategic plan for closing the district’s yawning achievement gap. He ranted a little bit before he did so, however, saying he was skeptical the district could pull off the needed turnaround.
The strategic plan was replacing one adopted when Monserrate was an education activist serving on the founding boards of three different charter schools, including the very successful Hiawatha Leadership Academies. (Obligatory Kramer Disclaimer: Although at that point Hiawatha was a single school with no staff related to MinnPost founders Joel and Laurie Kramer, it is now a small network run by their son, Eli Kramer.)
The night that earlier plan was adopted, Monserrate stood before a differently configured board and expressed doubt they could create systemic change — as well as the fervent wish he be wrong.
Fast-forward seven years and much has changed. And though he voted for the new plan, Monserrate expressed disappointment that, despite everything, outcomes on the state’s 2014 exams rose ever so slightly. He is no longer convinced, he told those in attendance, that a sprawling institution like Minneapolis Public Schools can be turned around.
Tuesday, Monserrate will participate in his last full board meeting. Next month he will leave office after a single term that includes two year-long stints as board chair. He will return to the role he had before his election: outside advocate and critic. Now as then, he will bring a healthy dose of skepticism to his work.
What follows is an edited transcript of an exit interview with Monserrate as he prepares to leave his seat.
MinnPost: During a recent school board meeting, you said you are increasingly unconvinced large organizations can reinvent themselves.
Alberto Monserrate: All of the successful examples that I see in drastically reducing the learning gaps are happening in smaller organizations. You do have some more successful districts around the U.S., and in Minneapolis Public Schools we are working to replicate some of the things found in those districts. But even in those districts nobody’s been able to achieve what they have in some smaller organizations.
Recently there was an article in the Star Tribune about Columbia Heights’ Valley View Elementary School [beating the odds with low-income students]. It’s a district I know very well because that’s where my kids were born and raised.
It’s a small district. It has one high school, three elementary schools and I believe one middle school. It’s probably one of the most diverse districts in the state. I am not sure of the exact numbers but I think the number of white students is under 40 percent — so I imagine comparable to Minneapolis. It turns out the graduation rate for Latino students is also higher than average.
I’m giving you a district example to say that this isn’t really about districts or about charters. Most charters have not even been able to replicate what MPS does. The things you have to do are incredibly hard to implement. In a large organization I think it becomes almost impossible.
Look at the latest MCA results. Yes, we had progress in some schools. They weren’t exactly the schools that had the largest populations of low-income students of color. Overall, it made barely a dent in the big picture.
I’ve worked closely with the superintendent. I’ve watched [CEO] Michael Goar pretty closely. They are very talented people who are incredibly overwhelmed. I remember [as board chair] going to the superintendent’s meeting on a weekly basis. Everybody I knew said, “Can you bring this up, can you bring that up.” I had my own list and then I had the list from everyone else. For an hour meeting.
And it’s not just our number one priority, which is increasing achievement. A million and one things come up — even the amount of work that goes into busing tens of thousands of kids or into feeding them.
And we’re not even on the large side of urban districts. Baltimore, Miami, Oakland, San Francisco — all of them made major transformations. There has definitely been progress, more progress than we have seen here, though still quite limited.
Hiawatha [Leadership Academies] really was a turnaround. Most people don’t realize that. The first year’s results were not very impressive.
MP: Were you on Hiawatha’s school board at that point?
Monserrate: Actually I was on Hiawatha’s founding advisory board. I was getting so many complaints from the Latino community about the district. Hiawatha had a large Latino population. When I joined the board I realized it was a turnaround situation.
So I know how hard it is to do. Even when you get the right school leader. Even when you recruit the most talented teachers. It’s very, very hard to do.
In order to get the kind of results you got in Columbia Heights or at Hiawatha or at Harvest Prep or Friendship Academy or Global Academy, it’s almost impossible. Especially when you’re starting so behind.
Running a school has become almost impossible. Running 70 schools? We can do it better, and I’m hoping the changes we’ve made will allow us to do it better. That’s why I’ve been supportive of making the changes we need to make, and of high-performing charters. Of not getting in the way, because lots of districts get in the way.
And knowing that charter schools can’t do it on their own, of finding ways to learn from them. It would take hundreds of years to have a charter school network that could get it all done, unless you know you have a situation like New Orleans where you have a hurricane.
MP: It’s interesting that you mention New Orleans, because there are people who would tell you you have to start from the ground up, that you cannot innovate within an existing bureaucracy. But your example of Columbia Heights seems to put the lie to that. So what is it about the size of the organization that makes it so hard to get things done?
Monserrate: You have less bureaucracy. I still think probably the most important part — and I know not everyone agrees—is who is leading the school. If you are an excellent leader and you have mediocre teachers, you will bring the best out of those mediocre teachers.
You might actually turn some of those mediocre teachers into pretty good teachers. If you have credibility with those teachers and you focus your time on the classroom and let somebody else deal with the operations that suck up all your time. And you can concentrate on being a really good coach of teachers.
But a mediocre leader — and I’m saying a mediocre leader, not a bad one; let’s just assume we are not going to have bad leaders or bad teachers — you can have a mediocre leader and it will completely demoralize your teachers and they will not be able to perform at their best.
So you have to oversee 70 of those [leaders] in Minneapolis Public Schools, when finding anyone to lead a school right now is an incredible challenge. We can’t continue to rely on super humans, because we need so many of them.
The other thing is getting buy-in. We have a very skeptical group of principals. The principals have been very good at running their own schools separate from everything else. And they learn how to work the system to the benefit of the school.
My hope is that with SHIFT and with community partnership schools, if we implement well — and that’s going to be hard enough — you will move to decentralized decision-making.
When I ran for school board I couldn’t believe there were teachers paying for their kids’ supplies. I’m like, that’s just insane. There has to be a simple solution. Four years later, I think that’s still happening, although there is some aid from the state that goes specifically to that. You still hear schools saying, We don’t have enough resources.
At the same time, you still have what still looks like a very comfortable central office. Even with all the layoffs they’ve had. And questions from folks — I haven’t been able to verify them — questions from folks that there might not be the most efficient spending in some of these departments.
So every year you have schools that are upset with what they get or they don’t get. And now you have weighted student funding, which I am a really strong believer in, with a lot of schools with low poverty being worried about losing funding.
Which in the end I don’t think needs to happen if we send more money and more decision making to the schools. So I’m hoping decentralized decision making delivers better results. But I am skeptical.
MP: You talked about buy-in, and you talked about principals, who in my mind are the people who keep the bureaucracy at bay. Is there any hope for the bureaucracy per se? The community schools model is one in which the bureaucracy becomes a servant. That’s the one I am most skeptical about.
Monserrate: I am, too. It’s my hope. We’ve got to do some things differently. Because we can’t just continue to get the results we’re getting. This last set of MCAs is the most demoralizing thing I’ve ever been through. I have to tell you, the way you portrayed our response to it — I sensed you were frustrated. I was too.
I really do believe the school district has been doing major heavy lifting for the last few years. You can argue about the MCAs and whether we should have them and what they really measure. And you saw very little growth in high-performing charter schools, too.
But there’s got to be some kind of growth. These are supposed to be the days of Common Core. (We haven’t exactly adopted Common Core but we’ve adopted something similar.) This is the stuff we all want, teaching kids to be more analytical, critical thinking. I’m skeptical.
I know the teachers contract has not been implemented yet, the community partnership schools have not been implemented yet, but I mean, show me anything. So yeah that was tough to watch.
MP: One of my frustrations the last few months is that there are so many pockets of promise. Lucy Laney’s co-teachers….
Monserrate: Perfect example of bureaucracy getting in the way. I mean come on, it works. The administration had very valid points, it was temporary money, we’re not positive that works. But that was one of those situations where the resources and the decision-making should just go to the school.
MP: Right. It seems like everywhere you look there are examples of good things happening….
…There’s good things, so maybe I’m not being patient enough? I don’t know — it’s been four years.
MP: Longer than that. Seven years ago you stood in front of the different board and said, of the last ambitious strategic plan, “I’m cautiously optimistic.”
Monserrate: We’ll see. I’m a believer in the plan. In terms of my post-school-board activism, I can’t shake this. But I will look in areas where I have more optimism. And I think those will be smaller, more flexible environments. Where decision-making is where it needs to be.Kinnickinnic: [KIN-I-KUH-NIK] An Ojibwe word meaning "what is mixed".
Our Kinnickinnic Whiskey is a blend of Straight Bourbon we have sourced from one of America's finest distilleries and a Malt whiskey and a Rye Whiskey we produce here at Great Lakes Distillery. We bottle it at 86 proof and we don't filter it so we can ensure ALL the very best flavor is making it into the bottle.
American Blended Whiskeys are typically a mixture of a little Whiskey and Neutral Grain Spirit (essentially vodka!). Rest assured, there is no Neutral Grain Spirit in Kinnickinnic. It's 100% Whiskey, and possibly the only American Blended Whiskey made this way on the market.
About the name- On the south side of Milwaukee we see Kinnickinnic everywhere- there is a main street through the Bay View neighborhood and a river named for it and several businesses include it in their name. To keep it quick and simple for locals and outsiders alike, many abbreviate it "KK" in writing and conversation. Kinnickinnic is an Ojibwe word meaning a blend or mix of tobacco and other plants. (There's a good description on the Wisconsin Historical Society site). What does this have to do with whiskey? Well, we think there are some pretty good analogies- Bourbon is often described as having a fresh tobacco like flavor, and like those Native Americans we found blending our "tobacco" with another plant (in our case malted barley and rye) produced a truly unique and delicious spirit. In our own experiments we have also determined this whiskey which is spectacular neat or with a few ice cubes is great mixed too! Kinnickinnic Whiskey won the 2013 World Whisky Awards "Best American Blended Whisky". Kinnickinnic Whiskey Won a Gold Medal at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Kickinnic Whiskey has won a Gold Medal at the 2012 Denver International Spirits Competition. Tasting Note from the Beverage Testing Institute where Kinnickinnic was awarded the Silver Medal; "Minutely hazy light amber color. Light grainy, husky aromas are suggestive of buttery nut brittle, brown spices and chocolate oatmeal cereal with a silky, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a hint of mocha, mossy stone and pink pepper on the zesty finish. A nice choice for craft cocktails".
"The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts" -Aristotle
Kinnickinnic Blended Whiskey is 43% Alcohol by VolumeATHENS — Over the past three years, the European country most affected by the global economic crisis is without doubt Greece. Today, almost six in 10 young people are unemployed, 58.8% of those under 24. Many have also moved abroad since the country has struggled to recover from the recession. The “troika” (the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and the European Commission in Brussels) returned to review the country’s progress in Athens earlier this month, keeping the pressure on for Greece.
“If we leave, what will be left of Greece when it comes out of this crisis?” asks Georges Spanoudakis. The 29-year-old heads up Pinnatta, a flourishing startup created barely three years ago. “I used to run an enterprise in the Silicon Valley, when I realized that there was a huge market for electronic greeting cards. At the time, the industry was valued at 8 billion euros, and experts estimate that it will reach 36 billion in the next three years.”
Spanoudakis therefore decided to return to his country and, with six collaborators, developed a smartphone application that allows users to instantaneously send personalized greeting cards accompanied by custom messages.
“After only four months, Russian, Chinese and American investors chipped in $350,000,” he says. “In August 2012, a new application for funds allowed us to raise another $300,000 from American investors. To date, we have received $1.5 million.”
And what about the brand new offices in an old abandoned factory of trendy Athens, with an outdoor game zone and relaxation corner? “Obviously, I’ve been inspired by businesses I’ve seen in California,” the young man explains. The 16 technician team members are in Greece, but marketing and finance are managed from the small town of Sunnyvale.
“When we raised our first capital, our investors were worried about the economic, political and fiscal instability here,” Spanoudakis says. “Setting up in the States seemed a good solution, but it was even more interesting to recruit good engineers here. They are cheaper, and there is less competition to steal them away,” he admits unashamedly.
Businesses helping businesses
In a similar vein, an initiative called Corallia that promotes the development of Greek technical “clusters” hopes to reassure and encourage investors to put money in Greek startups, despite the fact |
which trustees unanimously budgeted for in June.
The choice on the ballot for us is do we pay recapture the easy way—$162 million through attendance credits—or do we pay recapture the hard way—$192 million through the loss of taxable property.
Furthermore, voters should know the facts behind recapture and why many HISD trustees and other city leaders might be advocating for us to vote against the measure in order for them to either not have to make tough choices or explain hard votes in the future or to help them gamble their way out of the poor choices that brought HISD to this point.
But this is way more complicated than the Chronicle and many trustees would have us believe, so let’s start at the beginning and talk about how we got here...
ATTENDANCE AND ENROLLMENT.
Many opposed to HISD paying recapture describe it in terms of need. The Chronicle stated the fact “that the district with the largest number of poor families will have to give away critically needed resources” was a sign of a broken system. The Chronicle also characterized the ballot language about “attendance credits” as “misleading” and“obtuse vernacular.” These statements make it sound like those who wrote this editorial never bothered to read Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code, otherwise known as Robin Hood, before telling us how to fix it.
On the contrary, the degree of need students have in a district has nothing to do with recapture. Certainly student need significantly impacts the amount of state aid a district receives, but that calculation is completely separate from the Robin Hood process. So separate even, that you find it in a completely different law—Texas Education Code Chapter 42.
So what does impact the recapture calculation? Attendance and enrollment.
What was truly misleading was for the Chronicle to dismiss Houston ISD’s status as property wealthy while altogether ignoring the concept of attendance and enrollment. The Chronicle’s editorial didn’t once use the word enrollment as it criticized the law and asked us for our vote.
So let’s take a look at how it really works.
For each student who is present in class each day, the district effectively earns a little piece of funding for next year’s budget—essentially they earn attendance credits as students show up for school. The overall enrollment for a district or school is calculated as its “Average Daily Attendance,” and that is used to allocate state funds to districts.
In the state’s calculation of whether a school district is property wealthy or not, it uses the combination of the number of students enrolled in schools and the amount of taxable property the district has available to fund those schools. A district being subject to recapture is essentially a district that has reached a specific limit of taxable property per student enrolled.
So when the legislature was devising a system to exchange value between property wealthy districts and property poor districts, they created a currency based on student enrollment called “attendance credits” and provided a method by which districts with too much property wealth relative to their student population could essentially “buy” additional credits from the state thereby transferring money from that property rich district to the state which, in turn, would owe additional funds to a property poor district that doesn’t have enough tax revenue relative to its enrollment size.
Looking at Houston ISD’s own financial statements and enrollment projections, we can see that property values and corresponding tax revenues have dramatically increased over the last five years, up 46%. Meanwhile, HISD’s student population hasn’t kept up, increasing at a mere 7.5% pace over the same period with enrollment predicted to remain flat through 2019.We are big fans of SendGrid here at Eldarion. It's what we recommend to our Gondor customers if they need a mail backend.
One of the cool services that SendGrid offers is their Event API that it will notify you via an HTTP POST on events related to each individual email that you sent through its service.
There are a number of apps out there to work with SendGrid's service but none that worked how we wanted, so we built a new one. django-sendgrid-events does one thing, and I believe does that one thing very well.
Our django-sendgrid-events app is designed to only accept batches. SendGrid allows you to specify if you want to receive each POST for a single email or in batches of emails every few seconds. For our needs it just made sense to handle batches.
Furthermore, django-sendgrid-events is designed to only handle Events API call backs. It doesn't integrate with any of the rest of the SendGrid APIs. Several apps out there have custom backends for sending mail through SendGrid, but we have been pretty successful just using the SMTP API by just configuring the EMAIL_* settings as appropriate.
The key to linking specific emails with activity in your site is in sending special headers when you send the email. You can see examples of this in the usage documentation.Join us on April 22nd and 23rd for our two-tour 3 Year Anniversary celebration! We will be pre-selling tour vouchers for the Early Creature Tours on 4/22 and 4/23 which will take place from 11am-1pm each day with regular tours hours on Saturday from 1-6pm and a tour on Sunday from 1-6pm, both of which will be first come first, serve.** The price for the regular tours on these days will be $30.
Tour vouchers will include guaranteed access to the list of beers below, 36oz to sample onsite, a more intimate setting, and limited edition anniversary stemware (which will also be available at the regular tours). 10% of tour revenue for the *entire* weekend will go to Get Comfortable, and we will have live music both days as well as food available onsite. The Early Creature Tour vouchers are $40.
Check out the links below for more information on tour vouchers, which will go on sale on Saturday, April 8th at 2pm!
**Although these beers are guaranteed for the Early Creature Tours, we expect many of these beers will also be available during regular tour hours, but with no guarantees.This website provides students with the correct pronunciations of the Dakota words and phrases in Beginning Dakota/Tokaheya Dakota Iapi Kin.
Members and descendants of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate, a division of the Great Sioux Nation, live east of the Missouri River, mostly in North and South Dakota, and speak the Dakota dialect. As the population of native speakers ages, younger generations breathe new life into study of the language. In college courses, community education classes, and study teams, learners of all ages practice speaking and writing at the same time that they come to understand the storied history of this significant Native American group.
Nicolette Knudson and Jody Snow, students of the language, along with Dakota instructor and revered elder Clifford Canku share their expertise through activities that organize the language at its most basic level. Twenty-four lesson plans build on each other and use cultural and historical information to increase understanding of the Dakota language and world view. Exercises offer opportunities to practice writing and speaking, increasing vocabulary and introducing grammatical building blocks that enhance comprehension. Glossaries provide translations from Dakota to English and back again. With these features and more, Beginning Dakota is an invaluable tool for speakers of all levels.
Clifford Canku, an elder of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate and assistant professor of practice for Dakota Studies at North Dakota State University, assisted Dakota language students Nicolette Knudson, also a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, and Jody Snow, a language instructor, in creating this helpful resource. Dr. Canku, whose first language is Dakota, and Sandee Geshick, an elder in the Lower Sioux Community, read the Dakota words on this website.
A greeting from Clifford Canku Clifford Canku. Hau mitakuyepi. Aŋpetu de caŋte waŝteya iyuha nape ciyuzapi do. Dakota caze maqupi Mato Watakpe emakiyapi do. Sissitoŋwaŋ-Waĥpetoŋwaŋ etanhaŋ wahi do. Iŋyuskiŋyaŋ Dakota iapi uŋkiyapi kte do. Ehaŋna dena mitakuyepi unspe makiyapi do.
A greeting from Sandee Geshick Sandee Geshick. Haŋ mitakuyapi. Aŋpetu de caŋte waŝteya iyuŝkiŋyaŋ nape ciyuzapi ye. Dakota caze maqupi kiŋ de. Zitkada Ho Waŝte Wiŋ emakiyapi ye. Canŝayapi etanhaŋ wahi ye. Iŋyuskiŋyaŋ Dakota iape uŋkiyapi kte ye. Ehaŋna dena mitakuyepi unspe makiyapi ye.“Tough times don’t last, tough people do!... Pain is temporary,” reads a t-shirt prominently displayed on the Tough Mudder website. Vomit or no vomit, the experience will be unpleasant, but you will be better for it. This is the promise of extreme exercise.
But to determine why people are attracted to exercise programs where vomiting or being shocked by a live wire seem to be at least somewhat more likely than in day-to-day life, we must first ask: Why exercise at all?
The reasons people exercise can’t be boiled down to dichotomies: Either they like working out or they don’t, they’re motivated or they’re not. The truth is that motivation is complex, and some reasons for working out are healthier than others.
Philip Wilson, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology at Brock University in Canada, has been studying exercise motivation for the past 10 years. He says that while intrinsic motivation—exercising because you think it’s fun, and you actively want to do it—is the ideal for creating a long-term habit, ultimately exercise can’t make you love it if you don’t.
In the absence of a genuine love for running on the elliptical, exercising because you know it’s good for you, or because you want to be the type of person who exercises, are better motivations (in terms of feeling good and sticking with it) than exercising because you’d feel bad about yourself if you didn’t, or because you think someone else wants you to.
Wilson says it could be that people who are attracted to intense exercise programs are intrinsically or autonomously motivated, that they are looking to prove themselves at a new challenge, and they enjoy the hard work these programs involve. (They may also like exercise itself less than “having exercised”—one 2007 study found that participants felt tense and distressed during their workout, but felt better once it was over.)
“These CrossFit programs do not draw couch potatoes,” Wilson says.
That certainly seems to be the case for Darsh.
“[CrossFit] was a way to throw myself into yet another sport that demanded a lot of me, [where] I really had to bear down and go to a different place in order to get where I wanted to go,” she says. “I’d found that in cycling and in triathlons, and then moved on to CrossFit.”
But Wilson says it’s also possible that some of the more troubling motivations are behind the trend—that people are seeking a reward (such as losing weight), “or they have a very fragile sense of self-worth.” Unhealthy motives are more likely, according to Wilson, when people take extreme exercise to, well, its extreme—pushing through intense pain, or continuing to work out through nausea.
Nausea is a warning sign, says Anthony Wall, director of professional education at the American Council on Exercise. There are a few things that can cause nausea during a workout. One is a full stomach, which isn’t much of a cause for worry. (Just maybe next time, do your daily P90X video before entering a hot dog eating contest, not after.) Another is dehydration, when an imbalance of the body’s electrolytes can cause vomiting.There's an outrageous Connor McDavid prop bet for WrestleMania 33
WWE's 'Super Bowl' is on the horizon as WrestleMania 33 goes down this Sunday in Orlando.
The 'Showcase of Immortals' is one fans from all over the world attend and watch because it's that big and that much of a spectacle.
Even causal fans feel the need to tune in because you never know what to expect or who's going to show up.
At WrestleMania 31, for example, Ronda Rousey showed up and made her presence felt.
Only 11 DAYS remain until the #UltimateThrillRide #WrestleMania, and you never know who is going to show up to create their own 'Mania moment! A post shared by WWE (@wwe) on Mar 22, 2017 at 8:13am PDT
At WrestleMania 32, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Micky Foley surprised the crowd with their involvement in the show, proving once again that anything can happen and anyone can show up.
When it comes to surprise appearances, the names getting the most attention are Conor McGregor, Shaq, Kurt Angle, and the Hardy Boys.
Like any other sport, prop bets can be made for the show, and this prop bet list from 'Sports Betting Experts' has one other names fans apparently need to keep an eye on, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid:
Will Connor McDavid Participate in a Wrestlemania 33 match?
Yes: +7500
No: -15000
We don't know about you, but we're going to put a little money on McDavid participating, just in case.
Getty Images/Harry How
There is nothing, and we mean nothing to suggest McDavid will be at the event let alone participate, but clearly they know something we don't know.
We did do some research, though, and it turns out the Oilers don't play on Sunday or Monday, and they're in Los Angeles Tuesday, so he could be there if he wanted to.
Also, if McDavid did get involved in a match, he'd have more fights in WWE than in the NHL.
Here's how we would book McDavid at WrestleMania 33, he interrupts Stone Cold, takes a stunner, but before Austin can hit him with another one, this music hits:
That's Auston Matthews' music. That's Auston Matthews' music.
Auston saves the day and the two celebrate with some water. Everyone would pay to watch that.
In all seriousness, the prop bet is outrageous (Note: Last time WrestleMania was in Orlando, Floyd Mayweather fought Big Show), so here are some less ridiculous ones:
Will Kenny Omega make an in-ring appearance at Wrestlemania 33?
Yes: +4500
No: -7500
Will Kazuchika Okada make an in-ring appearance at Wrestlemania 33?
Yes: +7500
No: -15000
Will a referee be knocked down (‘ref bump’) in any Wrestlemania 33 match?
Yes: -150
No: +130
Will a championship belt of any variety be used as a weapon a Wrestlemania 33 match?
Yes: +130
No: -150
Will a ringside chair of any variety be used as a weapon a Wrestlemania 33 match?
Yes: +150
No: -175
Will any wrestler bleed from the forehead either intentionally (‘blading’) or accidentally (‘hardway’)in a Wrestlemania 33 match?
Yes: +150
No: -175
Will any Wrestlemania 33 match end in a disqualification?
Yes: -150
No: +130
Will any Wrestlemania 33 match end in a double count out?
Yes: +500
No: -450
Will Conor McGregor Participate in a Wrestlemania 33 match?
Yes: +1750
No: -2500
And here are the odds for the matches:
2017 ANDRE THE GIANT MEMORIAL BATTLE ROYAL
Braun Strowman: -750
Sami Zayn: +1750
Big Show: +1750
Mark Henry: +4500
Simon Gotch: +4500
Aiden English: +4500
Chad Gable: +4500
Jason Jordan: +4500
Dolph Ziggler: +4500
Heath Slater: +4500
Curt Hawkins: +4500
Viktor: +4500
Konnor: +4500
Kalisto: +7500
Tyler Breeze: +7500
Mojo Rawley: +7500
Curtis Axel: +7500
Primo: +7500
Epico: +7500
Bo Dallas: +7500
Jey Uso: +7500
Jimmy Uso: +7500
Titus O’Neil: +7500
R-Truth: +7500
Jinder Mahal: +7500
Rhyno: +15000
Goldust: +15000
Apollo Crews: +15000
Fandango: +15000
Sin Cara: +15000
WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Naomi: +150
Alexa Bliss: +250
Becky Lynch: +250
Mickie James: +600
Natalya: +900
Carmella: +1400
WWE CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Neville: -450
Austin Aries: +300
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
Bray Wyatt: +450
Randy Orton: -600
WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Goldberg: +950
Brock Lesnar: -1400
SINGLES MATCH
The Undertaker: +300
Roman Reigns: -450
MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH
John Cena/Nikki Bella: -650
The Miz/Maryse: +500
SINGLES MATCH
Shane McMahon: +900
A.J. Styles: -1250
WWE RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Bayley: -350
Charlotte Flair: +350
Sasha Banks: +450
Nia Jax: +1250
WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
Chris Jericho: +500
Kevin Owens: -650
SINGLES MATCH
Seth Rollins: -450
Triple H: +300
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Dean Ambrose: +500
Baron Corbin: -650
WWE RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson: +140
Enzo Amore/Big Cass: +100
Cesaro/Sheamus: +275
Special thanks to Sports Betting Experts for the info, enjoy WrestleMania!
It's the FINAL "What a Match!" Wednesday stop on the Road to #WrestleMania! What is the greatest match ranging from #WrestleMania XXV to last year? #WAMWednesday A post shared by WWE (@wwe) on Mar 29, 2017 at 10:00am PDT
(H/T: Uproxx)After my article on rendering views in Backbone, Jeremy Ashkenas pointed out that my examples were doing extra, expensive work by re-rendering everything on every call to render. He’s absolutely right, but they were just examples. In practice I rarely use single render methods for that exact reason.
Instead of writing gigantic render functions that do everything under the sun (and then more, admit it!) you should break your render methods into small chunks. That way you only ever re-render what you need.
This is another one of those patterns that Backbone tutorials don’t get complicated-enough to address, but you’ll quickly run into problems—or just have a nasty codebase—if you don’t adopt it in larger projects.
Say you have a StatusView. And each status has a relative timespan (eg. “Posted 34 seconds ago”). And now you you want to be real slick and update that timestamp so its never stale. You definitely don’t want to re-render the entire status (avatar and all!) just to refresh the timestamp. That’s when having small render helpers comes in real handy.
I’ll show you what I mean…
I’m going to use our TextfieldView from Segment as an example. But first, here’s what a crappy render method might look like for our TextfieldView :
render : function () { // Input if (this.$input) this.$input.remove(); this.$input = $(this.inputTemplate({ value : this.get('value') || '', type : this.get('type'), placeholder : this.get('placeholder'), tabindex : this.getState('disabled')? -1 : this.get('tabindex') })); this.$el.append(this.$input) // Label if (this.$label) this.$label.remove(); if (this.has('label')) { this.$label = $(this.labelTemplate({ label : this.get('label') })) this.$el.prepend(this.$label); } // Classes if (this.has('classes')) this.$el.addClass(this.get('classes').join(' ')) // States for (var i = 0, state; state = this.states[i]; i++) { this.$el.state(state, this.state[state]); } this.trigger('render', this); return this; }
That render method is huge! It handles appending the input element, prepending an optional label element, adding optional classes, and rendering UI state. Writing this kind of render method is going to give you tons of problems:
Readability. Writing that just for this blog post was already annoying enough, now imagine having to maintain that method. I’d need to re-read everything three times just to remember all of the decisions are being made in the code.
Performance. What happens when label changes? What about when disable() is called? You’ll want to re-render you TextfieldView. But since you only have a single, giant method, you’re re-rending the input element, its attribute, the label, etc. That’s adding a completely unecessary performance hit to your app. And not even the kind of performance hit that means cleaner code!
Inheritance. We also have a TextareaView (pretty self-explanatory). Ideally it would easily reuse the code for rendering labels, optional classes and UI state. But if it’s all mashed up in a single render method we’d probably just copy-paste that code into TextareaView.
So how do we solve these problems? Let’s look at…
A real-world example.
Here are the render methods (note: plural!) for TextfieldView pulled straight from ourSegment source. Instead of having a single, gigantic render method that handles rendering the input, its label, states and classes, I’ve split render into several small helper methods:
renderInput : function () { if (this.$input) this.$input.remove(); this.$input = $(this.inputTemplate({ value : this.get('value') || '', type : this.get('type'), placeholder : this.get('placeholder'), tabindex : this.getState('disabled')? -1 : this.get('tabindex') })); this.$el.append(this.$input); return this; }, renderLabel : function () { if (this.$label) this.$label.remove(); if (!this.has('label')) return this; this.$label = $(this.labelTemplate({ label : this.get('label') })) this.$el.prepend(this.$label); return this; }
See how each of those helpers return this? That’s to make rendering all at once realchainable. Here’s what the textfield’s main render method—the one that calls all the helpers—looks like:
render : function () { this.renderInput().renderLabel().renderClasses().renderStates(); return this.trigger('render', this); }
Now you can pick and choose.
When settings change for the TextfieldView, it can re-render individual pieces efficiently. To set up that functionality, after the view is rendered it will start listening for changes to its settings and call the appropriate render helper to update those changes in the DOM.
onRenderedStateChange : function (self, rendered) { var method = rendered? 'on' : 'off'; this[method]('change:placeholder change:type change:tabindex change:state:disabled', this.renderInput); this[method]('change:label', this.renderLabel); this[method]('change:classes', this.renderClasses); this[method]('change:states', this.renderStates); }
The ternary for method means that as soon as our view isn’t rendered anymore (when the rendered state changes to false ) the events will be unbound. The one thing this pattern depends on is having a rendered state that generates events when changed. On Segment, we maintain UI state like rendered on all of our views, so this is easy to do.
And now you can inherit those helpers.
Wondering where the heck that renderStates call came from? That method isn’t defined in our TextfieldView. It’s inherited from further up the prototype chain in our BaseView.
That’s the other huge benefit to breaking up your render method: it’s awesome for inheritance. Whenever I find myself copy-pasting rendering code, I stop, create a parent view and have all of the children inherit the render helpers they need.
Don’t be afraid of bringing things up a level even if they aren’t used everywhere. renderLabel is actually defined in BaseView as well, even though only TextfiedView and TextareaView use it. That’s fine! No other view needs to care and if I want my DropdownView to have a label later… no new code!
There are always drawbacks.
You might have noticed that all of the examples use a combination of templating and appending elements to the DOM despite me advocating against append. That’s a trade-off you have to weigh when splitting up render.
To get around that, you could have a single render that uses a template, and then have small update helpers to update individual parts of the DOM when settings change. But then you’d be duplicating your rendering logic and you’d have to keep both paths in sync. Good for performance maybe, but I don’t want to have to sync that code right now.
At that point though, you get even closer to model binding, so why not use it? I haven’t looked into model binding enough yet. The model binding plugin I’d use would need to be very flexible because when my textfield’s disabled state changes, its tabindex needs to be synced, and when label is set to null an exisiting label element needs to be removed. And then there’s performance to consider too. My current solution leaves me in complete control of performance, so any plugin needs to handle it well enough for me not to notice.
While researching for this post, I did come across Rivets.js which looks really promising. So I’ll probably experiment with that soon, and if it works out nicely I’ll write another article about it.
In the end, it all depends on the situation, but I’ve found that having multiple, small render helpers has made my Backbone views much more manageable.Strange Coins
In Micronesia on the island of Yap, the Rai stone is legal tender and heavy at that. The coins are rather large circular limestones with a hole in the center. At between five and 20 feet in diameter, these numismatic colossi derive their value not from monetary or fiscal policy, but rather from their size, weight and effort to transport.
In parts of West Africa up until the 20th century, twisted iron barbs with a spatula at one end and a T at the other were used to transact business, though they look more like a steel leader on a fishing line. Known as Kissi money, broken pieces of it were deemed worthless unless restored in ceremonial fashion by a witchdoctor, in a case of currency rebasement.
The Canadian $1 million coin weighs approximately 220 pounds, most of which is comprised of gold bullion, and sells for roughly twice its face value due to the high value of its content. Don't plan on paying for sundry items with this. You'll empty the vendor's till and everything in the bank.
The ancient south Indian Vijayanagara Empire lays claim to the smallest coin in numismatic history. The quarter silver Tara weighs.06 ounces and measures four millimeters in diameter."The past eight years have been very lonely. There has not been much activism against the wars at all," Cindy Sheehan lamented.
"Obama has continued to expand George Bush's war of terror against the world, and there has been very little opposition to it," she added.
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More than 12 years ago, Sheehan's son, a soldier in the U.S. Army, was killed in Iraq. The tragic loss transformed her. She was politicized, and plunged into anti-war activism. Sheehan soon became one of the most vociferous critics of then-President George W. Bush.
She still remains a committed activist today. Sheehan has been arrested numerous times for her activism, and for seven years, she has run the weekly radio show "Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox," which she describes as a "revolutionary talk show."
Salon spoke with Sheehan to discuss the recent controversy with Donald Trump and Khizr Khan, the 2016 presidential election and the ongoing wars waged by the U.S.
In the interview, Sheehan condemned Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, the two-party system and the corporate media. She also spoke about her work with independent left-wing third parties.
Khizr Khan, Bush and Trump
In early August, Trump attacked Khizr Khan and his wife Ghazala, whose son, U.S. soldier Humayun Khan, was killed fighting in Iraq. The Khans, who are Pakistani Americans, had appeared at the Democratic National Convention in late July, where Khizr condemned Trump for his openly racist campaign.
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Media pundits and politicians, including Jeb Bush, subsequently compared the incident to President George W. Bush's response to Cindy Sheehan, and argued Bush had been much kinder than Trump. Sheehan disagreed with the comparison, and argued people are whitewashing history for partisan gain.
"George Bush may have said publicly that I was entitled to my opinion, but his administration, his attack dog Karl Rove and the right-wing press thoroughly attacked me and tried to discredit me," she explained.
"It was rather nightmarish," Sheehan recalled. "How was that fine?"
She noted that even progressive news outlets and pundits like Democracy Now and Rachel Maddow favorably contrasted Bush with Trump.
"It's incredible. These people were absolutely opposed to George Bush when he was president, and now they're trying to paint his administration in a more favorable light. To me that is just amazing," Sheehan said.
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While she strongly opposes Trump and his bigotry, Sheehan pointed out that his response to Hillary Clinton was not entirely wrong. After Khan's DNC speech, Trump tweeted, "Am I not allowed to respond? Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me!" Sheehan said that, on this point, he is exactly right.
"Hillary Clinton not only voted for it, but she gave Democratic cover to George Bush for the invasion and occupation of Iraq that killed my son and killed the Khans' son," Sheehan stressed.
"Of course, Hillary Clinton, when she was senator and secretary of state, not just her rhetoric but her actions were very belligerent and hostile," she added. "To me, that's where the conversation should be."
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As for Trump, "I feel like someone should take away his phone and not let him do any more tweets," she joked.
Salon previously reported that, while many media outlets amplified Khizr Khan’s patriotic sentiments, his criticism of U.S. foreign policy was overlooked. In an interview on MSNBC's "Hardball," Khan condemned U.S. wars, noting “we have created a chaos” and a “quagmire” in Muslim-majority countries.
"The corporate media is very good at that," Sheehan said of the little reporting on Khan's critiques. "The corporate media tries to discredit people, and selectively quotes."
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"Even though I oppose Donald Trump, even though I oppose what he stands for and the Republican Party, he was right when he said Hillary Clinton voted for the war," she explained.
"But instead of that being the emphasis, it's all about, 'He attacked a gold star family,'" Sheehan continued. "I think they're being used as pawns in the general election," she added of the Khans.
Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party
Sheehan argued that the U.S. political establishment, in general, is very extreme. She said the media is stressing how extreme Trump is without adequately emphasizing how extreme Clinton is as well.
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While Clinton might have toned down some of her rhetoric in this campaign, Sheehan continued, "her actual actions have been very questionable, especially when, like me, you're an anti-war activist."
Hard-line neoconservatives like Max Boot, Robert Kagan and more have endorsed Clinton for president, she stressed. Salon has previously reported on the slew of prominent right-wing figures who have thrown their weight behind Clinton.
"From the establishment, on down to grassroots Democrats, they either support her hawkishness, or don't care about her hawkishness," Sheehan said. "But if it were a Republican" who was this hawkish, "that would be a different story."
Clinton is one of the most belligerent figures in U.S. politics. Even The New York Times, which endorsed Clinton for president, acknowledged that the is more hawkish than her Republican rivals.
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Sheehan has not always had such an antagonistic relationship with the Democratic Party. She accuses it of betraying her.
In 2006, Sheehan agreed to work with the Democratic Party. "They told me that, if I helped them regain control of the House, then they would help me end the wars," she explained.
"But then they regained power in the House and they didn't end the wars. So that's when I left the party," Sheehan continued. "I said after 2006 that I would never vote for another person who is pro-war."
In the 2016 election, Sheehan is on the state central committee of the Peace and Freedom Party, a socialist feminist third-party based primarily in California. She is a delegate for Gloria La Riva, the presidential candidate for the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
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Sheehan staunchly opposes the "lesser evil" argument used by supporters of the two hegemonic parties.
"Voting third party is a vote against the duopoly and against the war parties, which are the Democrats and Republicans," she said.
"I really sympathize with a lot of people who are, in a principled way, not in an apathetic way, saying that they are going to withhold their vote, for the top at least, and vote down-ticket."
If she did not have the opportunity to vote for the Peace and Freedom, Sheehan said she "would probably be a registered Green and working to pull that party to the left."
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Bernie Sanders and Obama
For Sheehan, opposition to war and imperialism is the most important issue. Hence, while she conceded that there were good things about the movement behind Bernie Sanders, she was critical of the Vermont senator for his support for "imperial policies."
Sheehan noted that Sanders' opposition to wars has not been consistent. He voted to authorize funding for the war in Afghanistan, supported the no-fly zone that led to the 2011 war in Libya and backed the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
Even Sanders' criticisms of Israel's crimes against the Palestinians, although important, were very mild, Sheehan noted. "Even mild criticism of Israel seems to pretty glaring coming from the establishment."
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"Then he completely capitulated to the counterrevolution of Hillary Clinton,"she continued. "There is so much evidence that the DNC rigged the primaries her favor, of course, but he still completely and enthusiastically endorsed her."
"Demexit," the new movement of former Sanders supporters calling for progressives to leave the Democratic Party, is an exciting development, Sheehan said.
"I think anything to undermine either one of the two major political parties of Wall Street and war is a really good movement," she added.
She also applauded the Black Lives Matter and the new platform of the Movement for Black Lives, which, as Salon previously reported, condemns what it calls the “U.S. empire” and calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from around the world and reparations for past wars.
But Sheehan remains skeptical. "I've been around the block a few times, and I just see the closer we get to November, the more this fear-based 'If you don't vote Clinton you'll be handing the election to Trump' tactic will kick in."
Sheehan said it has been very hard continuing her activism under President Obama and a Democratic administration.
Liberals "let Democrats off the hook," she lamented. Sheehan blasted the U.S. drone assassination program, which has killed hundreds, if not thousands of civilians. She noted Obama's new wars have been "framed as humanitarian interventions."
"We saw eight years of an expansion of empire with very little opposition. If Clinton gets in, I can't see much changing. In fact, I just envision it getting worse," Sheehan warned.
She concluded, "All I know is that I'll still be working against it. If there's any kind of movement or anything, I'd be happy to support it and join but. But, like I said, it's been a very lonely eight years trying to keep the energy against these wars and against empire going."There are many reasons to tune into Cinemax's Banshee this week, on Friday at 10 p.m., so why not add another to the list: Like, say, the introduction of a new, highly anticipated character. So, it's a good thing this week's episode includes our first look at Chayton Littlestone (Geno Segers), the imposing leader of the Kinaho tribe, who's pretty (understandably) mad that a girl from his tribe has been killed on land that originally belonged to the Kinaho tribe.
It takes a lot of presence to portray a character like Chayton, and luckily, Segers has it: At 6'4", Segers played football in college before beginning to play for the National American Rugby League. After that, he ended up moving to New Zealand to play for the Richmond Rovers rugby league, before he began to pursue acting. He has appeared in a few shows such as White Collar, but he's best known for his role in DisneyXD's Pair of Kings.
You can check out more photos above, and then a video of Chayton's first scene from this week's episode below.
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's Private Eye magazine.
After using her money to start a financial tipster business about Euro-trash investments where he could exploit the inside information and contacts he'd accrued while working as a reporter -- he accumulated a small fortune in the Michael Milken-Ivan Boesky wild frontier times of London's financial markets in the mid-late 90s. But his eyes were always on the prize of political power and prestige. After failing twice to win election to the UK Parliament, he ran for the European Parliament and finally managed to win a seat there in 1999. A tried and tested gateway to the UK Parliament, it offers yuppies who fail at winning British elections an alternative track to getting a political resume. And Huhne was definitely in a hurry.
After twice being rejected by the UK voters, he now had his eye on a much more winnable constituency for the English Parliament. This one was primed for his party so all he had to do was to run a moderately competent campaign at the next general election (likely to be in 2005). Eastleigh, the town designated as a suitable vehicle for his political ambitions was a couple of hours drive from London. Only 75 minutes for Huhne - who was well-known for speeding. Not just past older economics professors and established journalistic ethics. But also on the streets of London. And he had the penalties on his driving license to prove it.
So when an automatic camera caught his car breaking the speed limit and a speeding ticket was received in respect of whoever was driving his car that night -- Huhne saw his world crumbling. Instead of simply shrugging his shoulders and being grateful that between his wife's money and his own suspiciously-arrived-at stash, he could afford a car service or a chauffeur -- he instead decided to perjure himself and force his wife to do the same. She had a clean license with no penalty points on it. If his wife perjured herself and claimed that SHE had been driving his car that night -- he could get off scott-free. After all, why should England's roads be deprived of such an important man as he?! It was a fateful decision.
The previously "clean" driving license of Huhne's wife Vicky Pryce after Huhne forced her to perjure herself and claim that she had been the speeding motorist caught on camera. Even though she'd been 60 miles away at a dinner at the time the camera snapped the speeding car.
He would have got away with it too. Except for that hubris. During his election campaign in 2010 he had issued an election leaflet that was saccharine by any standards. Photos of him cradling his youngest baby (the one who during her recent trial his ex-wife revealed that he'd begged her to abort because another child would get in the way of his career) and gushing prose about how much he loved his wife and children and how he'd do anything for them. You'd have thought he was a conservative Republican with a penchant for something young and butch on the side judging from all that blather and bullshit.
But it turns out you'd have been not far off the mark...
Images from Huhne's 2010 election campaign literature touting his deep family values and his strong marriage. It was created by Huhne and his bisexual publicist. With whom Huhne had been having a torrid affair for the preceding two and a half years.
Because no sooner than the election was won and Huhne had wormed his way into the cabinet - he was discovered to be having an affair. And not just any affair. His paramour was a bisexual woman married to a lesbian. Moreover this was his publicist - the very person who had helped him put together the gushing election flyer selling Huhne as The Family Man!
Huhne was caught red-handed with his by-the-by pal by a tabloid newspaper and it was going to break the story on a Sunday. The preceding Saturday there was a World Cup soccer game on TV. Huhne watched the first half of the game with his wife -- then during the 15 minutes "half-time" casually turned to his wife and told her that their 26-year marriage was over because he was in love with his bisexual publicist.
Chris Huhne with "Trim" as his new honey Carina Trimingham is known by her most intimate chums.
Furthermore he told his wife that she had just 15 minutes -- before the second half of the soccer game -- to agree to signing a benign statement about the end of her marriage so that he could give it to the tabloid paper that had busted him -- in an attempt to spin the story to his benefit and save his cabinet job. She also had to do it in a hurry because he wanted to go the gym! And with that he walked out of her life. In retrospect, about 26 years too late...
Now no one in the world can help his or her appearance but the fact that Huhne's new paramour, Carina Trimingham, had what his wife described as a striking resemblance to Noel Gallagher of Oasis (no -- not the one who sang and was married to Patsy Kensit -- but his brother... you know, the guitarist with the unibrow) did not help matters. During the court case, audio tapes between Huhne and his wife were played (she had surreptitiously recorded him) and in speaking to Huhne about his his bisexual girlfriend she constantly referred to Trimingham as "your fucking man". Ouch. How's that for a story, Morning Glory?!
Carina "Trim" "Trimingham has become the sole oasis for Chris Huhne as he has plunged from being a champagne supernova to being a jailbird behind a prison (wonder)wall
Miraculously, Huhne survived the scandal and he kept his cabinet position. And having dumped with wife and five kids (two step and three his -- but stepped on) he carried onwards and upwards in his quest to reach the very top.
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Finally Vicky Pryce could take no more. Angry and vengeful about being dumped for someone she thought looked like the less attractive brother in a Brit-pop band from Manchester with a penchant for plagiarizing Rubber Soul -- and subsumed with guilt about the callow, shallow man she had helped launch into politics -- she decided to repent. She told the story of how Huhne had screwed the system to try and dodge the speeding bullet of losing his license and how she and Huhne had both perjured themselves. She told it all. Nothing was trimmed.
The story hit the British press and Huhne did what any self-respecting weasel would do. He trashed his ex-wife and publicly called her a liar. Even though his children -- his own and the ones he'd poached from her first husband -- knew that it was he who was the liar and criminal. What that did to his children can be imagined. But Huhne was desperate.
To admit that he had perverted the course of justice would obviously be a no-no. So he arrogantly denied everything and forced his politcal colleagues -- including UK Prime Minister David Cameron -- to defend him.
Huhne seen with UK Premier David Cameron after he had flat-out lied to the famously incurious Prime Minister and secured from him a public statement of support for the man now in prison for perverting the course of justice. Huhne told his friends he would one day be in the same position as Cameron. (Depending on what beans are spilled by Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks at their criminal trials, that could still happen...)
He would have got away with it too except for a courageous Labour Party parliamentarian, Simon Danczukm MP who called on the police to investigate. Huhne fumed and snarled but the British police did their job. They investigated and found that what Vicky Pryce had revealed was the truth. Despite this, Huhne then lied to the police. That was really dumb. You can be a viper... a sneak... a rat... a humbug... a hypocrite... a vagabond.... a scrounger... a parasite... a pervert... a worm... a chicken strangler... a piece of slimy refuse... a loathsome spotted reptile... even a secret player of the pink oboe... Anything. But you can't lie to the police.
Finally, when in January of 2012 he was charged with the crime of perverting the course of justice, Huhne was forced to resign from the British cabinet. The first Cabinet Minister in the entire history of Britain to ever achieve that accolade. Naturally he vowed to return an soon as, what he claimed as the baseless charges against him, were either withdrawn or proved in a court of law to be utterly false.
For another 13 months, Huhne continued as a Member of Parliament -- bad-mouthing his ex-wife at every opportunity. Forcing Britain's taxpayer-funded Crown Prosecution Service to spend vast amounts of badly-needed money to combat the barrage of legal tricks his lawyers were throwing at the case to try and derail it before it started. And telling everyone how he would soon be cleared and resume his natural position near the top of the British government.
Huhne finally surrenders and admits that he broke the law, perjured himself and spent years lying to everyone from the Prime Minister up...
But on February 4th, approximately 30 seconds into the first day of the trial he failed to derail, Huhne finally came clean. Faced with overwhelming evidence that he was guilty and knowing that a trial would be deeply embarrassing and likely to result in a longer jail term than if he pleaded guilty -- Huhne changed his plea and admitted that he'd been publicly lying ever since the story emerged. Sentencing was postponed while his wife's trial on the same charge proceeded.
She gambled everything on a very unusual and anti-feminist defense. She was claiming that she had been a defenseless little housefrau who was coerced into her criminal action. Unfortunately for her, the jury came in with a unanimous verdict that she had been guilty plain and simple. As described by everyone in the court, and captured by the court sketch artists, the look on her face when the verdict was read, was like the mystified howl of Ann Thorn (played by Lee Grant) the Babylonian step-aunt of Damien in The Omen II (the best flick of that trashy canon) when the devil discards her after she's outlived her usefulness. After all, she had merely been trying to help her little satanic nephew in his quest to rule the Universe! It wasn't fair that she should be punished. But punished she will be. She's going to jail.
Enablers who get discarded by their Master are usually somewhat pissed off...
Meanwhile, the real victims of this tragedy are the five children. From a very young age, Pryce's two daughters by her first husband had tellingly refused to take Huhne's name. They smelled the rat long before their mother. While she was still gaga from his early 80s smarm-charm offensive, these young girls had seen through the oil slick. To them he was like the character in the movie The Stepfather. ("Who AM I here?!") They knew it. But alas their mother didn't see who Huhne really was until it was far too late.
And what of the three children that Huhne and Pryce had together? Lydia, Nico and Peter. None has suffered more than the youngest -- Oxford University student Peter. He watched as his own father repeatedly trashed his mother publically and branded her a liar. When he knew first-hand that his father was lying. It's nothing unusual for children in their teens and early twenties to get into heated battles with their parents. It happens. Words are shouted. Feelings are hurt. it happens in the best of families.
Peter Huhne with his mother and father in happier days. Before Huhne's double life and crimes were exposed. Poor kid. You can't pick your parents...
But what Chris Huhne did to his own son Peter is beyond despicable. Once Peter realized that his father's lying and criminal behavior was going to result in his mother being prosecuted -- and as it transpires found guity and sent to prison -- he wrote a series of texts to his father begging him to come clean and not ruin his mother's life. But even though he knew his son was aware that he'd committed the crime -- Huhne continued lying to his own son.
It reached the point where his son could not bear to hear from his "scum-bag" father again.
These are some of the verified texts between father and son that Huhne desperately tried to have suppressed but that eventually emerged during the court proceedings. Had he not pleaded guilty, they would have been prime evidence against him.
Son: "So nice to see our entire relationship reduced to lies and pleasantries in that letter. Do you take me for an idiot? The fact you said your parents were happier as a result of their divorce was disgusting... when you were having affairs makes me sick. You are the most ghastly man I have ever known. Does it give you pleasure that you have lost most of your friends?" Chris Huhne: "I understand that I have really offended you but I hope that the passage of time will provide some perspective... I love you and I will be there to support you if you ever need it." Son: "You are right - the perspective involves me getting angrier with every day that goes by. You just don't get it." Son: "We all know that you were driving and you put pressure on Mum. Accept it or face the consequences. You've told me that was the case. Or will this be another lie? " Chris Huhne: "I have no intention of sending Mum to Holloway Prison for three months. Dad" Son: "Are you going to accept your responsibility or do I have to contact the police and tell them what you told me?" Son: "I don't want to speak to you, you disgust me. Fuck off." Chris Huhne: "Peter, just to say, I'm thinking of you and I love you very much. It would be great to talk to you, Dad." Son: "Fuck off." Chris Huhne: "I do hope your exams are going okay, despite everything over the last few weeks. Thinking of you, love you, Dad. PS It's grandad's birthday today." Son: "Don't text me you fat piece of shit" Chris Huhne: "Happy Christmas. Love you, Dad." Son: "Well I hate you, so fuck off." Chris Huhne: "Well I'm proud and I love you, Dad." Son: "Leave me alone, you have no place in my life and no right to be proud. It's irritating that you don't seem to take the point. You are such an autistic piece of shit. Don't contact me again, you make me feel sick."
And all of those texts were sent by Peter Huhne BEFORE it emerged in court last week that his father had tried very hard to bully his mother into having him aborted. Fortunately for Peter, having gone through one abortion just to please her husband, Vicky Pryce had drawn the line at his next demand that she abort her child.
Could this dreadful tragedy, that has devastated these children -- especially his youngest child Peter -- have been avoided?
Sadly, it could have been.
For just as Richard Nixon's crimes during Watergate were only the latest manifestations of his sick, flawed character that had been in sight for all to see from the late 1940s and especially in his 1950 smear campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas, so was Huhne's behavior and eventual downfall entirely predictable. It was all about his ruthless ambition and deeply shallow character. His utter amorality. His willingness to do anything, hurt anybody in his relentless quest to achieve self-glory.
In the early 1980s, while working for The Guardian newspaper, Huhne had lied and fabricated details in a story that maligned several people and a major organization. His purpose was simple. To advance his career by appearing to break what appeared on the surface to be a juicy scandal. But the facts didn't remotely support the story Huhne had pre-sold his editor. So -- like any Jayson Blair in a hurry -- Huhne simply distorted the facts to suit the narrative in his story pitch. The organization, the maligned people and many other luminaries protested the lies in Huhne's fabrication to The Guardian.
But the Guardian didn't want to admit that its staff member was a flagrant liar and that it had been duped by its rising reporter. The exposure of Huhne's opportunistic mendacity and tissue of odious lies was swept under the carpet. So at a point when Huhne could have been exposed for who and what he really was, he was instead coddled and protected. Which is perhaps why to this day the Guardian continues to print sympathetic pieces about the now jailed felon who once worked for the paper.
Among the many people who wish that the real Huhne had been exposed and stopped back then are his ex-wife Vicky Pryce -- nee Vasiliki Courmouzis -- (now in jail); his long-suffering step-daughters Georgina and Alexandra; and his children Lydia, Nico and Peter who will forever have to bear the shame of their disgraced, sleazy father - the Dishonourable Chris Huhne.
His name was Christopher Like in the Bible. They call him Lucifer Because he gambled...
CONTEXTUAL NOTE ABOUT UK PRISONS & SENTENCING
Britain's prisons are currently so over-crowded that wealthy, middle-class, white-collar criminals on a first conviction can reliably expect to get sentences that are a fraction of the recommended terms of imprisonment. That helps keep the jails clear for working class convicts and minor drug offenders so much preferred by prison administrators. In recent years, those convicted of "perverting the course of justice" have received sentences of six months and less. Notwithstanding that, the judge in the trial was scathing in his condemnation of Huhne for his crime.
The judge said: "Offending of this sort strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system. It amounts to the serious criminal offence of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice."
Accordingly he sentenced Huhne to a sterner 9 months imprisonment (with a 10% reduction because of Huhne's last-minute guilty plea). Huhne's wife Vicky Pryce was equally lambasted for her "serious and flagrant offence." She was handed a sentence of 8 months.
Both are likely to have to reimburse the Crown for the substantial and needless costs of the investigation and prosecution.
Though the over-crowding in Britain's prisons may have saved Huhne from the lengthy imprisonment his crime deserves, he will for the rest of his life carry a scarlet "C" branded on his forehead. It stands for "Criminal". But it also stands for another word beginning with "C" - and that is as apposite as it gets...CLOSE Po reunites with his long-lost father, Li, in 'Kung Fu Panda 3' (in theaters Jan. 29, 2016). VPC
The fearsome and power-hungry warrior Kai (voiced by J.K. Simmons) uses jade blades in "Kung Fu Panda 3." (Photo: DreamWorks Animation)
J.K. Simmons is going into beast mode in "Kung Fu Panda 3."
Simmons will be voice the villainous bull Kai in Panda 3 (opening Jan. 29, 2016), as DreamWorks Animation releases its first teaser trailer.
The trailer shows a reunion between Po (Jack Black) and his father, Li (Bryan Cranston). But trouble looms when Kai hits the scene, voiced by the actor who has breathed life into some tough hombres.
That would be Simmons' Oscar-winning performance as fearsome jazz instructor Fletcher in Whiplash. The even more fearsome Vern Schillinger in Oz. Angry J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man. And so on.
"I've played a variety of badasses in my career," says Simmons, 60. "I do like to mix it up. I like being a character actor playing different kinds of guys. Or, now, different kinds of beasts."
Kai is the first supernatural villain in the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise, a paranormal threat to Po and the new set of pandas he has discovered (including the amorous Mei Mei, voiced by Rebel Wilson).
The baddie also has a serious beef with the kung fu warrior trainer Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five warriors: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu).
"Let's just say Kai has been away. Now that's he's back, he's not happy about life in general," Simmons says. "One thing he finds when he returns is that pandas make him particularly unhappy."
Kai has supernaturally strange horns and leather armor, and he uses two jade swords attached to long chains as his unusual but deadly weapon of choice. Simmons is still in the recording studio working with the evolving character.
"You have to find the nature of the beast that Kai is," Simmons says. "There's a lot of vocal stuff I'm throwing out there that's somewhere between dialogue and animal growls when Kai snorts."
Simmons won't reference his now-infamous Whiplash line "Were you rushing or were you dragging?" in the film. But that menace sure helps for an angry bull.
"It can become a little Fletcher-esque, the screaming," Simmons says. "The voice can get a little ragged at the end of the day when you are making strange animal noises that you don't normally make."
One character trait will rise with menace: Kai will have a sense of humor. "Even if it is a little bit dark," Simmons says.
Directors Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni say Simmons is developing a villain who can also go for laughs.
"Kai wants revenge, and he's a bitter, bitter guy," Carloni says. "But when he becomes vulnerable, J.K. can make him hilarious."
And if he does need anger assistance, Simmons jokes that all he has to do is think of Black's panda Po.
"As much as I used the smug Miles Teller (in Whiplash), I now use flippant comic Jack Black as inspiration to raise my ire," Simmons says.
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1LhLX1QChasing the Dream As the NWSL season opens, many of its players are pursuing soccer careers on a shoestring budget
One-by-one this offseason, National Women’s Soccer League players opting to retire possessed a common trait: they are women in their mid-20s, and are either at their athletic peak or nearing it.
In September 2014, Jazmine Reeves (right, above) was the first to grab headlines. She played one season with the Boston Breakers, in which she scored seven goals and showed that she could have had a bright future in soccer. For instance, in a May 28, 2014 game she scored a hat trick against the then defending champion Portland Thorns. Reeves retired at 22 years old, however, to take a job she “simply could not pass up” with Amazon.
A few months later, another Breaker, Courtney Jones, left the game to pursue a new business opportunity. Jones, the daughter of former NFL tight end Brent Jones, is 24. She won two national championships at the University of North Carolina and played in the first two seasons of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Then there was 26-year-old Nikki Washington, a former Under-20 Women’s World Cup champion with the United States who retired after stints in two professional leagues.
Nikki Marshall, also 26 — and also a member of the U-20 team in 2008 — retired in February, less than a year after getting her first call-up to the senior United States national team.
Defender CoCo Goodson hung up her boots at age 24. Goalkeeper Taylor Vancil moved on at age 23. And most recently, 25-year-old Kate Deines made the decision to stop playing.
Specific reasons for retirement vary among all of these players, but their realities do not. They play in a fringe sector of a still-growing sport, in a fledgling league looking to break the curse of its predecessors and last longer than three seasons.
* * *
In 2004, then Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Latrell Sprewell offered one of sports’ all-time out-of-touch moments. Sprewell was in the final year of his NBA contract, slated to pay him $14.6 million that season as a 34-year-old. But he didn’t get what he deemed an acceptable offer from the team for an extension and he took to the media to voice his discontent.
“I’ve got a family to feed,” he said in frustration.
Some athletes, however, are legitimately scraping by just to feed themselves.
The National Women’s Soccer League kicked off in 2013, over a year after the second attempt at a professional league – Women’s Professional Soccer – went under after three seasons of play.
Before the WPS, there was the WUSA, which was the first attempt at a full-fledged professional league that was born out of the hysteria of the 1999 Women’s World Cup in the United States. But from 2001-2003, the WUSA burned through $100 million and closed its doors on the eve of the next Women’s World Cup.
WPS opened play in 2009 with what were thought to be more realistic expectations, initially implementing a salary cap of over $500,000 (the cap disappeared in later seasons). But losses there were still in the millions – even if a fraction of those of WUSA – and the league eventually lost too many owners and too much money to continue.
So this iteration, considered the most viable yet, is realistic in its financial approach. It just doesn’t offer what many would deem a realistic way to live.
The minimum salary for an NWSL player is $6,842 for the course of the six-month season; the maximum is $37,800, made primarily by international-level players. The team salary cap for 20 players is $265,000, which doesn’t include the top U.S., Canadian and Mexican players who play on club teams but whose salaries are paid by their respective federations.
“It’s actually pathetic when I think about what we make,” says Deines, who played for Seattle Reign FC for the first two seasons of the NWSL.
Deines played in 18 matches in 2014 for the Reign, starting half of them. The longtime Pacific Northwest inhabitant was traded to FC Kansas City in the offseason and she is exactly the type of player who is likely to have a great opportunity to take on a more prominent role this season and next as clubs deal with player absences due to the World Cup and Olympics. But Deines, who has a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies as well as a master’s in continued education from the University of Washington, couldn’t continue to turn down business opportunities in favor of the low-paying league.
In the increasingly expensive Seattle housing market, Deines’ income level meant she lived in a five-bedroom house with three teammates and a pair of players from Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders.
“It definitely feels like an extension of college life, and it is way less glamorous than college,” Deines said.
The NWSL kicks off its third season on Friday in Houston, where the Dash are owned by the same group that owns MLS’ Houston Dynamo. The struggles that the NWSL faces in its early years draw parallels to those still present in MLS.
Major League Soccer signed a new collective bargaining agreement with its players union in March only days before the start of the league’s 20th season. A 64 percent hike of the minimum salary to $60,000 was a small victory for players, who even a decade ago had a floor of $24,000.
These are the realities of a growing business.
Jeff Plush took over as commissioner of the NWSL in December. He previously worked for the Colorado Rapids in MLS and served on Major League Soccer’s board, working in the thick of many of the growing pains of that league.
“Look, the player looking to make a career out of this who is on the lower end of the wage scale is going to have to do [additional things], whether that is coaching at a high school or club or those kind of things,” Plush told NBC SportsWorld. “We are very respectful of that and we fully understand that we need to continue to build out our potential business platforms that they can tap into to help augment their salary. We have to be mindful of where we are. I’m very cognizant of this – it’s not all the money in the world, but where we are today is we are in the third year of a long-term strategy to have a very sustainable, robust league in this country. It’s just going to take some time.”
Plush contends that the number of players retiring this offseason is relatively small in regards to the overall player pool.
While the NWSL salary cap and maximum salary figure have each grown over 20 percent in two years, the minimum remains a four-digit number and is stretched out over a longer season in 2015. Players live like average Americans, not professional athletes. Off the field, it’s just about getting by.
Gibby Wagner is living at home with her parents in Wall, N.J. As an amateur player on Sky Blue FC’s reserve team, she won’t be paid but she could take on a significant role in the middle of the season due to World Cup absences. Wagner left a local newspaper job in hopes of just playing in the league, even if she doesn’t immediately get paid.
Boston Breakers defender Julie King, 25, lives on her own now after two years of living with host families, a common arrangement that NWSL clubs set up to defray player housing costs. But living on her own in greater Boston on an NWSL salary means she needs financial support from her parents.
“I’m definitely chasing the dream,” King says. “I feel very fortunate to have parents who are willing to support me if I need them. I really did need them my first couple of years, as far as my salary went. I wouldn’t have been able to survive without them.”
* * *
Becky Edwards is one of the best midfielders in the National Women’s Soccer League. In 2013 she was playing for Portland Thorns FC when she was approached by then U.S. national team coach Tom Sermanni about possibly joining a future training camp.
Edwards, like countless other players in the league, has long dreamed of wearing the red, white and blue. She was part of that 2008 Under-20 U.S. team, which also included the likes of national team regulars Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux.
Two weeks after that conversation with Sermanni and before she received any formal invite to the U.S. senior team, Edwards tore her ACL. She rehabbed quickly, in time to be the 2014 cornerstone of the expansion Houston Dash, who traded her in the offseason. Now on her third team in three seasons – the Western New York Flash – and in her second professional league, Edwards still exudes positivity.
“This is the life we live,” she said. “For me, personally, I still wake up every day and love what I do. I don’t want to have any regrets at the end of the day when I am done playing. I have the rest of my life to work or coach or whatever I decide to do, but right now, for me, it is still worth it.”
Edwards still hopes to make the United States’ 2019 World Cup team; she would be 30 years old. Representing their nation is a dream that keeps many players in the league despite the extremely low salaries. But the dream can grow tiring for some. The United States national team is one of the best in the world and those who aren’t already a part of it can understandably feel it is an enigma that often proves inaccessible to those on the outside.
Marshall left the NWSL to take an increased role with the Colorado branch of AvNet Technology Solutions, for whom she worked remotely year-round while playing. Constant work outside of work wasn’t ideal for training to play at the international level, which Marshall was on the cusp of doing.
“In order to make it to that elite level, you have to live and breathe the game,” Marshall said. “You really don’t have time for another job. You want to train hard during the offseason. You have to pour your life into it and you have to be extremely dedicated.”
Both Marshall and Deines acknowledged that the hardest part of the low pay is the unpaid offseason, which stretches up to six months. Some players find short-term opportunities overseas, while others train or try to find coaching jobs. Unable to focus entirely on training, the gap only widens between those who have and those who don’t. Being a member of the United States national team is a rare job in women’s soccer that can pay six figures.
“That becomes a huge part of it as well and something that women’s soccer is really missing. Some of our best athletes are not getting a chance,” Marshall says. “Maybe they get a half-look, but these coaches are not necessarily committed to giving them a real chance. I think that will change here soon, but for now that is definitely how it is. The women who are on the (U.S.) national team now, they are making a lot of money. They are the top echelon of women’s soccer and they are the only women who are making a lot of money, so they can afford to train every day during the offseason without having a second job. It’s a bit of a different lifestyle. It’s more of an opportunity I think.”
* * *
Fixing some of these issues requires time and money, which is easier said than done.
Players largely understand the financial constraints under which their clubs operate. They play because they love the game, an intangible passion that is uniquely unwavering across sports.
And they play to try to pave a path for a better future in the sport – “laying the foundations for future generations,” as King calls it. They are everyday women hoping that in some ways, they will be pioneers through their sacrifice.
“We’re trying to grow something here,” Edwards says. “We understand the situation from the league. We understand the limitations that they have financially. I want to continue to grow this game and make it possible so that players can make a better living in the future.”
Deines hopes that the NWSL can progress to the point of the WNBA, which stands on solid footing thanks to the backing of the NBA. Portland and Houston are the current NWSL teams backed by MLS clubs, although several MLS clubs are interested in professional women’s teams, according to Plush.
Much like it is for some of the WNBA’s best players, there is money in Europe for women’s soccer players. Diana Taurasi will sit out this WNBA season to play for her Russian team, U.M.M.C Yekaterinburg, for about $1.5 million, close to 15 times the maximum salary in the WNBA.
United States national team midfielder Megan Rapinoe reportedly made $14,000 per month recently playing for Lyon in France. That is more than many NWSL players make in a season.
Such success stories in Europe vary greatly, however. The average player can get slightly more in Europe, but that may only mean between $1,000 and $2,000 per month, according to Faudlin Pierre, an agent who represents several players domestically and overseas.
But if anyone is in women’s soccer for the money – well, they are going to be very disappointed.
“We certainly don’t play soccer because we make a lot of money or because it’s glamorous,” Marshall said. “We do it because we absolutely love it. I think I just got to the point where it wasn’t worth the sacrifice for me anymore.”
In time, the National Women’s Soccer League and the United States Soccer Federation hope to make the grind more worthwhile.Rahul Gandhi asked officer if the police did not feel ashamed to detain army veteran's family.
Highlights Rahul Gandhi detained twice after he tried to meet army veteran's family Ex-armyman allegedly committed suicide in Delhi over pension Police said they had warned Mr Gandhi not to obstruct hospital work
Seated on a chair at the Mandir Marg Marg police station in the capital where he was detained, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi hit out at policemen for also detaining the son of an Army veteran who committed suicide yesterday."Do you have no shame? His father has died, how can you arrest the son of an Army veteran," he asked a visibly uncomfortable police officer who was trying to explain to the Congress leader why he had been detained.Mr Gandhi was later shifted to another police station as hundreds of Congress workers had gathered outside the first one he was taken to, before being released. He was in detention for nearly two hours.The Congress vice president was detained outside Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia hospital when he tried to meet the family of the ex-serviceman Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal, who allegedly poisoned himself on the lawns of a government building in the capital yesterday.In a suicide note the veteran said he had still not received the increased pension promised to him by the government under its one-rank-one-pension scheme.Rahul Gandhi was detained for a second time in the evening after he met the veteran's family.Subedar Grewal's son Jaswant was detained after he joined impromptu protests against his father's death outside the hospital. The family has alleged that they were manhandled by policemen at the hospital before being brought to the same police station."This is the new India. Recognise it," Mr Gandhi said at the hospital earlier as he waited to the meet the veteran's family. He was detained after he refused to leave at the police's request.The Congress has called Mr Gandhi's detention "illegal" and accused the BJP-led central government of using the Delhi Police in an "anti-democratic" move."You don't need permission to go the hospital, to meet families of soldiers," said the party's Anand Sharma.The police have said they had warned Mr Gandhi and other politicians detained today like Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia of the Aam Aadmi Party not to obstruct hospital work. "Delhi Police will not allow any obstruction at a hospital. They were making speeches. Leaders should understand they can't do politics here," a police officer said. "Police will do what it has to for risk reduction," said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.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
A racist Scottish nationalist |
election approaches, and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta this month declared a new offensive against the extremists.
Trump earlier this year approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab, including more aggressive airstrikes and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities. Somalia also is included in Trump’s ban on refugees and visitors from six mostly Muslim countries.
The new video says U.S. voters elected “arguably the most stupid president a country could ever have” and says Trump is “making the United States the greatest joke on earth and is now propelling it further to its eventual defeat and destruction.”
The extremist group has vowed retribution on Kenya in particular for sending its troops to Somalia to take part in a multinational African Union force against al-Shabab.
“Your military’s invasion of Somalia will continue to destabilize your country,” the new al-Shabab video says. “When we do strike, your government will not be able to protect you.”
Somalia is trying to rebuild after more than two decades as a failed state, and its chaos helped in al-Shabab’s rise. The extremist group last year killed more than 4,200 people, according to the Pentagon-supported Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
Al-Shabab has vowed to step up attacks against Somalia’s recently elected government and has carried out numerous deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.
Pressure is growing on Somalia’s military to assume full responsibility for the country’s security. The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020.
The U.S. military has been among those expressing concern that Somalia’s forces are not yet ready.Elance, of Mountain View, Calif., says that more than 233,000 contract jobs were posted on its site in 2008, an increase of 63 percent from 2007. And more than 50,000 people found work on oDesk in the fourth quarter of 2008, said the company, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif. The Web site Guru, based in Pittsburgh, said more than 180,000 freelancers were registered on its site, an increase of 25 percent over 2007.
More than 14.8 million people were self-employed last year, accounting for about 12 percent of the private, nonfarm work force, according to Steve Hipple, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As of January, according to the bureau, more than three million jobs had been lost in this recession. Steve King, a partner at Emergent Research, a research and consulting firm in Lafayette, Calif., that focuses on small businesses, said that in times like these, many people who can get jobs will grab them. But when résumés and applications go unanswered, he said, "people don't have a choice. I call them the accidental entrepreneurs. You start to see the growth in terms of self-employed."
Gary Swart, the chief executive of oDesk, said, "We're seeing 5-to-9ers — people who have a day job but are looking to make some spare cash in their spare time — or stay-at-home moms."
But the growth in the job sites does not mean that independent contractors are immune to recessionary forces. "Businesses tend to hold on to their employees," said Inder Guglani, chief executive of Guru. "With resources shrinking, they'll reduce freelancers first. The total dollars spent on freelancers in the economy, that's definitely contracting."
But the online matchmakers say other trends are helping to offset that decline. Better bandwidth and newer software tools make remote work easier. "Businesses have figured out how to be comfortable with employees working remotely, and that has educated workers and managers," said Fabio Rosati, chief executive of Elance.
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The system at oDesk lets employers monitor contractors' work remotely. A boss can see when a worker is logged in, peek at a screen shot and even view the worker on a Web cam. With oDesk handling all the invoicing and payment, some companies are shifting the contractors they already have to oDesk.
Rachel Pennig, manager of customer support for PBwiki in San Mateo, Calif., which creates collaborative wikis for clients, said she found at least half of her 12-member team on oDesk. One stay-at-home mother from South Carolina started as a contractor, kept increasing her hours, and wound up on the staff, she said.
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The sites all operate on the same principle as eBay, enabling workers to build their reputations. All the sites issue 1099 tax forms and other documentation, saving trouble for employers. The sites survive on fees, charging employers or taking a commission from freelancers' pay, often 5 to 10 percent.
The sites all take a cut of the work, although each one works a little differently. Odesk takes a 10 percent charge on all services. Elance deducts between 6.75 percent and 8.75 percent from the payment, covering both its service fee and credit card costs. The range varies, depending on whether freelancers use the free listing service, or pay a one-time fee of $9.95 to $39.95. While Guru.com allows some freelancers to sign up for free, it charges a 10 percent fee on top of their billings. For freelancers who pay for premium services, ranging from $29.95 per quarter to $129.94 per quarter, Guru takes 5 percent of the total bill.
Mr. King, the analyst, said he had also seen a rise in competitive sites serving narrower markets, like NineSigma and InnoCentive, tailored to the research and development field, or Crowdspring and Genius Rocket, which provide designers, or Rent A Coder, offering computer programmers. In addition, he said, the big sites continue to add features, largely to keep people from taking business connections offline to avoid the fees.
For some people, working through these sites provides opportunities that would not be possible otherwise. Jessica Allen, 19, of Clarksville, Tenn., said she had found about 15 Web design jobs through oDesk in the past year, including steady work from Chicago and Alabama. Jobs involving graphic and Web design are not available in Clarksville, she said.
Danny Guillory, chief executive of Innovations International, said he used Elance to round out his staff. He said the company, a human resources consultancy based in Salt Lake City and San Francisco, has 5 employees and 30 independent contractors, with revenue of up to $3 million a year.
Mr. Guillory said companies needed to decide which unique services they offered customers and which features were essentially commodities that contractors could provide. "What is unique will remain in an organization's employee structure," he said. In his company's case, he said, it's the content — the lessons for customers.
But delivering that content, he said, is something many people can do. "That can be commoditized," he said, and therefore he outsources it.
His contractors also liked the arrangement, Mr. Guillory said. "People don't want to have one job and put all their eggs in one basket," he said. "The days of staying with someone for 30 years and getting the gold watch have been long gone."Last week, we pondered why Nokia would move its focus from something as beautiful as MeeGo, to Windows Phone. Today, it seems the company should begin wondering this too. According to a press release from Elisa, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Finland, the Nokia N9 was the most popular phone on the market during the month of October for personal customers.
The numbers are crazy, with what we can pull out of the release stating that the Nokia N9 was also the fourth most popular phone amongst business users during October, being slightly beaten by the iPhone 4. It was also pipped by the Nokia E7 (a Symbian device), apparently due to the size of the keyboard, which is popular amongst Finnish business types.
According to the release (translated with Google Translate), Elisa says that "October sales rose to become the Nokia N9 immediately individual customers top-selling phone." Nokia's based in Finland, so we're not surprised the device is popular, but they didn't expect it to be this popular did they?
Later this month, the Windows Phone based Lumia devices go on sale around the world, but if early reviews of the device and sales of the N9 are an indication, will it be good enough?Please enable Javascript to watch this video
Two downtown Los Angeles jails were placed on lockdown Wednesday and several people were injured after a fight broke out between Latino and African-American inmates, authorities said.
Twin Towers Correctional Facility and the Men’s Central Jail were locked down, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Brandon Longoria said. Help had been requested for a possible riot, Longoria said about 1:15 p.m.
Another deputy later said the riot occurred at the Men's Central Jail but both facilities -- which are across the street from one another -- were on lockdown.
Eighty inmates were involved in the fight, Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said. The "disturbance" occurred inside a dormitory at about 12:30 p.m. and lasted about 10 minutes, she said.
Four patients were transported from the Men's Central Jail with injuries that were not life threatening, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The Sheriff's Department later stated in a news release that the inmates were all treated on scene.
One of the patients was stabbed and three others had superficial wounds, authorities on scene said.
A source inside the jail told KTLA the fight occurred between black and Latino inmates, but, at a news conference, Nishida would not confirm that.
Medical captains went inside a ward to triage patients, according to Margaret Stewart of LAFD.
More than a LAFD ambulances could be seen staged outside the Men's Central Jail, located at 441 Bauchet St. (map), aerial video from Sky5 showed.
About 59 firefighters responded, as well as 13 rescue ambulances and five fire units, Stewart said.
One shirtless man was brought outside and placed in a chair on a green triage mat that had been set up outside an area labeled "ambulance entrance" near inmate transport buses, aerial video showed.
The jail resumed normal operations at 4: 45 p.m.
KTLA's Jennifer Thang contributed to this article.
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Please enable Javascript to watch this videoIt was late August 2011, Puerto Rico and the Great Antilles had been battered by a category three hurricane; that storm’s name was Hurricane Irene. Coastal areas up the eastern seaboard braced for the worst as the storm and it’s 120 mph winds made its way northward, causing significant storm surge and coastal flooding. On the north shore of Long Island, the Suffolk County bayside community of Nissequogue, NY (pronounced NISS-ə-kwog) was dealing with surge flooding.
Charlie, a local boat owner concerned for the safety of his boat, began regularly checking a webcam that monitored the Defeo Marina five miles east at Port Jefferson, where his boat was moored. It was about 2:30 pm on Sunday August 28 when Charlie logged into the camera to check the flood conditions.
Charlie tells us: “I witnessed a large silver round disc type object in the sky over the flooded bay. I watched it live for a few minutes as it hovered in the same spot rotating around. My first thought was that someone might be launching a weather balloon but I soon realized that the object had lines and a structure that didn’t look like a balloon.
Charlie took three screenshots of the live web cam, each of the images were about 10 seconds apart.
“It appears in the pictures that you can see the craft rotating toward the camera.”
Later Charlie spoke to the marina management to see if the live cam was recorded but unfortunately it wasn’t. Charlie tells us that because of the severe weather warnings at the time of the UFO sighting most of the coastal communities were evacuated; likewise no airplanes were flying in or out of the regional New York airports. Charlie later filed a report and posted his photos with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), case number is 31318.
Let’s look at some recent UFO sightings in New York Skies:
25 November 2014: at about 4:45 p.m. a married couple was driving over the Mohawk river bridge and noticed a blue green ball of light go across the evening sky leaving a small contrails behind which would disappear immediately, it made no sound.
28 November 2014: at about 7:30 p.m. a resident of Hudson, NY was walking his dog. While looking up at the moon in the clear sky, he noticed a ball or orb of bright red to fire orange, it was traveling from the south and it was heading north. It made no noise and it seemed to change size as it brightened and dimmed.
28 November 2014: at about midnight a resident of Tuxedo Park, NY was cross country skiing when he noticed a geese like V shaped flying formation. He started to pay attention to the object and noticed lights instead of geese. In front of V formation there were about 5 to 7 lights and lines forming letter V were also white amber lights. All the lights in the formation kept their position without any changes. Color of lights was bright white and looked recessed. The object moved from the Northwest to the Southeast.
9 December 2014: at about 9:50 p.m. a resident of Highland, NY was bringing home a Christmas tree. He got a strange feeling to look up and about 300 feet above him was a black triangle shaped craft. He says it hovered in place for nearly 20 minutes. He admits it scared the heck out of him.
10 December 2014: at about 5:30 p.m. a motorist in Pittsford, NY was flashes of orange and green lights in the sky, moving in an orderly fashion.
14 December 2014: at about 9 p.m. a Brooklyn, NY motorist driving on an elevated highway saw four or five glowing orange lights in the sky that were in a formation with a helicopter hovering around nearby. When he exited the highway he lost view of them. He states that several other people he knew on Facebook witnessed the same event.
If you have a UFO sighting to report, you can use either one of the two national database services: www.NUFORC.ORG or www.MUFON.COM – Both services respect confidentiality.
Cheryl Costa would love to hear the when, where and what of your New York sighting. Email it to NYSkies@DragonLadyMedia.com. The names of witnesses will be omitted to protect their privacy.
commentsThe review, a summary of which was distributed by May's Downing Street office, found that he had breached rules governing the behaviour of ministers.
"I regret that I've been asked to resign from the government following breaches of the Ministerial Code, for which I apologise," Green said in a letter to May, who said she had accepted his resignation with deep regret.
Green, 61, added that he did not download or view pornography on his parliamentary computers. He said that he should have been clearer about his statements after the story broke.
He is May's third cabinet minister to resign in recent weeks after May's defence secretary quit in November citing past conduct that fell below the required standards.
May's international aid minister resigned a week later after admitting to holding undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials.
May's premiership
During the turmoil which followed May's botched election, she turned to Green - a friend and ally from their days at Oxford - to stabilise her premiership and appease those within the Conservative Party who wanted her to quit.
One of his key roles was to act as a conduit for disgruntled party members who felt they had been ignored in May's election campaign. He sought to help her to shed the image of a distant leader who only listens to those in her inner circle.
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"Its another blow for May but it is not deadly in any way at all," said Anand Menon, professor of European politics at King's College London. "She has lost her soul mate in cabinet but this is not the end of Prime Minister May."
"May is surviving not because of Damian Green but because there are sufficient MPs in her party who don't want to have a leadership election while Brexit is going on and that fundamental calculation has not changed," he said.
Breaches of Ministerial Code
The internal investigation found that his conduct as a minister was generally "professional and proper" but found two statements made by Green on Nov. 4 and 11 to be inaccurate and misleading.
In the statements he had suggested he was not aware that indecent material was found on parliamentary computers in his office.
"These statements... constitute breaches of the Ministerial Code. Mr Green accepts this," the report summary said.
It also addressed allegations, made by the daughter of a family friend, that Green had made an unwanted advance towards her during a social meeting in 2015, had suggested that this might further her career, and later had sent her an inappropriate text message.
The report said it was not possible to reach a definitive conclusion on the appropriateness of Green s behaviour in this instance, though the investigation found allegations to be plausible.
Green said in his resignation letter that he did not recognise the account of events, but apologised to the woman, academic and critic Kate Maltby, for making her feel uncomfortable.
ReutersWell-known bricks and mortar stores have pressured distributors and wholesalers to stop selling particular items online that the retailers also sell in their shops, claims eBay in an inquiry into the Australian retail industry.
The explosive allegation comes as the Productivity Commission continues to hear evidence from retailers and peak-body groups into the competitive pressures facing traditional retailers amid the growing popularity of online sites such as Amazon and eBay.
In its latest submission to the inquiry, the popular online retailer also backed calls for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate these restrictive distribution practices.
Responding to draft recommendations released by the Productivity Commission last month, eBay managing director (Australia and New Zealand) Deborah Sharkey alleged today that certain unnamed Australian retailers had engaged in anti-competitive behaviour to limit the availability of products at online sites.
"eBay is also aware of situations where local distributors and sellers have had pressure applied by prominent Australian retailers to cease selling products on online sites such as eBay.com.au, in competition to the retailer's own channels," Ms Sharkey said in her submission.Chinese authorities announced today that a network of scammers extracted data from Apple databases and sold it to Chinese black market vendors, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. This underground network consisted of dozens of employees of direct Apple suppliers and other firms Apple outsources work to, and the group gathered users’ names, phone numbers, Apple IDs, and other data and then sold it piecemeal for between 10 ($1.47) and 80 yuan ($11.78) per data point, for a total of 50 million yuan ($7.36 million). It’s unclear if the data gathered was only on Chinese Apple users, or if it included users elsewhere too.
Chinese scammers sold $7.36 million worth of iPhone data
It took Chinese authorities, working out of the southern Zhejiang province, months to build the case before arrests were carried out this past weekend across Zhejiang, as well the Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Fujian provinces. The suspects in question worked in for companies with access to company databases and other tools containing sensitive customer information.
The sale of data in China is nothing new. The country is rife with marketplaces for illegally obtained information, either gleaned from corporate or government databases. However, due to the perception that owners Apple products are more affluent than those with lower-budget smartphones, hackers and other data theft specialists may specifically target iPhone users in an attempt to extort them or gain access to more sensitive data stored in the cloud.
Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly identified the suspects as official Apple employees in China. That is incorrect. The employees in question belong to Apple suppliers and companies Apple outsources work to.* Medical marijuana may be fueling increased use of pot
* Meth use has fallen by half since 2006
CHICAGO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Marijuana is increasingly becoming the drug of choice among young adults in the United States, while use of methamphetamines is waning, according to a national survey of drug use released on Thursday.
Overall, 8.9 percent of the U.S. population or 22.6 million Americans aged 12 and older used illicit drugs in 2010, up from 8.7 percent in 2009 and 8 percent in 2008, according to the survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Marijuana use appeared to be fueling the increase, with some 17.4 million Americans — or 6.9 percent of the population — saying they used marijuana in 2010, up from 14.4 million or 5.8 percent of the population in 2007.
Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the United States, said increases are especially prominent in states in which medical marijuana use is legal.
“Emerging research reveals potential links between state laws permitting access to smoked medical marijuana and higher rates of marijuana use,” Kerlikowske said in a statement.
According to the survey, 21.5 percent of young adults aged 18 to 25 used illicit drugs in 2010, up from 19.6 percent in 2008 to 21.2 percent in 2009.
“This increase was also driven in large part by a rise in the rate of current marijuana use among this population,” Kerlikowske said.
Use of methamphetamines, meanwhile, has decreased, the survey found.
The number of current meth users fell by about half between 2006 and 2010, with the number of people aged 12 and older who used meth dropping to 353,000 last year, down from 731,000 in 2006.
Cocaine use also fell, dropping to 1.5 million users in 2010, from 2.4 million in 2006, the survey found.
And among youths aged 12 to 17, drinking rates fell to 13.6 percent in 2010 from 14.7 percent in 2009; and smoking use fell to 10.7 percent in 2010, from 11.6 percent in 2009. (Editing by Jackie Frank)eduroam (educational roaming) is a secure, worldwide roaming wireless access service developed for, and used by, the international research and education community. This reciprocal global authentication system enables Northeastern students, faculty, and staff to securely access the eduroam wireless network at more than 5,000 participating locations worldwide. Additionally, visitors from any participating eduroam institution are able to securely connect to the eduroam wireless network at Northeastern campus locations using their own credentials.
ACCESS
eduroam is available at all Northeastern campus locations in academic and administrative buildings. The network is accessible to all individuals from participating eduroam institutions, including Northeastern students, faculty and staff, and Sponsored Account holders who have a Northeastern email account. A full list of participating US Institutions is available on the eduroam website. An international map is also available (this may take a while to load).
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Northeastern users
Log in with a modified version of your myNortheastern username and password ([myNortheastern username]@northeastern.edu). To connect on a laptop or mobile device, follow the instructions for your particular operating system in the How To section. ITS recommends that you first connect while on a Northeastern campus to save the network and certificate in your settings – similar to NUwave, once a device has saved the network, it will be able to automatically connect wherever the network is available. Please note that when you are connected to eduroam from off-campus, you will still need to use the VPN to connect to certain Northeastern resources.
Every few years Northeastern will update the network’s security certificate. When this happens, a notification will appear the next time you try to connect, wherever you are. The process to accept a new certificate is identical to how you connect for the first time.
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Securely access the eduroam network while at Northeastern using your home organization’s login credentials. The credentials used by individual universities/institutions may vary.
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Ensure that you are connecting to the “eduroam” wireless network.
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and that your myNortheastern password is correct. For assistance with your myNortheastern username and password, please call the ITS Service Desk at 617.373.4357 (xHELP).
For network connection assistance, please contact the IT or network support group of the institution where you are attempting to access eduroam.
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NOTE: While at Northeastern, ITS recommends that Northeastern students, faculty, staff and sponsored accounts connect to NUwave over eduroam, as NUwave is more widely available and will allow for seamless connectivity. The eduroam network is available only in academic and administrative buildings at Northeastern.
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How To: Connect to eduroam on a mobile deviceIt began with a simple question: “Why can’t students earn digital rewards for being awesome?” A research group comprised of university faculty, staff, and students at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) decided to find out. The team delved into the everyday travails of college life—from academia to social activities—and developed a real-world game, Just Press Play, which helps students earn a digital reward for the ultimate achievement: collegiate success.
Each game participant receives trading cards equipped with secret codes and a radio-frequency identification (RFID) keychain that they can swipe to “check-in” at permanent and temporary locations. The cards and the keychain are just the first two tools that the students must learn to use in order to progress through the various aspects of the game. The game is based around challenges that occur both online and in the real world. The challenges are designed to encourage students to venture out of their comfort zones and get involved in all aspects of school—including interactions with school faculty and staff. Completing the challenges also gives the player access to web pages and videos that tell the story of an alternate history of RIT.
Blending Technology and the Humanities
The alternate history of RIT describes a battle fought between two rival factions: The Athenaeum and the Mechanics Institute. The Athenaeum represents the creative and exploratory aspects of a student’s academic journey and the Mechanics Institute represents technical mastery. In order to succeed, the student must understand both aspects, although they may ultimately join one side or the other.
As the program manager who chose to fund this project, it should come as no surprise that I have a background in both science and art—and that I manage programs in games for learning as well as digital humanities. Our project team likes how RIT blends the technology and humanities disciplines. RIT focuses not only on STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math—but also on what we like to call STEAM: science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.
Financial support for the development of Just Press Play was provided by Microsoft Research. This project is also the culmination of three years of collaboration with RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media as part of our Games for Learning Institute. The mission of the institute is to study and create games that are fun, educational, and effective. Just Press Play fits that bill perfectly.
Just Press Play officially launched on October 13 at the RIT School of Interactive Games and Media. The kick-off event was streamed live to project partners at the University of Wisconsin, Teachers College at Columbia, and the New York Law School. These partners are assessing the effectiveness of the program and also exploring legal issues related to gameful education.
Next Steps
The Just Press Play team intends to expand the game throughout RIT next year if the initial pilot is successful, but other educational institutions will have to wait a bit before trying out the technology for themselves. Just Press Play will initially be available exclusively to students enrolled at RIT. The Just Press Play team will refine the structure of the game based on early results and then roll it out to partner schools at a later date. The developers are hopeful that the lessons learned from these early “games” could eventually be expanded to include more college-level institutions and, potentially, all education starting with pre-school and extending through lifelong learning and professional training.
The ultimate goal of the Microsoft Research Gameful Education project is to support the development of a unified game layer for education, one that can unify gameful experiences across schools and technologies. This platform will drive better educational outcomes and enable entirely new types of educational research.
—Donald Brinkman, Research Program Manager, Games for Learning, Digital Heritage, Digital Humanities, Microsoft Research Connections
Learn MoreThis Roy Morgan survey on Australia’s unemployment and ‘under-employed’* is based on weekly face-to-face interviews of 506,783 Australians aged 14 and over between January 2007 – October 2016 and includes 4,870 face-to-face interviews in September 2016.
US President-elect Donald Trump consistently stated during his campaign that real unemployment in the US was well over 20% or even 25% rather than the official Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) U3 figure – now at 4.9% for October 2016. Trump’s successful candidacy shows that many Americans agree with the new President that the official unemployment figures are considerably under-stated. There is a clear lesson for Australian politicians in Trump’s success.
In October a total of 2.454 million Australians, 19.1% of the workforce, were either unemployed (1,188,000) or under-employed (1,266,000). This is up 256,000 (up 1.7%) from October 2015;
1.188 million Australians (up 78,000 since October 2015) are unemployed and these real unemployment figures are substantially higher than the current ABS figure for September 2016 (5.6%). Australian real unemployment was 9.2% (up 0.4% in a year and up 0.7% in a month);
The Australian workforce increased to 12,851,000 (up 188,000 since October 2015), but total employment only increased to 11,663,000 (up 110,000) – this shows there have not been enough new jobs created over the past year to soak up the growing number of people looking for work and thus the increasing size of the workforce;
The problem can be seen when one looks at full-time employment which is now 7,594,000 – done 83,000 from a year ago (7,677,000 in October 2015). In contrast, part-time employment has increased by 193,000 to 4,069,000 over the past year (an average of just over 16,000 per month);
The higher part-time employment contributed to the rise in under-employment; now 9.9% of Australians (1,266,000, up 178,000 since October 2015) are under-employed (up 1.2%) – working part-time and looking for more hours.
Roy Morgan Unemployed and ‘Under-employed’* Estimate Unemployed or ‘Under-employed’* Unemployed Unemployed looking for ‘Under-employed’* Full-time Part-time ‘000 % ‘000 % ‘000 ‘000 ‘000 % 2016 Jan-Mar 2016 2,496 19.1 1,362 10.4 639 723 1,134 8.7 Apr-Jun 2016 2,322 18.1 1,317 10.2 637 680 1,005 7.8 Jul-Sep 2016 2,296 17.8 1,266 9.8 574 692 1,030 8.0 Months September 2015 1,994 15.6 1,058 8.3 482 576 936 7.3 October 2015 2,198 17.4 1,110 8.8 464 646 1,088 8.6 November 2015 2,536 19.6 1,186 9.2 623 563 1,350 10.4 December 2015 2,690 20.7 1,256 9.7 722 534 1,434 11.0 January 2016 2,575 19.7 1,346 10.3 696 650 1,229 9.4 February 2016 2,480 18.8 1,319 10.0 589 730 1,161 8.8 March 2016 2,433 18.8 1,422 11.0 631 791 1,011 7.8 April 2016 2,322 18.1 1,334 10.4 611 723 988 7.7 May 2016 2,316 18.1 1,369 10.7 661 708 947 7.4 June 2016 2,326 17.9 1,247 9.6 637 610 1,079 8.3 July 2016 2,536 19.5 1,365 10.5 645 720 1,171 9.0 August 2016 2,249 17.5 1,332 10.4 544 788 917 7.1 September 2016 2,103 16.2 1,101 8.5 532 569 1,002 7.7 October 2016 2,454 19.1 1,188 9.2 626 562 1,266 9.9
*Workforce includes those employed and those looking for work – the unemployed.
Gary Morgan, Executive Chairman, Roy Morgan Research, says:
“In October Australia’s real unemployment was 9.2% (1.188 million people looking for work, 78,000 more than a year ago) and under-employment was 9.9% (1,266,000, up 178,000 in a year) – a total of 19.1% (2.454 million) Australians looking for work or looking for more work. “Although the Australian workforce has increased over the past year – now at 12,851,000 (up 188,000 from a year ago), the increase in the workforce has outpaced the increase in overall employment leading to the rise in unemployment. “The problem faced by the workforce has been a lack of new full-time jobs – now 7,594,000 Australians are employed full-time, down 83,000 from a year ago (7,677,000 in October 2015). In that same time part-time jobs have surged to 4,069,000 (up 193,000) and more people are looking for work. “Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s United States Presidential Election has brought renewed focus to the issue of unemployment and under-employment. Trump consistently stated during his campaign that real unemployment in the United States was far higher than the official estimates. “In May Trump stated:
‘We have tremendous deficits. Don’t believe the 5 per cent. The real [unemployment] number is 20 per cent. The United States is dying from within, its domestic infrastructure is crumbling and successive administrations have wasted $5 trillion in the Middle East instead of using the money to create jobs and prosperity at home.’
“This was the message Trump repeated throughout his successful campaign for the Presidency and which helped propel Trump to what so-called ‘experts’ and ‘pundits’ considered unlikely. The key to Trump’s victories was winning the former manufacturing heartland of the United States; the Mid-West ‘rust-belt’ States of Ohio and Indiana and even more importantly Michigan, Pennsylvania & Wisconsin – none of these three States have voted for a Republican Presidential candidate since the 1980s. “In the Australian context the reasons are well known – the loss of many high-paying full-time jobs with the end of the ‘Mining boom’ is exemplified by the troubles faced by South Australian miner and steel company Arrium and a fortnight ago came the announcement that Victoria’s largest coal-fired power station at Hazelwood is to close early in 2017 with more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs set to go. “The good performance of minor parties, including Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, at Australia’s recent Federal Election (minor parties received 23.2% of the vote) shows many Australians are also looking for political options outside the major parties. “If Malcolm Turnbull’s Coalition Government and the Labor Opposition led by Bill Shorten fail to provide leadership by implementing and advocating policies that deal with the real issues many Australians face – including the much higher level of real unemployment and under-employment than reflected by the ABS monthly employment statistics – a rising number of Australians will continue to look to the likes of Pauline Hanson, Nick Xenophon, Derryn Hinch, Jacqui Lambie and others for alternatives.”
This Roy Morgan survey on Australia’s unemployment and ‘under-employed’* is based on weekly face-to-face interviews of 506,783 Australians aged 14 and over between January 2007 – October 2016 and includes 4,870 face-to-face interviews in September 2016.
*The ‘under-employed’ are those people |
down KT at Squaw onto the locker-room deck, where he collapsed in cardiac arrest. It was a fitting exit for a man whose greatest pleasures were skiing, watching skiing, and talking about skiing. That does help me come to terms with the loss, but it doesn’t stop me from wishing he’d had one more season, especially this season, which has strangely (cosmically?) conspired to be an epic one.
This bittersweet interplay of wistfulness and gratitude started at Buck’s memorial last spring, when friends gathered to take a “Run for Buck” from the top of Squaw. The run morphed into a massive people-slalom, where friends and relatives wove together, grins wide, in a constant procession of joy down the hill. I could imagine Buck smiling while clipping my tails to take the fastest line.
Shortly thereafter came word that Squaw would host a World Cup (!) this season. For a man who banked serious hours following every level of ski racing on television, Live-Timing, and Sprongo, having a World Cup finish in view of his locker would have been momentous. He could have discussed it all with one of the finest coaches in the land, who is bunking at Hotel California this season.
On top of all that, an East Coast grandchild may finally race at Squaw this season, and his snowboarding grandchild has come back to two planks. Officially now, when it comes to skiing, all of Buck’s kids and grandkids fall somewhere along the continuum from merely enthusiastic to pathologically obsessed.
Just before the season started, the revised Squaw Valley Master Plan assured preservation of the locker room. Dad would have celebrated this news mightily because that was his sacred space. The best part of the best days began and ended among his locker-room neighbors.
Damn! This year of planetary alignment seems a cruel irony, but maybe that’s the way it rolls: When we’ve lived a good life, we always want one more year, or one more run. The experiences of this season make me miss Buck even more, but the privilege of enjoying them also makes me smile. That privilege—membership in the skiing tribe—was his gift to our family. Someday, when my kids tell their kids that “All snow is good snow” they won’t just be making a statement. They’ll be passing on a legacy.
Edie Thys Morgan is a Squaw Valley mighty mite turned two-time U. S. Olympian. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two ski-racing sons.In the great outdoors, camping, glamping, frapping and more
A vacation is nice. But a vacation with these guys can be impossible. Impossible, you say??? NEVER!!! We will not venture into resort style vacationing. Nor will we go to Disneyland. However, we can go glamping. Yes, my friends, glamorous + camping = glamping. Packing up for 3 nights and 4 days was very hectic, yet sooo much fun. It was a blast, I tell you!
We have taken Hambone camping, in the past, but he was just a young pup. Taking 3 was going to be some serious planning. We decided to figure out the tent situation first because it was going to be the most expensive investment. So, I spent a good amount of time researching tents. Geez, what an industry that is. Bottomline: a 6-man size would do the trick because he have an air mattress that would fit perfectly in a 4-man, but we’ve got 3 other furbabies to account for, clothes, gear and whatnot.
Now, the next step…where the heck can we go? We’ve got 3 dogs. So, a group trip was at hand. Friends, family and cohorts, bring em all up. Share a pooch so we can bring 3 into the campgrounds. Perfect. We selected the great Sequoia National Forest, Moses Gulch to be exact. Yes, a trek from our lovely homebase, but well worth the drive. Have you ever heard of Balch Park or Moses Gulch? Wow, what a great place to feel like you are really in the woods. Some were a bit scared, especially with the state penitentiary down the ways; no cell service, no wifi, no shit. It took the overnight for everyone to get settled into their thoughts and start enjoying disconnecting.
Here is our lovely tent.
Since this park is a dogs on leash place, we were a bit nervous about them getting lost or finding an animal and getting attacked or eating something that would make them sick. Its endless. The first night was on leash. It all worked out for the best. They wandered around and had to be yelled at. The leash kept them together for the night, no worries.
A Very Cold Night
Call them spoiled, but they were kind of surprised at the cold night. Wow, it was pretty chilly. I think it was about 48 degrees or so, but they had no problem getting on the bed or curling up real tight. Since our bed was leaking air, it was a restless night of water-bedding it all over the place! Geez! It was cute, though.
I do love the fact that if they need to do their business, they just pop out of the little zipper hole. This camping thing is pretty amazing!
A walk in the forest
Next up, we walked around the amazing campsite at Moses Gulch. Believe me, it was pretty awesome for the area we were staying. We had our own camp, so to speak, so we did not have to venture too far off to experience the scenery, streams, ponds, rocks, trees. It was pretty badass!
Next up, campfires, swimming, more walks and more…Stay tuned, my lovelies!
Check out the Three Corgis swag in the shop. You won’t be disappointed, I hope! Don’t forget to follow us on all the social media sites! On YouTube www.youtube.com/andthreecorgis and Instagram @threecorgis. Follow us on Twitter (until the account gets suspended). Follow us on Google+#1
A FLAT PACK TOWN?
Most London IKEA’s visitors have to plan to spare at least one or two whole days when shopping for new home furnishing. People often refer to the Swedish flat-pack furniture stores as if each one is a little town of its own.
Now IKEA is actually building a real small town in London! The project – a new form of flat pack assembly, is titled Strand East and offers 480 000 square of offices, it’s own infrastructure, restaurants, hotels and even schools! It should offer housing to 6,000 Londoners.
If this innovative project is successful, IKEA has plans and is already looking to develop new district in other countries. The company is already looking for similar sites in Hamburg, Germany.
#2
IKEA BEDS, BABIES AND THE UK
IKEA furniture assembly and RTA beds are so popular in the UK, that according to numbers – more than 20% of UK citizens are conceived on ready-to-assembly Swedish bed units! Let’s talk about facts.
Way to go IKEA!
#3
MOXY – THE HOTEL CHAIN
The giant furniture company partnered with the American multinational hospitality company Marriott International in 2013 to create Moxy Hotels across Europe. It’s the Marriott alternative of Airbnb for the millennials, which offers eclectic style, fun, games, parties dressed in style and at affordable prices.
“We know that our guests come to play. For some of you, that means a drink or five at Bar Moxy (hello!). For others, it’s letting your hair down so you’re re-energized for the next face-off with your boss. Whatever the reason for your stay, Moxy is made so you can play.” – Moxy – Hotels.
There are three opened hotels in the United Kingdom already. In London, Heathrow Airport and Stratford. In the middle of 2019 two are planned to open in Southhampton and York. Bristol Moxy Hotel will open in early 2020.
#4
FLAT PACKS, MEATBALLS AND VEGGIE BALLS
Beside ready-to-assemble furniture, the giant sells more than 150 million meatballs each year and that’s among the facts about IKEA worthy of attention. Because of the huge amount of meatball fans, in 2015 IKEA announced that their famous meatballs will soon be accompanied by a second line of veggie balls. Have in mind that the first ever restaurant within an IKEA shop was opened in the distant 1960.
Ever since October 1st 1987 and the first ever store in Warrington, United Kingdom, IKEA has sold more than 12 million meatballs and more than 1.5 million hot dogs for the last 25 years. At first plans were to open in close proximity to London, but Warrington has been chosen in order to boost the local economic development.
#5
FURNISHINGS, WIND TURBINES AND SOLAR ENERGY
Did you know that Ingvar’s company has a number of wind turbine parks all over the world?
Poland, Texas and Romania are just a few to name. The company strategy is to power it’s facilities purely out of renewable energy sources. By 2020 all of its furniture stores should be “off the grid“, just a historical fact.
Beside its wind-powered capacities, IKEA owns nearly a million solar panels!
#6
FLAT PACKS BECOME EVEN CHEAPER RATHER THEN EXPENSIVE
It may sound hard to believe, but the knockdown furniture giant manages to lower its home furnishing products prices by 2% on a yearly basis! This is why the niche for IKEA furniture assembly becomes ever more affordable and therefore people spend more.
#7
IKEA’S FOUNDER IS A MODEST PERSON
Ingvar Feodor Kamprad, born 30 March 1926 is not the average member of the worlds richest club you would expect him to be. He lives in a modest home, most likely flat pack assembled, owns a middle-class car and always books inexpensive hotels.
Once he was denied entry at the Businessman of the year awards, because of his choice to arrive via bus, rather than an expensive vehicle like the rest of the guests.
#8
“D*CK”, “P*CK”, “BUGGA” AND IKEA FURNITURE NAMING
Did you know that all sofa models are named after Swedish towns and the bed units carry names of specific Norway locations? That is because Kamprad is known to be dyslexic. All garden furnishing gets their names from Swedish islands, while curtains have traditional Swedish female names. Some flat pack assembly products were almost named as “D*ck”, “P*ck” and “Bugga”.
Upholstered furniture : Such as coffee tables, rattan furniture, bookshelves, media storage, doorknobs carry the names of Swedish locations.
Beds, wardrobes and hall furniture : Norwegian place names
Dining tables and chairs : Finnish places names
Bookcase ranges : Occupations
Bathroom articles : Scandinavian lakes, rivers and bays
Kitchens : Grammatical terms, sometimes also other names
Chairs, desks : Men’s names
Fabrics, curtains : Women’s names
Garden furniture : Swedish islands
Carpets : Danish place names
Lighting : terms from music, chemistry, meteorology, measures, weights, seasons, months, days, boats, nautical terms
Bedlinen, bed covers, pillows or cushions : Flowers, plants, precious stones
Children’s items : Mammals, birds, adjectives
Curtain accessories : Mathematical and geometrical terms
Kitchen utensils : Foreign words, spices, herbs, fish, mushrooms, fruits or berries, functional descriptions
Boxes, wall decoration, pictures and frames, clocks : Colloquial expressions, also Swedish place names
Source: IKEA Wikipedia
#9
WHAT DOES IKEA STAND FOR?
Beside affordable home flat pack furniture? The I & K stand for Ingvar Kamprad‘s initials, while the E & A represent where he grew up along with his hometown – Agunnaryd and Elmatryd.
#10
MANUFACTURING
One of the most peculiar facts about IKEA is the fact that despite common practice, more than 60% of IKEA’s production is manufactured in Europe. Most people assume that China would be the main source of production – well it’s not.
#11
IKEA CUSTOMER FLOW
If we look at the numbers, in 2017 936 million people have visited IKEA stores. That is almost ten times the UK population! If we consider all the facts about IKEA – the number of people who visit the home furnishing stores are only about to grow. For the same year, IKEA.com reached 2.3 billion visits globally.
#12
WOOD AND FLAT PACKS
IKEA is among the largest consumers of wood in the world. According to official info, the amount of raw material used for IKEA furniture is about 1% of Earth’s wood supply. Imagine how much ready-to-assemble furniture we buy on a yearly basis… More than 60% of all sold products come from forest materials.
#13
MORE CATALOGUE COPIES THAN THE BIBLE
According to official statements, each year IKEA is printing more than 208 million copies of its home furnishing catalogue. They ate distributed within 49 countries and is translated in more than 30 languages. This means that the catalogues are printed more times than Тhe Holly Bible itself. The fact is that since 2004 it has been considered as the main marketing tool and it consumes up to 70% of the marketing budget. 300 pages, 12000+ products and more than 285 people are involved in its production.
Among the interesting facts about IKEA is that the first computer-generated image used for the catalogue was in 2005 and now we have more than 75% of all furniture being generated virtually.
#14
HOMOSEXUAL COUPLE SHOWN IN THE FIRST IKEA COMMERCIAL IN THE USA
The commercial featured a middle-aged male couple shopping for dining room table togetehr. Before it was pulled off air the spot ran only once in New York City and Washington, D.C. after 9:30 pm. The reason – numerous bomb threats to IKEA stores and calls for boycott. Many viewers assumed the commercial was meant to target gay buyers, but the campaign was about “non-traditional” families, including a mixed race couple and a single mom with an adopted child.
The commercial’s director told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that it was not important to be the first company to show a gay couple together and “Actually I was surprised when we first started looking at this” that no one had done it before.
#15
HOW MANY ITEMS DOES IKEA HAVE?
Considering the fact that IKEA consumes so many resources it is not that surprising that they offer more than 12,000 items, isn’t it?
#16
BILLY THE BOOKCASE
That’s the most successful piece of furniture IKEA has on its catalogue. More than 500 000 Billy bookcases are sold for a single month in 2012! According to Buzzfeed, one Billy bookcase piece of furniture is being sold every 10 seconds and an IKEA furniture assembly company is booked every half an hour.
#17
LÖVET THE FIRST PRODUCT
LÖVET was the first flat pack unit in IKEA’s catalogue back in 1956. Rumor has it that soon Ingvar’s home furnishing superstore is about to restart its first flat pack item!
It all started when somebody had to take off all legs of a LÖVET table in order to fit the whole piece of furniture into a car. Now ain’t that familiar. When you think about it a DIY furniture hack gave birth to the whole IKEA concept of furniture being sold disassembled.
#18
IKEA AROUND THE WORLD
More than 80% of all units, items and inventory in general, stay the same in all IKEA home furnishing shops around the world. At the end of August 2017 there were 403 IKEA stores in 49 countries. This is one of the most impressive facts about IKEA. The flat-pack furniture company expands rapidly!
#19
MORE THAN 9,000 OLYMPIC POOLS OF VOLUME
According to statistics, around 800 million cubic feet of items and units are sold each year. With this much products, IKEA furniture delivery is enough to cover more than 9,000 Olympic-sized pools! Can you imagine how much space and furnishing is that?
#20
IKEA USED FORCED LABOR
At the moment there are more than 150 000 employees, all taking care of the flat pack furniture, we love so much! It’s a fact that the furniture company has made an official statement along with an apology for using prisoners in Cuba in the 1980’s. Surely it is among the facts about IKEA, the company is not proud of.
Another rather disgraceful fact from IKEA’s past is the use of political prisoners in East Germany during the 1980’s. This was the reason for IKEA to keep its production costs down during the period.
#21
IKEA, WOMEN AND SAUDI ARABIA
IKEA “regrets” removing all women from the Saudi Arabia flat pack furniture catalogue in 2012 and has made an official apology… Some facts about IKEA raise questions. The company has officially stated that they do regret this decision, but the fact is a fact. “We are now reviewing our routines to safeguard a correct content presentation from a values point-of-view in the different versions of the Ikea catalogue worldwide,” IKEA representative stated.
#22
THE LARGEST IKEA
Here is top 5 the chart – largest shop IKEA has:
Gwangmyeong, Seoul Capital Area, South Korea: 640,000 sq ft (59,000 m2 )
Stockholm Kungens Kurva, Sweden: 594,000 sq ft (55,200 m2)
Shanghai Baoshan, China: 592,360 sq ft (55,032 m2)
Shanghai Pudong Beicai, China: 532,000 sq ft (49,400 m2)
Wuxi, China: 528,690 sq ft (49,117 m2)
#23
IKEA’S PLAYGROUND
There is a children’s playground in every store!
When on the hunt for new flat pack furniture parents could drop off their kids at the Småland playground and pick them up after furniture shopping is done. IKEA has it all figured out.
Every parent is given a pager or they are called over the in-store public address system in case they need to return immediately to check on their child.
#24
FLAT PACK HOMES AND HOUSES?
The Swedish furniture company giant is way more broad-minded than flat pack furniture only. In an attempt to aid first time home buyers, IKEA has launched a product called BoKlok – flat pack homes. The concept is to build blocks of flats an terraced homes in an affordable price range.
#25
TURNOVER
The facts about IKEA are clear and precise. Since 2001 revenue has almost tripled. For a single year, IKEA has sold more than two and a half million dowels, as well as 50 million allen keys! Can you imagine how much ready-to-assemble furniture unites they had to sell? For a single year, more than 60 million hinges are sold. In 2011 alone, IKEA had a 7% overall turnover increase. And in 2017 “the IKEA retail business generated 38.3 billion Euro in sales”.
#26
IKEA SOCIAL INITIATIVE AND CHARITY
IKEA Social Initiative is the largest corporate social oriented program of the Swedish home furnishing giant. The company supports a number of donation and charity campaigns. Some of the largest partners of IKEA Social Initiative are organizations like UNICEF, Save the Children and others. According to UNICEF, in 2008 IKEA Social Initiative’s commitments were more than 190 million dollars.
#27
“SIZE MATTERS”
AND THAT’S A FACT
In its early years in America, the IKEA company had difficulties adapting to local culture and habits. Europe’s compact ways of life did not layer up with America’s “make it big”. Rumors have it that back in the 80’s people bought vases, thinking those were water glasses. Other say that tables back then could not host a whole turkey. The head of IKEA US gave all Europe designers t-shirts saying “Size matters”. The prank did its job and IKEA finally got on the right path with its US customers.
If you have enjoyed this article, please do comment and share with us how you feel about our IKEA flat pack assembly, disassembly, pick up and delivery services.Freud and Jung. Jung and Freud. History has closely associated these two who did so much examination of the mind in early 20th-century Europe, but the simple connection of their names belies a much more complicated relationship between the men themselves. At the top of the post, you can see the letter that Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, wrote to Carl Gustav Jung, founder of analytical psychology, in order to end that relationship entirely. "At first Freud saw in Jung a successor who might lead the psychoanalytic movement into the future," say the curator's comments at the Library of Congress' web site, "but by 1913 relations between the two men had soured. While Freud claims in his letter that it is 'demonstrably untrue' that he treats his followers as patients, in the very same letter we find him alluding to Jung's 'illness.'" Freud calls it "a convention among us analysts that none of us need feel ashamed of his own neurosis. But one [meaning Jung] who while behaving abnormally keeps shouting that he is normal gives ground for the suspicion that he lacks insight into his illness. Accordingly, I propose that we abandon our personal relations entirely."
"I shall lose nothing by it," he continues, "for my only emotional tie with you has been a long thin thread — the lingering effect of past disappointments — and you have everything to gain, in view of the remark you recently made to the effect that an intimate relationship with a man inhibited your scientific freedom." This relationship, writes Lionel Trilling in a review of The Correspondence Between Sigmund Freud and C.G. Jung, "had its bright beginning in 1906 and came to its embittered end in 1913," when Freud wrote this letter. "Freud and Jung were not good for one another; their connection made them susceptible to false attitudes and ambiguous tones. [... ] The intellectual and professional differences between the two men, profound as these eventually became, would perhaps not of themselves have brought about a break so drastic as did take place had not their alienating tendency been reinforced by personal conflicts." Only a comparative study of Freud and Jung's methods would yield a complete understanding of their roles in the struggle for the soul of psychoanalysis. But on a more basic level, this hardly counts as the first nor the last collapse, in any field of human endeavor, of a perhaps overdetermined succession between an eminence and his would-be protege — though it may count as one of the most eloquently documented ones.
Related Content:
Sigmund Freud Speaks: The Only Known Recording of His Voice, 1938
Face to Face with Carl Jung: ‘Man Cannot Stand a Meaningless Life’
Carl Gustav Jung Explains His Groundbreaking Theories About Psychology in Rare Interview (1957)
Carl Gustav Jung Ponders Death
Colin Marshall hosts and produces Notebook on Cities and Culture and writes essays on cities, language, Asia, and men’s style. He’s at work on a book about Los Angeles, A Los Angeles Primer. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.Crane drivers belonging to the Unite trade union will resume strike action tomorrow in a dispute over pay, which is further complicated by a bitter inter-union row.
Unite claims to represent over 90% of crane drivers, though they have traditionally been represented by SIPTU.
Last week the Irish Congress of Trade Unions upheld a complaint by SIPTU that Unite had breached ICTU rules in recruiting the crane operators and had failed to consult with SIPTU about that recruitment.
It also found that SIPTU had long-established and undisputed sole negotiating rights, except for a small number of geographical areas.
The ICTU said Unite should not seek to organise or represent crane drivers or related grades, should terminate their membership and encourage them to rejoin SIPTU.
However, Unite has announced it will be holding a nationwide strike tomorrow, and that there will be pickets at a number of construction sites in Dublin from 6am.
As a result of the pickets, workers from other unions are likely to refuse to pass the picket - though while those workers will lose a day's pay, they will not be entitled to strike pay.
The pickets will be on two SISK sites, one Cairn Homes site and one Bennett site at Capital Dock and Hannover Quay in Dublin.
Unite says it will also be holding a protest at the Health and Safety Authority to highlight concerns that workers are being issued with crane operator certificates without fulfilling the relevant training and experience criteria.
The Construction Industry Federation has warned that critical projects could be under threat and construction costs could increase by up to 30% as a result of the crane stoppages.
Director General Tom Parlon said the actions have effectively shut down sites employing thousands of workers, costing hundreds of thousands of euro per day and threatening future projects.
Mr Parlon accused Unite of being willing to undermine the industry, threaten the sustainability of multi-billion euro projects and risk all construction jobs in their attempt to poach members off fellow unions.
He said the 80% pay rise between now and 2019 sought by Unite could threaten the long-term viability of the industry.
Mr Parlon also said: "If this unlawful and irresponsible action continues, it will make it impossible for our contractors to operate, tender for work and ultimately puts construction jobs at risk."
He noted that last week the Labour Court recommended a Sectoral Employment Order for the Construction industry that included a 10% pay rise for construction workers including crane drivers.
That was in addition to the 25% increase through a "greasing time" allowance for crane drivers which was negotiated recently with SIPTU.
It remains to be seen if any construction company will take legal action in a bid to restrain the industrial action.Breaking: Rosie O'Donnell protest nearly 100% media pic.twitter.com/YcKgp6ExX8 — Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) February 28, 2017
Rosie O'Donnell Holds Nearly Empty Anti-Trump Rally pic.twitter.com/86mTnMXdUy — Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) February 28, 2017
I just asked Rosie O'Donnell "How much is George Soros paying you?" pic.twitter.com/UjapyG7Oym — Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) February 28, 2017
Thats a wrap on #ResistanceAddress rally. We will continue to stand together and #reisist pic.twitter.com/04Lv2hpd8A — JewishAction (@jewishaction) March 1, 2017
Posobiec - O'Donnell - Question - George - Soros
(Excerpt) Read more at: The American Mirror
Wake Up To Breaking News! SUBMIT
Not even Rosie O’Donnell could draw more than a hundred or so Donald Trump haters outside the White House tonight.Jack Posobiec was on the scene earlier this evening and reported the protest was “nearly 100% media.”Posobiec caught up with O’Donnell, where she avoided his question about how much George Soros was paying her...As the axe is poised to fall on public sector jobs, Rowenna Davis assesses the mood in Morpeth, a Northumberland town where nearly two-thirds of the workforce are employed by the state
Ken Brown, the mayor of Morpeth in Northumberland, scans through the options on his local jobcentre's touchscreen computer. It is stuffy after being in the cold outside, and few new jobs have come online since he last checked. He's overqualified for the few public sector, minimum-wage posts that are available – a support worker in a local care home, a contract cleaner for the council, a census collector. He used to manage social housing projects, but work has run dry since the recession. Now he is entering his fifth month on benefits and trying as a lone parent to bring up his son.
"I've lived in the town a long time, but you never truly empathise with a bad situation until you experience it personally," says Brown. "I've spoken to other unemployed people here and I know the panic of knowing you've got a family to feed and bills to pay, or wondering whether you can afford to get your round in at the pub.
"A lot of people think I'm paid handsomely for being mayor, but the truth is it's a voluntary post. They [the jobcentre]recommended I go for a call centre team leader position but I don't have any experience of that."
Brown's situation is still unusual in Morpeth, a pretty town that is home to many middle managers. Life expectancy and average income remains high, and crime and unemployment is low.
But this way of life is precariously dependent on the public sector. With 60% of the local workforce employed by the state, the town has the highest proportion of public sector workers of anywhere in the country, according to Office for National Statistics data analysed by research group Local Futures. That compares with 12% in Crawley, 16% in Watford and 17% in Slough – some of the areas with the lowest shares of public sector employment in the UK – and 52% in Oxford, 49% in Durham and 47% in Wansbeck – which are some of the highest.
The cuts might hit the whole country hard, but some areas will clearly feel the pain more than others.
Why is public sector employment so high in Morpeth? There is no equivalent of the Sellafield nuclear plant here, pushing up statistics. Most of Morpeth's 15,000 residents are either employed directly by the state in one of the three local hospitals, Northumberland county council, the police headquarters or Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offices, or indirectly through private providers dependent on public contracts.
Now the cuts hang like an axe about to drop over the town. The county council has already announced savings of some £100m over four years, but that doesn't even begin to include rationalisation in other public services.
"We shouldn't have got to the point when more people work in the public sector than the private," says Jeff Reid, the Liberal Democrat leader of Northumberland county council. "After de-industrialisation, the government backfilled unemployment with public sector jobs, but that meant storing up problems for the future. Of course I've got huge concerns – it gives you sleepless nights – but I'm trying to be optimistic. If previous governments have borrowed too much money, what can we do?"
Reid says he can't put a figure on the number of jobs that might be lost. "We're not going to find out what the effects will be until the public sector starts to unwind. We're now faced with a plate of very difficult decisions, and it's my government – the coalition – that's making them happen. There won't be a political place to hide."
The Northern branch of public sector union Unison is more forthcoming about the figures. In June, it received notification that 1,000 jobs could be lost from the council this financial year alone – cutting total staffing budgets by 22%. Meanwhile, local Connexions services for young people have been reduced by a third and talks are under way to merge Northumberland College, based in neighbouring Ashington, with the more distant Newcastle College, a move that is likely to put further jobs at risk. Northumbria police has announced 400 job losses and the Northumberland mental health trust has cut 50 posts. The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), which represents civil servants, says notification of job losses from the DWP are expected soon.
"If I lost my job that would be everything," says Ian Fleming, a local resident and customer services officer at the council, who has been seconded to Unison to work on industrial relations. "I've worked in the public sector for 18 years and it's the only thing I know."
From his contact with other union members, Fleming believes that industrial action is a real possibility. "Feelings are strong and the staff are upset, they may well be willing to take strike action … We'll see what the feeling is around the national day of action in March," he says.
Private sector
Once the state steps out, it is hard to see how the private sector will fill the gap in Morpeth. Council officials are quick to point to the glittering new Sanderson shopping centre that was built with £30m of private sector investment last year. But its consumer base is clearly dependent on comfortable middle managers spending a spare bit of cash at weekends. If the bureaucrats go, it is hard to see what customers will take their place.
Guy Thomas, 32, has managed to get a job in Morpeth's private sector. "I've got a degree in health and social welfare and speak five languages, and I'm serving cappuccino in the local coffee chain," he says. "You're not going to find any proper careers around here. Over half my mates work in the public sector, a lot on the railways, and a lot of them are worried about the cuts. There used to be fishmongers, greengrocers and small traders here, but now they've all closed and it's all supermarkets and chains. Even shops like this are putting others out of business."
Thomas comes from a typical Morpeth family. His mother worked for the NHS, his father was a public sector IT manager. Most of his friends work for Balfour Beatty, the construction company that has many public sector contracts. His older brother left to join the army, and his younger brother started his own business in conservation, but it's looking shaky. Thomas says moving away permanently isn't an option because his father has motor neurone disease and he wants to be close by.
Local Futures estimates that some 750 jobs will be lost in Morpeth by 2016, a figure that is derived from national forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. "Other areas, such as Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds, will suffer much bigger job losses [in the public sector], but Morpeth is likely to suffer more because the losses represent a much higher proportion of the employment base," says Michael Dee, data analyst for Local Futures."Peripheral rural areas like Morpeth and old industrial centres are less well-equipped to deal with the cuts compared with knowledge-based economies with higher levels of private investment."
Naomi Clayton, a senior researcher at the Work Foundation, who worked on the organisation's No City Left Behind report in July, agrees: "The spending cuts will have hugely differential impacts on cities across the UK," she says. "Areas that have high levels of public sector employment, a low level of private investment and a high level of welfare claimants will be particularly hard hit. Many areas in the north of the country have seen a decline in private sector jobs over the last 10 years and have only been held up by jobs in the public sector. Those areas are now at risk."
"The comprehensive spending review made proposals for sweeping cuts, but I'm not sure if in areas like the north-east the impact of those cuts is fully understood," says Tina Drury, managing director of Castle Morpeth Housing, a not-for-profit association that manages more than 2,000 local homes. "It's easy to take things in isolation, but people will be taking the changes together. Our tenants will have lower incomes, benefit cuts, VAT increases and fuel increases and the possible outcome is a higher percentage of rents in arrears, longer waiting lists and possibly a greater amount of evictions."
What about the "big society": can't the third sector step in where the state pulls back? Reid doesn't think so. "The government seems to think that there is a huge pool of people waiting to volunteer that they can tap into, but that seems to rely on a 1950s view of Britain that belongs to Enid Blyton," he says.
As for Morpeth's mayor Ken Brown, he is still looking for work. Moving to look for employment elsewhere is difficult given his political position, and he doesn't want to disrupt his son's schooling. But, he says, struggling to find work has taught him a lot. "It's hard, but I'm definitely going to learn from this … any experience that brings politicians closer to their communities is a good thing."
• This article was amended on 3 & 4 February 2011. The original said Jeff Reid was leader of Morpeth town council. This has been corrected. The original standfirst also stated that two-thirds of residents are employed by the state. This has been correctedThe former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court this week praised Israel’s Foreign Ministry for the recent publication of a report arguing that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are legal under international law.
While not endorsing the report’s content, Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was visiting Israel this week, said a thorough discussion about the settlements’ legality was sorely needed and could be beneficial to all sides involved.
Earlier this month, the Foreign Ministry, under the directive of Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, published a report arguing that Israel has “valid property claims” to West Bank territory, as “Jewish affinity” with the region dates back thousands of years. The document, authored by the ministry’s legal adviser, also seeks to refute the claim that settlements violate the Geneva Conventions and thus constitute a war crime. The effort to portray Jewish settlements in the West Bank as illegal “ignores the complexity of this issue, the history of the land, and the unique legal circumstances of this case,” the report concludes.
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Many Israelis scoffed at the report, doubting its effectiveness in a world where there is near-total consensus about settlements’ illegality. But Moreno Ocampo, who in 2003 became the ICC’s first chief prosecutor and held this role until 2012 when he was succeeded by Fatou Bensouda, praised the ministry’s attempt to present Israel’s point of view.
“That’s perfect. That’s exactly what they had to do,” he told The Times of Israel Tuesday in Jerusalem. “I |
may have to be slashed significantly to make it "long term viable". (The real way to make medicare long term viable, for the record, is to make it universal. Increased taxes would be more than offset by companies and individuals no longer having to pay insurance premiums).
Republicans will, again, mostly vote against it. Sure, they favor entitlement reform, but it’s a third rail. Why not let Democrats hurt old folks. Old folks who, well, vote religiously?
At this point, with the government’s hands tied when it comes to doing more stimulus and with unpopular entitlement reform having been passed mostly by Democrats, the future looks pretty bright for the Republicans. The economy will probably suck in 2010 and 2012 and the most important voting block, old folks, will be angry with Democrats.
The future’s gonna be so bright, Republicans will have to wear shades at night.One of Time Warner’s top executives moonlights as a speechwriter for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning the west about Iran.
Gary Ginsberg, executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications for Time Warner, advised Netanyahu to pull out the famous bomb cartoon at the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 and helped craft such lines as the claim that Iran threatens Israel with “nuclear extinction.”
“When he’s in the United States, he’s a friend of mine, I help him,” Ginsberg told me today. Time Warner is “fully aware” of his unpaid work for the Israeli prime minister, he said, but the company has not disclosed his work to the public.
“No. Why would they do that?” he said. “I do this in my free time as a friend of the prime minister’s. I in no way get paid… This is my free time. This is not as a corporate executive, this is in my personal capacity.”
Ginsberg’s contributions to four Netanyahu’s speeches are disclosed by former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren in his new book Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide. The book was published a month ago and has gotten a lot of attention for its negative commentary on President Obama and American Jews. Amazingly, its revelations about a top American media executive pulling all-nighters with the Israeli prime minister in Washington and huddling with him in Jerusalem so as to fine tune and add “music” to his speeches have gone unreported in the press.
Ginsberg is a 52-year-old Jewish lawyer with strong Democratic Party connections to the Clinton and Kennedy families. He has called himself the Time Warner executive “in charge of helping shape the public perception and message of the company to constituencies that we care about. So in my case, it’s the media, potential advertising partners, the not-for-profit world and communities that we serve in that we want to have a better relationship with.”
Ginsberg told me that he has worked on “a lot” of Netanyahu’s speeches but could not specify the latest one. He also said that he did not get involved in editorial decisions at Time Warner about Israel and Iran coverage. “I’m not an editorial employee, I’m a corporate executive,” he said.
The first speech Michael Oren describes Ginsberg shaping was Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly in September 2009. Oren writes:
I was admitted–tentatively, at first–into the room where Ron Dermer [now the Israeli ambassador to the U.S.] and Gary Ginsberg, the shrewd yet good-natured Time Warner executive who volunteered his talents and time, fine-tuned Netanyahu’s address. This, I learned, abounded in Churchillian references and touched on monumental themes: the Bible, the Holocaust, Israel’s right to self-defense. Iran denied all three, the speech next emphasized, and threatened Israel with nuclear extinction. A section on peace with the Palestinians was also de rigeur, with Gary assigned to add ‘music’ to Netanyahu’s hang-tough tone.
(In fact, Ginsberg was at the time a close aide to Rupert Murdoch at News Corp, said to be Murdoch’s connection to the Democratic Party. He joined Time Warner in 2010.)
The next speech that Oren says Ginsberg helped write was Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress in 2011, the one famous for getting 29 standing ovations. Oren writes,
[T]he joint meeting enabled Netanyahu to set out his views on the peace process and Iran, and to highlight the U.S.-Israel alliance. The speech-honing team took up position among the dusty volumes and colonial busts in the Blair House library. Time Warner’s Gary Ginsberg again volunteered to help add ‘music’ to Netanyahu’s remarks. These contained several groundbreaking concessions, including recognition that a peace accord might leave ‘some Israeli settlements… beyond Israel’s borders,’ and that with ‘creativity and goodwill,’ the Jerusalem issue could be solved. But such largesse could easily be lost in bluster. ‘You’re going to get beat up on this stuff at home,’ I advised the prime minister; ‘you might as well emphasize these gestures before Congress.’ The music was still being pumped in twenty-four hours later when, without sleep, we left for Capitol Hill.
The next speech Oren says Ginsberg helped to write was Netanyahu’s speech to the Israel lobby group AIPAC, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, in 2012. That speech was famous for describing the U.S. refusal to bomb the rail lines leading to Auschwitz in 1944– an Oren touch, the author says — and for Netanyahu insisting that Iran is going nuclear because it has all the appearances of doing so: “Ladies and gentlemen, if it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, then what is it? What is it? That’s right, it’s a duck. But this duck is a nuclear duck.”
The duck lines were widely mocked in the media, but Ginsberg was proud of his involvement, Oren says.
Gary Ginsberg, the Time Warner executive who again helped fine-tune the speech, made me a T-shirt emblazoned with a madcap duck bronco-riding a nuclear warhead that evoked the classic film Dr. Strangelove. But the reference to Auschwitz had darker implications….
The next speech Ginsberg helped to craft in Oren’s account was Netanyahu’s speech to the UN General Assembly in September 2012, which featured the cartoon bomb. Oren relates that he visited Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem.
Also present was chief advisor Ron Dermer and Gary Ginsberg, of Time Warner. Together, we sat to draft Netanyahu’s crucial UN General Assembly speech. I knew the subject would once again be Iran, but was unprepared for the angle. “I’m going to draw a red line around twenty percent enrichment,” Netanyahu explained… Think of that uranium like gunpowder… At the point when the Iranians have enough twenty percent uranium to fill the bomb nearly to the top, that’s where I’ll draw the red line.” We looked at him quizzically. “Let me show you,” he said. A skilled draftsman from his MIT architecture days, Netanyahu took a piece of paper and a felt-tipped pen and drew a cannonball freestyle…. “Why don’t you show the drawing during your speech?” Gary suggested, but Netanyahu merely smiled.
Later Oren reflects, “Opinions were divided over whether it represented an ingenious attention-grabbing device or a slick PR trick, much like the ‘nuclear duck.'”
Time Warner is the third largest multimedia company, according to Wikipedia. Its subsidiaries include CNN and Turner Broadcasting, leading mainstream news brands.
In his book, Michael Oren scoffs at the theory of the Israel lobby, saying that its description of a loose coalition of Israel supporters that includes media figures is anti-Semitic. But what he reveals in his book about a Democratic-Party-associated media executive’s free service to a rightwing Israeli leader only tends to confirm the truth of the theory.The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP[1]) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, September 13, 2007, by a majority of 144 states in favour, 4 votes against,[Note 1] and 11 abstentions.[Note 2][2] The groundwork toward this declaration began in 1923 and 1925 with the works of Haudenosaunee Chief Deskaheh and Māori T.W. Ratana, who attempted to bring issues of Canada and New Zealand's failure to uphold treaties to the League of Nations, United Nations' precursor.[3][4]
In May 2016, Canada officially removed its objector status to UNDRIP, almost a decade after it was adopted by the General Assembly. By now the other three objectors have to varying degrees, also turned their votes.
While as a General Assembly Declaration, UNDRIP is not a legally binding instrument under international law.[5] According to a UN press release it does "represent the dynamic development of international legal norms and it reflects the commitment of the UN's member states to move in certain directions"; the UN describes it as setting "an important standard for the treatment of indigenous peoples that will undoubtedly be a significant tool toward eliminating human rights violations against the planet's 370 million indigenous people, and assisting them in combating discrimination and marginalisation."
UNDRIP codifies "Indigenous historical grievances, contemporary challenges and socio-economic, political and cultural aspirations" and is the "culmination of generations-long efforts by Indigenous organizations to get international attention, to secure recognition for their aspirations, and to generate support for their political agendas."[6] Canada Research Chair and faculty member at the University of Saskatchewan[7][8] Ken Coates argues that UNDRIP resonates powerfully with Indigenous peoples, while national governments have not yet fully understood its impact.[6]
Purpose [ edit ]
Due to the past and ongoing violence and abuse of Indigenous individuals and peoples, the UN created this non-legally binding declaration as an aspiration for how Indigenous individuals and peoples should be treated. The Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues. It also "emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations".[9] It "prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples", and it "promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development".[9][10] The goal of the Declaration is to encourage countries to work alongside indigenous peoples to solve global issues, like development, multicultural democracy and decentralization.[11] According to Article 31, there is a major emphasis that the indigenous peoples will be able to protect their cultural heritage and other aspects of their culture and tradition in order to preserve their heritage from over controlling nation-states.
The elaboration of this Declaration had already been recommended by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.[12]
This declaration is a resolution, meaning it is not a law bearing document. Indigenous people are not considered a country [nation - state] and do not have right to international law protection through the international court of justice. Article 40 states that Indigenous peoples have right to fair procedures for the resolution of conflicts and dispute with countries or other parties, because Indigenous people cannot use the International court of justice, UNDRIP has no indication of which judicial power indigenous peoples are to bring disputes to.[13]
Content [ edit ]
The Declaration is structured as a United Nations resolution, with 23 preambular clauses and 46 articles. In most articles, an aspiration for how the State should promote and protect the rights of indigenous people is included (see Provision for further explanation). Major themes of the articles include:
Rights of self-determination of indigenous individuals and peoples (Articles 1 - 8; 33 -34) The difference is between the individual and people’s group
Rights of indigenous individuals and people to protect their culture through practices, languages, education, media, and religion (Articles 9 - 15, 16, 25, and 31)
Asserts the indigenous peoples’ right to own type of governance and to economic development (Articles 17 - 21, 35 -37)
Health rights (Article 23 -24)
Protection of subgroups ex. elderly, women, and children (Article 22)
Land rights from ownership (including reparation, or return of land i.e. Article 10) to environmental issues (Articles 26 -30, and 32)
Dictates how this document should be understood in future reference(Articles 38 - 46).[14]
Provisions [ edit ]
The opening and Article 2 of the Declaration provide that “indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples” (source). Besides asserting the rights that indigenous individuals and peoples’ have as other peoples, there are Articles (23 of the 46) pointing to how States should interact with the declaration. Most of the articles point to States working in conjunction with the indigenous peoples. Some measures countries are suggested to take are
to return land (article 26), ceremonial objects (article 12), and human remains (article 12)
To place “programmes for monitoring, maintaining, and restoring the health of indigenous peoples” (article 29 )
To protect and uphold the rights of indigenous individuals and peoples (subpoint in many articles; see Declaration) [14]
Negotiation and adoption [ edit ]
UN General Assembly
Resolution 61/295 Date 13 December 2007 Code A/61/295 (Document) Subject Indigenous rights Voting summary 143 voted for
4 voted against
11 abstained Result Adopted
The Declaration was over 25 years in the making. The idea originated in 1982 when the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) set up its Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP), established as a result of a study by Special Rapporteur José Ricardo Martínez Cobo on the problem of discrimination faced by indigenous peoples. Tasked with developing human rights standards that would protect indigenous peoples, in 1985 the Working Group began working on drafting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The draft was finished in 1993 and was submitted to the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, which gave its approval the following year. During this the International Labour Organization adopted the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989.
The Draft Declaration was then referred to the Commission on Human Rights, which established another Working Group to examine its terms. Over the following years this Working Group met on 11 occasions to examine and fine-tune the Draft Declaration and its provisions. Progress was slow because of certain states' concerns regarding some key provisions of the Declaration, such as indigenous peoples' right to self-determination and the control over natural resources existing on indigenous peoples' traditional lands.[15] The final version of the Declaration was adopted on 29 June 2006 by the 47-member Human Rights Council (the successor body to the Commission on Human Rights), with 30 member states in favour, 2 against, 12 abstentions, and 3 absentees.[16]
The Declaration (document A/61/L.67) was then referred to the General Assembly, which voted on the adoption of the proposal on 13 September 2007 during its 61st regular session.[17]
The vote was, in favour 143 countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States. All four member states that voted against have their origins as colonies of the United Kingdom, and have large non-indigenous immigrant majorities and thriving indigenous populations. Since then, all four countries have moved to endorse the declaration in some informal way in which it would not actually become binding law pleadable in court. Canada, under a Conservative Party leadership made official public statements against the application of the UN DRIP in Canada, e.g.
"Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice has stated publicly that the Declaration conflicts with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms but has never substantiated this extraordinary claim."[18].
However, the Liberal Government elected to leadership in 2015, has unequivocally indicated Canada's support for the UN DRIP and is working on amending Canada's laws accordingly.
Australian government interventions have been challenged under its terms without success.[19]
Abstaining, 11 countries:[20] Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Samoa and Ukraine. Colombia and Samoa have since endorsed the document.[21]
Absent:[22] Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Montenegro, Morocco, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu.
Reaction [ edit ]
Support and compromises [ edit ]
In contrast to the Declaration's initial rejection by Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States over legal concerns (all 4 countries later switched their positions to accepting the declaration as a non-legally-binding document), United Nations officials and other world leaders expressed pleasure at its adoption. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described it as a "historic moment when UN Member States and indigenous peoples have reconciled with their painful histories and are resolved to move forward together on the path of human rights, justice and development for all." Louise Arbour, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada then serving as the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed satisfaction at the hard work and perseverance that had finally "borne fruit in the most comprehensive statement to date of indigenous peoples' rights."[10] Similarly, news of the Declaration's adoption was greeted with jubilation in Africa[23] and, present at the General Assembly session in New York, Bolivian foreign minister David Choquehuanca said that he hoped the member states that had voted against or abstained would reconsider their refusal to support a document he described as being as important as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[24] Bolivia has become the first country to approve the U.N. declaration of indigenous rights. Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, stated, "We are the first country to turn this declaration into a law and that is important, brothers and sisters. We recognize and salute the work of our representatives. But if we were to remember the indigenous fight clearly, many of us who are sensitive would end up crying in remembering the discrimination, the scorn."
Stephen Corry, Director of the international indigenous rights organization Survival International, said, "The declaration has been debated for nearly a quarter century. Years which have seen many tribal peoples, such as the Akuntsu and Kanoê in Brazil, decimated and others, such as the Innu in Canada, brought to the edge. Governments that oppose it are shamefully fighting against the human rights of their most vulnerable peoples. Claims they make to support human rights in other areas will be seen as hypocritical."[25]
Australia [ edit ]
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies formally acknowledges and upholds the principles of the Declaration in both their Collection Access and Use Policy[26] and their Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies.[27]
Criticism, defiance and "aspirational" nullification [ edit ]
Prior to the adoption of the Declaration, and throughout the 62nd session of the General Assembly, a number of countries expressed concern about some key issues, such as self-determination, access to lands, territories and resources and the lack of a clear definition of the term "indigenous".[28] In addition to those intending to vote against the adoption of the declaration, a group of African countries represented by Namibia proposed to defer action, to hold further consultations, and to conclude consideration of the declaration by September 2007.[29] Ultimately, after agreeing on some adjustments to the Draft Declaration, a vast majority of states recognized that these issues could be addressed by each country at the national level.
The four states that voted against continued to express serious reservations about the final text of the Declaration as placed before the General Assembly.[30] As mentioned above, all four opposing countries have since then changed their vote in favour of the Declaration.
Australia [ edit ]
Australia's government opposed the Declaration in the General Assembly vote of 2007, but has since endorsed the Declaration. Australia's Mal Brough, Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, referring to the provision regarding the upholding of indigenous peoples' customary legal systems, said that "There should only be one law for all Australians and we should not enshrine in law practices that are not acceptable in the modern world."[17]
Marise Payne, Liberal Party Senator for New South Wales, further elaborated on the Australian government's objections to the Declaration in a speech to the Australian Senate:[31]
Concerns about references to self-determination and their potential to be misconstrued.
Ignorance of contemporary realities concerning land and resources. "They seem, to many readers, to require the recognition of Indigenous rights to lands which are now lawfully owned by other citizens, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and therefore to have some quite significant potential to impact on the rights of third parties." [31]
Concerns over the extension of Indigenous intellectual property rights under the declaration as unnecessary under current international and Australian law.
The potential abuse of the right under the Declaration for indigenous peoples to unqualified consent on matters affecting them, "which implies to some readers that they may then be able to exercise a right of veto over all matters of state, which would include national laws and other administrative measures." [31]
The exclusivity of indigenous rights over intellectual, real and cultural property, that "does not acknowledge the rights of third parties – in particular, their rights to access Indigenous land and heritage and cultural objects where appropriate under national law." [31] Furthermore, that the Declaration "fails to consider the different types of ownership and use that can be accorded to Indigenous people and the rights of third parties to property in that regard." [31]
Furthermore, that the Declaration "fails to consider the different types of ownership and use that can be accorded to Indigenous people and the rights of third parties to property in that regard." Concerns that the Declaration places indigenous customary law in a superior position to national law, and that this may "permit the exercise of practices which would not be acceptable across the board",[31] such as customary corporal and capital punishments.
In October 2007 former Australian Prime Minister John Howard pledged to hold a referendum on changing the constitution to recognise indigenous Australians if re-elected. He said that the distinctiveness of people's identity and their rights to preserve their heritage should be acknowledged.[32]
On 3 April 2009, the Rudd Government formally endorsed the Declaration.[33]
Canada [ edit ]
The Canadian government said that while it supported the "spirit" of the declaration, it contained elements that were "fundamentally incompatible with Canada's constitutional framework",[17] which includes both the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Section 35, which enshrines aboriginal and treaty rights. In particular, the Canadian government had problems with Article 19 (which appears to require governments to secure the consent of indigenous peoples regarding matters of general public policy), and Articles 26 and 28 (which could allow for the re-opening or repudiation of historically settled land claims).[34]
Former Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Chuck Strahl described the document as "unworkable in a Western democracy under a constitutional government."[35] Strahl elaborated, saying "In Canada, you are balancing individual rights vs. collective rights, and (this) document... has none of that. By signing on, you default to this document by saying that the only rights in play here are the rights of the First Nations. And, of course, in Canada, that's inconsistent with our constitution." He gave an example: "In Canada... you negotiate on this... because (native rights) don't trump all other rights in the country. You need also to consider the people who have sometimes also lived on those lands for two or three hundred years, and have hunted and fished alongside the First Nations."[36]
The Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution in December 2007 to invite Presidents Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales to Canada to put pressure on the government to sign the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, calling the two heads of state "visionary leaders" and demanding Canada resign its membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council.[37]
On 3 March 2010, in the Speech From the Throne, the Governor General of Canada announced that the government was moving to endorse the declaration. "We are a country with an Aboriginal heritage. A growing number of states have given qualified recognition to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Our Government will take steps to endorse this aspirational document in a manner fully consistent with Canada’s Constitution and laws."
On 12 November 2010, Canada officially endorsed the declaration but without changing its position that it was 'aspirational'.[38]
Anishinabek spiritual leader, Chief William Commanda (1908-3 August 2011) was honoured at the 21st annual week-long First Peoples' Festival held in Montreal from 2–9 August 2011, celebrating Canada's 2010 adoption of the U. N. declaration. AFN Innu representative, Ghislain Picard's tribute praised Grandfather Commanda for his work that was "key not only in the adoption of the U.N. declaration, but in all the work leading up to it throughout the last 25 years."[39]
In 2015, Romeo Saganash (a Cree Member of Parliament for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou) sponsored Private Member's Bill C-641, the "United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act", which would have required the Canadian government to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with UNDRIP but it was defeated on May 6, 2015.[40]
On July 7, 2015 in an open letter to provincial cabinet members, Premier of Alberta Rachel Notley asked each minister to conduct a review of their policies, programs, and legislation that might require changes based on the principles of the UN Declaration.[41]
In December of 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission listed ratifying UNDRIP as one of its national "calls to action" in its final report.
In 2016, Canada officially adopted and promised to implement the declaration fully. Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada minister Carolyn Bennett announced, "We are now a full supporter of the declaration, without qualification. We intend nothing less than to adopt and implement the declaration in accordance with the Canadian Constitution."[42] Bennett described the Declaration as "breathing life into Section 35 [of the Canadian Constitution] and recognizing it as a full box of rights for Indigenous Peoples in Canada."[42] In July 2016, Kwakwaka’wakw Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould gave a speech that stated that "adopting the UNDRIP as being Canadian law are unworkable", due to its incompatibility with the Indian Act, the current governing statute.[43]
The federal government pledged on 21 June 2017 to rename its National Aboriginal Day to be consistent with the terminology used by the Declaration.[44]
In September 2017, British Columbia provincial government announced that it will govern in accordance with the principles outlined in the Declaration.[45]
New Zealand [ edit ]
In 2007 New Zealand's Minister of Māori Affairs Parekura Horomia described the Declaration as "toothless", and said, "There are four provisions we have problems with, which make the declaration fundamentally incompatible with New Zealand's constitutional and legal arrangements." Article 26 in particular, he said, "appears to require recognition of rights to lands now lawfully owned by other citizens, both indigenous and non-indigenous. This ignores contemporary reality and would be impossible to implement."[46]
In response, Māori Party leader Pita Sharples said it was "shameful to the extreme that New Zealand voted against the outlawing of discrimination against indigenous people; voted against justice, dignity and fundamental freedoms for all".[47]
On 7 July 2009, the New Zealand government announced that it would support the Declaration; this, however, appeared to be a premature announcement by Pita Sharples, the current Minister of Māori Affairs, as the New Zealand government cautiously backtracked on Sharples' July announcement.[48] However, on 19 April 2010, Sharples announced New Zealand's support of the declaration at a speech in New York.[49][50]
United States [ edit ]
Speaking for the United States mission to the UN, spokesman Benjamin Chang said, "What was done today is not clear. The way it stands now is subject to multiple interpretations and doesn't establish a clear universal principle."[51] The U.S. mission also issued a floor document, "Observations of the United States with respect to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples", setting out its objections to the Declaration. Most of these are based on the same points as the three other countries' rejections but, in addition, the United States drew attention to the Declaration's failure to provide a clear definition of exactly whom the term "indigenous peoples" is intended to cover.[52]
On 16 December 2010, President Obama declared that the United States would "lend its support" to the Declaration. The decision was announced during the second White House Tribal Nations Conference, where he said he is "working hard to live up to" the name that was given to him by the Crow Nation: "One Who Helps People Throughout the Land." Obama has told Native American leaders that he wants to improve the "nation-to-nation" relationship between the United States and the tribes and repair broken promises. Today, there are more than 560 Indian tribes[53] in the United States that are recognized at the federal level, with some sixty-plus tribes recognized at the state level. Many had representatives at the White House conference and applauded Obama's announcement.[54]
The Obama administration's decision came after three consultation meetings with Native Americans and more than 3,000 written comments on the subject.[55] The support of the government also included several interpretations of the meaning of the Declaration. In the view of the United States government, the Declaration advances "a new and distinct international concept of self-determination specific to indigenous peoples," which is not the same as the existing concept in international law.[55] The statement also interprets free, prior, and informed consent, "which the United States understands to call for a process of meaningful consultation with tribal leaders, but not necessarily the agreement of those leaders, before the actions addressed in those consultations are taken."[55]
United Kingdom [ edit ]
Speaking on behalf of the United Kingdom government, UK Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Karen Pierce, "emphasized that the Declaration was non-legally binding and did not propose to have any retroactive application on historical episodes. National minority groups and other ethnic groups within the territory of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories did not fall within the scope of the indigenous peoples to which the Declaration applied."[56]
The UK position was also clearly intended to prevent formal appeal of Canadian decisions to UK courts: Canadian indigenous peoples never accepted the 1982 constitution in which such appeal (regarding early treaties made with the Crown of the British Empire) was cut off. Under the prior 1867 constitution, 1920s Dominion of Canada and earlier law, which continue to apply to these peoples and treaties, the UN DRIP could have been pleaded in a UK court in conflicts between treaty and Canadian law. Calls to pursue this approach have been common among Canadian natives. [2]
Finland [ edit ]
Finland signed the International Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when it was originally put forward.[57][58] However the reindeer owners and Forest Administration (Metsähallitus) have a long dispute in the area of the forests.[59] The UN Human Rights Committee ordered the Finnish State to stop logging in some of the disputed areas.[citation needed]
Abstentions [ edit ]
Ukraine [ edit ]
Ukraine, which initially abstained from adopting the Declaration, changed its approach to indigenous issues in response to the recent annexation of Crimea, asserting that Crimean Tatars are an Indigenous people. In May 2014, the country formally endorsed the UNDRIP.[60]
Pacific Island states [ edit ]
Ten UN member states in the Pacific, all with indigenous majorities, were absent from the assembly at the time of the vote: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. It is unclear whether this represents the equivalent of deliberate abstention, or whether the country delegations were absent for some other reason. The constitutions of these states typically make mention of "indigenous inhabitants" and accommodate customary laws in at least part of their modern legal systems. The constitution of Papua New Guinea, for example, has an explanatory section on the "underlying law" being based on custom, while Sch.1.2. says that "custom" means "the customs and usages of indigenous inhabitants of the country..." (emphasis added). It may be the case, therefore, that the governments of these states took the position that their own legal systems offered sufficient protection to their own indigenous peoples. There has been no suggestion at any time since decolonisation commenced in the 1960s and the present that indigenous people are absent from any of the ten countries.
Nonetheless, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu are among countries in this group plagued by land grabbing in recent years.[61] Researchers have warned that as much as 12% of the land surface of Papua New Guinea has been leased without informed consultation and consent from landowners, typically suppressing customary rights for 99 years.[62] Given that land grabbing was recently ruled to lie within the remit of the International Criminal Court,[63] it is a reasonable conclusion that legal systems in the Pacific, unsupported by UNDRIP, have insufficient built-in safeguards for the protection of indigenous rights.
There are also significant implications in the extractive sector for these states not having signed UNDRIP. Mining companies that are members of the International Council on Mining and Metals commit to respect the ICMM's position statement on indigenous peoples. However, ambiguity surrounds how or if member companies recognise when they are dealing with indigenous peoples. For example, Barrick Gold lists only its operations in North and South America as lying on indigenous land, yet operates in Fiji and Papua New Guinea (where a subsidiary has operated the Porgera gold mine since 2007).[64] Another member, Newmont Mining, said in its 2011 Sustainability Report[65] that it had been conducting mining exploration in Papua New Guinea for three years, yet its disclosures do not show how activities in this country may have followed the ICMM's Indigenous Peoples and Mining Good Practice Guide, first published in 2010.
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
^ Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States ^ Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Samoa and Ukraine
References [ edit ]
Additional references [ edit ]
UN (18 March 2008), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (PDF), United NationsYet another Republican candidate for president declared today just days after Gov. Scott Walker joined an already very crowded field of GOP hopefuls. A mannequin with an iPod taped to its head (that only plays old Reagan speeches) announced via Twitter that it was entering the race by saying, “All in all, I’d rather be in Philadelphia,” and immediately began polling third in the crowded pack just behind Donald Trump at 9%.
“I like him (it),” said one possible Republican voter. “He (it’s) a Washington outsider and his (it’s) ideas about hating government and taking the Soviets down are really fresh.”
The mannequin’s campaign manager, Ted Dremen, was honest in explaining why he signed on. “I mean, I worked on Bachman’s campaign and even Cruz’s for a hot minute and we used to always say a mannequin could do a better job so here we are. Also, I take a lot of painkillers and suffer from frequent bouts of aphasia.”
At a campaign event in Iowa a crowd of 3,000 seemed to have few reservations about the inanimate object’s run for the presidency. When the mannequin’s iPod played Reagan saying, “Well, there you go again!” the crowd cheered lustily. They did the same when the iPod played, “Government isn’t the solution to the problem … It is the problem!”
There was some confusion when snippets of Reagan talking about how he had to raise taxes and wanted amnesty for illegals started playing, but a quick-thinking campaign staffer simply fast forwarded to the iconic quote, “If we ever forget we are one nation under God we will be one nation gone under!” and the crowd went wild.
The mannequin then fell over but was quickly propped back up and was carried out to cheers and a chant of, “Mannequin for president!” as the soundtrack |
call for a white saviour. VICE talked to Sarah Chang and Simu Liu, two actors vying for roles in Mulan, about why this reboot is so significant to them and other Asian-American actors.
Sarah Chang auditions for 'The Legend of Mulan'
For Chang and Liu, the 1998 version of Mulan meant mainstream representation as kids. Before black haired Barbies and the plethora of Asian YouTube stars who make a living by mocking their immigrant parents lovingly, there was Mulan. In pop culture, other than Wanda from The Magic School Bus or the Yellow Ranger, Mulan was it. She was on the big screen, speaking English without an accent and, finally, wasn't the sidekick mathlete. The animation wasn't esoteric like the folklores taught at weekend Mandarin school—those recited to explain the order of the Chinese zodiac or the lion dance's origins.
Chang told VICE that seeing a leading Asian character inspired her to continue pursuing Wushu, a form of contemporary martials arts, in which she's trained for under action star Jet Li's teammate Zhang Guifeng since she was a little girl in McLean, Virginia.
For Asian millennials, General Li Shang—a Chinese army captain and Mulan's love interest—represented an Asian male that wasn't meek, but a hero.
Liu, currently seen on CBC's Kim's Convenience and as Faaron on NBC's Taken, said that as a teenager he had a lot of trouble dating because he felt like Asian men were desexualized by the media. His crush in fifth grade giggled over boy band members who had blonde hair and frosted tips, which made him want to be like Justin Timberlake so girls would dig him a little more.
It's a problem that a lot of Asian kids growing up will face, invariably making them feel invisible in Western pop culture, he said.
Although Li Shang isn't a real person, the animated character in Mulan is a sexy Chinese man, Liu added. With a gallery of topless selfies on social media, Liu wants to prove that Chinese men can be universally attractive too.
"Chinese people deserve to be as vain and as narcissistic as anyone else," Liu told VICE. "I refuse to be pigeon-holed into this model minority, the nerdy sidekick."
The former stuntman for Hero's Reborn says it's been a dream of his to take on the role of Li Shang.
"It's not every day that Disney decides to adapt an animated feature into a big motion picture and not every day that the motion picture centres around Chinese people," said Liu.
Simu Liu: 'I'm very proud of my heritage.'
Born in Harbin, China, Liu gravitated toward martial arts at a young age since icons like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan were Asian male figures that were treated with respect and reverence instead of being depicted with racist caricatures, he said. Even with his eager attitude, Liu's parents put him into piano and soccer lessons instead.
Other than trading Pokémon cards at Mandarin school during his childhood in Mississauga, Ontario, Liu learned the language despite his refusal to speak it at home, only responding in English when spoken to.
Yet he still set out to be the perfect Asian child, graduating with an accounting degree and settling into a 9-to-5 job. But after being laid off in 2012, Liu refused to head back to Bay Street (Canada's version of Wall Street) and was instead obsessively scrolling through Craigslist for acting gigs––stepping onto a set made him feel like he was finally in control of his own life.
According to Chang, Mulan is a spiritual role model, as an independent woman and a highly skilled warrior. It follows that her hustle to become Mulan has been relentless. She enlisted the help of Beijing Film Academy speech teacher Zhang Hua, who coached mega star Zhao Wei in the Chinese live action version of Mulan, to prepare her for auditions. She consulted Zhao Qing Jian, former Wushu World Champion and someone who has been called "The God Of Wushu," on her performance technique.
And with the help of some friends, Chang filmed a teaser trailer titled The Rise of Mulan to send in as part of her follow up audition.
Chang's even been on the radar of China's CCTV producers. The state television station aired a documentary in December on her quest to become Mulan with behind the scenes footage of her audition preparations and training routine.
The rebooted Mulan is not due on November 2018 but for Liu, he's hopeful that progress will continue to be made.
Liu, a recent nominee of two Canadian Screen Awards, said diversity in Hollywood will advance, but at a staggered pace.
"We know what we have to do, we know the progress that there is out there to make and we're just doing it," Liu said. "We have allies and people that aren't so friendly, but I'm very proud of my heritage."
Follow Amy on TwitterThe Black Country derby is the Michael Caine of football rivalries. If you believe the Football Pools, in the hierarchy of hostilities, the rivalry between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers is the fiercest in English football — but not a lot of people know that.
Perhaps the reason for its relative obscurity outside the Midlands is that, even though the battle lines were drawn 122 years ago, Sunday’s rescheduled match is the first time the fixture has been held in the Premier League, for the two sides have not met in the top division since 1984.
Because of the timing, it is not just local bragging rights at stake.
Defeat for Wolves would leave them six points adrift at the bottom of the table, while a win by more than one goal would mean they climb out of the relegation zone and above West Brom on goal difference. No wonder McCarthy has sounded the trumpets.
“It would be wrong of me to wind players up,” he said, “but I got them on the training ground and said you can pick any game you like, wherever you’re from — whether it be Ronald Zubar, who tells me it’s Marseille and the Paris teams, or Hearts and Hibernian in Scotland — and told them this is the big game for this club.
“It would be a huge game even if it was a cup tie with two divisions between us, so because we’re both in the Premier League and we both need points, it’s even bigger. So I have stressed the importance of this game and its significance for this club.
“There’s three points at stake in every game and that’s the pragmatic approach, but I understand the local feuding because as a player I used to embrace it.
“Whether it was Barnsley-Sheffield Wednesday, Celtic-Rangers, Manchester City-Manchester United, Millwall-West Ham, Lyon-St Etienne, Northern Ireland-Republic of Ireland. I’ve played and managed in a few and I love them.”
Roy Hodgson, the new West Brom manager, makes his return to management looking to pull his new club out of an alarming tailspin during which they have taken just five points from a possible 30 since mid December.
McCarthy has already got the better of Hodgson once this season, but he does not think that Wolves’ win over Liverpool means he has the psychological advantage going into this game.
“I don’t think Roy will carry any scars around and I don’t think it will have any bearing on it,” he said.Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images
Dear Reader,
You have opened another sports writer's take on who should win the NBA MVP. This article will feature many of the same things you have heard 8,125,616 times on the Internet—only with perhaps some slightly different adjectives and hopefully a writing voice you find to be "not actively infuriating."
Also on this premise: There is no right answer here. There is no wrong answer. Russell Westbrook, James Harden or Kawhi Leonard could win the MVP in June, and it will be perfectly fine. No one will have gotten robbed or harmed in any tangible way.
Anyone with a vested, strong opinion on the matter is either a) wrong; b) not super intelligent; c) a combination of A and B; or d) speaking with an agenda. Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has a reason to publicly stump for Harden. It further justifies the best move of his career (the Harden trade) and makes Houston an even more attractive free-agent destination if Harden wins.
The purportedly objective sports experts you see bloviating on television and in print? Like...dude. You all need to calm down a bit. It ain't that serious. You're clowning yourselves. You are the Chainsmokers of sports punditry.
With that caveat in place, let's roll up our sleeves—actually, don't do that; you're reading an article on the Internet, sleeves down are just fine—and delve into this debate.
Factor 1: WINZZZZZZZZ
David J. Phillip/Associated Press
AKA: the most nauseating factor. While not quite as insufferable as QB WINZZZZZZZZ over in the NFL hot-take cauldron, there are many good, smart people who believe team accomplishments should be the deciding factor in an individual award.
Take, for example, Harden himself.
"I think that's the most important thing. I thought winning is what this is about—period," Harden told reporters. "I'm not going to get in-depth with all that, but I thought winning was the most important thing. If you set your team up in a position to have a chance, at the ultimate goal, that's the most important thing."
Morey took a similar stance over the weekend, tweeting that "basketball is losing its focus on winning."
First of all: LOL. Basketball is not losing any of its focus on winning. Teams are becoming smarter in the way they employ their own players, just as writers are becoming smarter in the way they evaluate an individual player's impact. Morey knows this because he's helped lead the revolution. He's hustling votes for his player, and I respect the finesse.
But using WINZZZZZZZZ doesn't even help Harden in the MVP debate. It simply creates a more compelling case for Leonard, the oft-forgotten man in this race who is perhaps the NBA's best two-way player. To quantify WINZZZZZZZZ, I did some painstaking research, opening up NBA.com and looking at the league standings page.
I then created a chart because it felt like the responsible adult thing to do:
As you can plainly see, Leonard's San Antonio Spurs have 61 WINZZZZZZZZ. That is seven more than Harden and the Houston Rockets and 14 more than Westbrook's Oklahoma City Thunder. Leonard is clearly the winner of the WINZZZZZZZZ round, if you want to take 0.4 seconds to decide your MVP.
Luckily, I had roughly 8.6 seconds and decided to come up with something a little more fun. Basketball-Reference's advanced database quantifies individual player wins through "win shares," which uses data from both ends to quantify a player's effect. ESPN's RPM does the same, as does John Hollinger's old Estimated Wins Added formula.
Each metric has a different formula, and they all have their inherent flaws, but together they're a decent-enough picture of a player's contributions to their team's success. I added all of those numbers up—team wins, win shares, RPM wins added and EWA—to create a stat I am conservatively calling SUPER WINZZZZZZZZ™ (patent pending).
Super WINZZZZZZZZ Data Team Wins Win Shares EWA RPM Wins Kawhi 61 13.6 21.0 13.71 Harden 54 14.7 24.3 14.76 Westbrook 47 13.1 27.5 16.64 Various
Leonard still takes home the overall WINZZZZZZZZ crown. Just not by as much.
2) STATZZZZZZZZ
AKA: the nerd factor.
We cheated a little bit during the previous section by adding some advanced stats to accommodate for wins. Luckily, the NBA's statistical revolution has allotted us enough numbers that we can use a few and still have roughly 18 million more to choose from.
The traditional counting stats favor Westbrook. Breaking Oscar Robertson's single-season triple-double record (42) and becoming the second player in history to average a trip-dub during a full year will do that. He leads the NBA in points by nearly three per game, ranks third in assists per game and 10th in rebounds per game. And even though Westbrook has a somewhat-earned reputation as a chucker, he and Harden shoot roughly the same percentage from the floor and three-point range. Leonard is the efficiency darling, blasting his previous high scoring averages while still nearly maintaining his career rate from three.
Traditional Stat Breakdown PPG RPG APG FG% 3PT% Leonard 25.7 5.8 3.5 48.6 37.9 Harden 29.1 8.1 11.2 43.8 34.5 Westbrook 31.9 10.7 10.4 42.6 34.4 NBA.com
Unsurprisingly, the advanced metrics, nearly all of which have a basis in traditional stats, skew in Westbrook's direction. Basketball Reference's BPM, which translates how much a player contributes above average over the course of 100 possessions, ranks Westbrook's season as the best ever in its database—and it's not even particularly close.
Westbrook's 15.6 BPM is 2.6 points better than any other player in history. He is three points better than Michael Jordan's greatest season and more than nine points better than Kobe Bryant's best season. For the record, Harden's BPM of 10.0 ranks as 18th-best in NBA history.
Westbrook's VORP, another per-100 possessions translation of box-score stats, also nearly breaks the system. His 12.4 VORP is 3.6 points better than Harden, who is in second place. Michael Jordan currently holds the all-time VORP record at 12.0.
NBA Math (run by B/R's Adam Fromal) has Westbrook on pace for the greatest TPA (total points added) since at least 1973. His 884.58 TPA is more than 60 points better than Jordan in 1988-89. Harden is 277-plus points behind, and Westbrook doubles the TPA of every player who isn't Harden or LeBron James.
Advanced Stats Breakdown BPM VORP TPA Leonard 8.1 6.2 385.73 Harden 10.0 8.8 607.47 Westbrook 15.6 12.4 884.58 Basketball-Reference.com/NBAMath.com
To put it another way: Westbrook is breaking statistical records at a rate faster than United Airlines is racking up PR blunders.
Lineup stats are a little noisy and perhaps unfairly favor Westbrook because he has the worst supporting cast of the bunch. The Thunder outscore teams by 3.3 points per 100 possessions with Westbrook on the floor and are outscored by 9.2 points with him on the bench—a difference of 13.1 points over 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
The Spurs and Rockets both outscore their opponents with Leonard and Harden on the bench. That's partially due to depth, and because Gregg Popovich and Mike D'Antoni do a better job of mixing their lineups than Billy Donovan. Lineup stats were never going to favor Harden or Leonard, though their teams are still (obviously) better with them on the floor.
Net Rating Breakdown ON ORTG ON DRTG OFF ORTG OFF DRTG Net ON/OFF Leonard 112.6 104.0 102.6 95.8 +1.9 Harden 113.3 107.3 106.8 103.3 +2.4 Westbrook 108.0 104.7 97.3 106.5 +12.5 NBA.com
If plays made in crunch time are your bag, here is where Westbrook falls off. LOL, jk, he's super dope here too. Westbrook has four go-ahead field goals in the final 10 seconds of games (most in the NBA) and has knocked down seven total makes in that time frame when down 1-3 points or tied, per Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com. Harden and Leonard have a combined four field goals in the latter scenario.
The Rockets have touted Harden being responsible for 56.4 points per game on their official website. While impressive—it's the highest since Tiny Archibald in 1972-73—their difference in points created all season is four. It's possible Westbrook passes Harden in the one statistical metric Houston fans have touted all season.
3) EYEZZZZZZZZ
Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images
AKA: the "quit with these stats I don't understand and actually watch the games" factor. Otherwise known as the former professional athlete/old man yells at cloud opinion.
Here is where things frankly get a little tricky. Mostly because Westbrook has been dreadful on defense all season (and quietly for a few years now). He's undisciplined, takes plays off and leaves teammates in the lurch. It's been a problem only a few have been willing to discuss all season.
You can't totally excuse it by saying he's carrying a lot of weight on offense, either. So does Harden, who has gone from turnstile to "wait a second, does James Harden play defense now???" while making the eye-blinking meme face. He'll never be an elite defender, but D'Antoni has him motivated to try on most possessions, and it shows.
Chris Herring of FiveThirtyEight put it in perspective in his case for Harden:
Harden’s defense is nowhere near as bad as it was in the past, but you won’t hear anyone vouch for him as a two-way player the way people would for San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, the NBA’s best perimeter stopper. Yet Harden has been pretty active this season, contesting 8.2 shots per game, third most in the NBA among guards. By contrast, Westbrook — who has been accused in some circles of padding his rebounding stats — has been less interested in getting out to shooters, contesting an eye-poppingly low 3.6 shots per night, by far the worst rate of any NBA player who’s logging at least 30 minutes each game.
Leonard is the obvious two-way winner. He's the best defensive player in basketball. Do not allow weird lineup stats to cloud your judgment. Leonard is the only player in basketball who can reasonably defend Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Harden on any given night—and give them trouble on every single possession.
The Spurs will even throw him on bigs in situations where they feel he can handle it. Leonard was put on earth to play NBA defense. He's a maestro, a near-perfect combination of size, athleticism and intelligence. The Defensive Player of the Year Award is probably going elsewhere this year, but it's only due to voter fatigue. Sometimes it almost feels like Leonard might even crack a smile while locking down an opponent.
Westbrook is a Basketball X-Man. And a Monstar. And there are so many photoshops of him going Super Saiyan that I'd be remiss if I didn't mention, too.
When we write about Westbrook 20 years from now, his stats won't be mentioned in the first five paragraphs. What stands out for Westbrook is his frenetic energy. No player since Allen Iverson has played with such an expressive desperation. Westbrook plays like a man told his family will be kidnapped if he doesn't make a basket on every possession.
There have been some who unfairly characterize Harden's game as "ugly." He's actually one of the most brilliant players we've seen in this generation. His ability to create contact is something we have never seen before. The man gets fouled on more threes by himself than any team in the NBA, per Herring. The way he has continued to draw contact when officials and players know what he is trying to do is remarkable.
Keeping it all up while also turning into Steve Nash 2.0 has been a treat.
4) Why I Would Vote For Russell Westbrook
Alex Brandon/Associated Press
In 2005-06, Kobe Bryant averaged 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists while earning a first-team All-Defensive selection and playing with a collection of talent you'd be embarrassed to take to a rec league. The Lakers started Smush Parker for 82 games, Chris Mihm for 56, Kwame Brown for 49 and Brian Cook for 46.
You get it. This was a repugnant roster with two legitimate NBA players (Bryant and Lamar Odom). Kobe dragged that dumpster fire by its ears to 45 wins, put together some of the most brilliant individual scoring performances in NBA history (including his 81-point game) and nearly wound up sniping a stacked San Antonio Spurs team in the playoffs.
Steve Nash won MVP. Nash was his typical brilliant self, averaging 18.8 points and 10.5 assists on a Phoenix Suns team that won 54 games and finished second in the Western Conference.
I remember nothing Nash did on a basketball court that year. I remember everything Kobe did. He was must-see television every night. Before Twitter, before group texting, before dude was even nicknamed the Black Mamba, Kobe was the gathering source of our collective basketball attention.
Nash was great that season. Kobe defined it. He was the MVP.
Harden and Leonard arguably put up better competition than Nash in 2005-06, but take a second and clear your mind. An alien from another planet lands on your doorstep and for some reason only wants to know about the 2016-17 NBA season. Where do you begin?
Russell Westbrook.
He chased rebounds, counted assists and went after round numbers in ways we haven't seen possibly since Wilt Chamberlain. It was unseemly and embarrassing and beautiful and absolutely mesmerizing for every second.
The fourth quarter of Sunday's win over the Denver Nuggets was a 12-minute microcosm of Westbrook's season. Needing one assist to break Oscar Robertson's single-season triple-double record, Westbrook went into full assist-chasing mode. He passed up shots out of driving lanes he'd normally take, rolled his eyes when teammates missed shots he created and prioritized getting one assist over what was better within the context of the game.
It was h i l a r i o u s.
Then Semaj Christon hit a three to give Westbrook the record, a shot that brought the Thunder within 10 with 4:16 remaining. Westbrook proceeded to use those four minutes and 16 seconds to rip the Nuggets' heart out, culminating in a 36-foot jumper as time expired to give OKC a 106-105 win. He finished with 50 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
The last-second three gave Westbrook his third triple-double with at least 50 points this season. That's also an NBA record. Not for a season. For ever. Westbrook has more 50-point triple-doubles than any player in NBA history, and he's done it all within an 82-game span.
We're going to remember that game-winning three—and every moment of Westbrook's historic campaign—for the remainder of time.
Harden and Leonard were great. Westbrook defined the season. He's the MVP.Finley, one of the youngest residents at Twin Oaks, a Virginia commune. (Photo: Khue Bui for Yahoo Parenting)
It’s 8:30 a.m. on a Wednesday and one of the calmest school mornings I’ve ever witnessed: Anya, 6, is practicing the piano with impressive focus. She’s wearing a pink-and-lavender flowered dress and what appears to be an ever-present sparkly black scarf tied around her head (shaved during a recent lice breakout, though she did get her ears pierced out of the bargain). She pecks out a one-fingered version of “Do-Re-Mi” as mom Summer putters around in the adjacent kitchen and calls out instructions — “C! D! E!” — whenever she hears her get stuck.
Shortly after, her pal Finley, 3½, tumbles in with his dad, River. Both father and son have long, tangled hair and sleepy smiles. River nods at Summer, but they don’t speak — it’s too early and they’ve grown accustomed to the unique ease they have with each other, not family or roommates but something in between, sharing bathrooms and pots and pans and even child-rearing duties. They’re part of the same “small living group” in this sprawling, wood-beamed house at Twin Oaks, a 48-year-old commune in rural Virginia, where an ever shifting number of residents (averaging 100) live and work and raise a passel of kids (currently 17).
Related: To Battle ‘Inner Emptiness,’ Mom Goes on a Two-Year Trek Around the World
“Come on, Anya, time to go to school,” Summer says, and the kids dart outside with parents in tow, strolling down a gentle, grassy slope to make the 30-second skip-hop to Unicorn School, the homeschool gathering place for the youngest of the Twin Oaks children. There’s a wide yard filled with a jumble of tricycles and Hula-Hoops and a homemade, wooden swing set, all edged by thick woods. The school itself, one of about a dozen buildings scattered around the commune’s 500 acres, is a spare, two-story house. It’s outfitted with children’s artwork and rundown furniture (including an old mattress for “the jumping room”) and a youth commissary, or “commie,” that’s like a well-stocked consignment shop, but one where everything’s free, passed from older kids to younger until skirts or tees or pants are threadbare.
All the commune’s buildings have names, and this one is Degania — a shout-out to the first-ever kibbutz, an Israeli system of communal living that influenced the founders here. All of the commune’s children used to live in Degania together, actually — part of the now-defunct program, based upon the behaviorist philosophy of psychologist B.F. Skinner, which claimed that kids who were removed from their parents to be raised by trained adults turned out better. But that Twin Oaks social experiment imploded in the late ’90s, after several moms and dads protested. “We got the stake out and drove it through the heart of [that],” is how Keenan, a redheaded father of two teenage boys who has lived here for 30 years, describes its demise.
Rowan, 19, with his dad, Keenan. (Photo: Khue Bui for Yahoo Parenting)
But much of Skinner’s legacy still thrives here, as his classic utopian novel “Walden Two” was the blueprint used by Twin Oaks’ founders in 1967. Today, the intentional community (the currently preferred term for “commune”) remains very much a place that’s egalitarian, feminist, collaborative, loving, and self-sustaining, with everyone required to put in about 40 hours of labor weekly. This can be done by cooking or cleaning in the communal kitchen, milking cows in the dairy, chopping firewood, tending the 3.5 acres of organic vegetable gardens (which feeds the community), doing mountains of laundry, repairing bikes or any of the 17 shared cars and trucks, operating the main office, or doing a variety of jobs related to several Twin Oaks business ventures, from large-scale tofu production to the weaving of rope hammocks for commercial sale. Everyone gets a modest monthly allowance of $103 each.
Related: Simple Photo of Man Holding Baby Sparks Important Parenting Conversation
Community members can also earn their keep in another highly esteemed way that can feel downright revolutionary to outsiders: by caring for one of the commune’s 17 children, either as that kid’s mom or dad or as his or her “primary,” the term given to adult mentors who have prescribed times with specific children.
“In our Twin Oaks society, it counts as work to take care of kids — as much as any other work,” says Keenan, who was raised in Thailand by his CIA employee turned whistleblower father; he studied business and was on a career track but moved to the commune after a brief visit during college.
He continues, “It’s not like we’ve come up with this scientifically evolved program to create the utopian child. We don’t have that — just really common sense: We put a lot of resources into the kids. The adults are not stressed out or struggling. We don’t have people who are pregnant and stuck with a couple of kids and are miserable, or even really well-off parents who have gobs of money but no time to focus on their kids, with a nanny who does not feel very empowered. So that’s not rocket science. But it is something we do well.”
It’s not perfect, of course. Kids can feel lonely or isolated due to not having enough peers, and some parents are troubled by the lack of racial diversity here, just for starters.
But there are still plenty more ways Twin Oaks does right by its youngest residents: with intense communal support among parents; opportunities for the childless to form close relationships with kids; fairly seamless co-parenting arrangements following breakups; a refreshing openness regarding the fluidity of gender and sexuality; and a striking absence of the so-called “mommy wars.” Perhaps most impressively, though, is the enviable reality of an organic work-life balance.
It all adds up to something most parents yearn for but few find: a true village, in that it-takes-a-village sort of way. And while plenty of outsiders looking in might simply see a bunch of wacky, tofu-making hippies who have dropped out of society, it’s a perspective that doesn’t much concern folks here.
“Reading the news — shootings in schools, violence at universities — I think a lot of us feel like what we’re doing is reasonable,” Keenan says, “and the rest of the world is crazy.”
Arriving at the Twin Oaks compound inspires instant calm. Driving up the dirt entryway, at least in the springtime, takes you alongside sprawling acres of freshly tilled organic farmlands and blooming gardens. There’s a dairy with roaming Dutch Belted cows, shady canopies of pine and oak trees (many strung with the signature wide, rope hammocks woven by residents here), and clusters of blooming daffodils. The main sounds are those of rustling trees, chirping birds, and occasional moos and barks, with the dull grinding of tofu-factory machinery in the distance. And then, outside the dining hall — named Zhankoye, or “ZK,” after a 1930s Jewish farm collective in Crimea — there’s music in a range of genres, entertaining folks doing kitchen prep, blasting out the windows along with mingled scents of roasting garlic and baking bread.
Residents weeding fields of garlic. (Photo: Khue Bui for Yahoo Parenting)
Several of the shared houses are just past here, including Kaweah (so-named for a 19th century utopian colony in California). In its grassy expanse of a backyard is where I find Kathryn, a pixie-ish 38, who fell quickly in love with what she considers the sanity of Twin Oaks. Raised in the Florida suburbs, she had been living in cooperative housing in Boston as a chemistry grad student.
“I knew this was the way I wanted to live — I wanted to live around people, I wanted to share things,” she explains, perched at a picnic table in the April sun. “So I started looking for community, one that was stable and established, income-sharing, and something where you didn’t have to have a lot of money [to begin living there]. I felt like I’d have a social life here, and it just was a fit.” She moved in 11 years ago and entered into a relationship with a man almost immediately. In 2011, after putting in for and receiving a pregnancy approval from the community — mainly a formality meant to keep resources in check — they had a son, Linus, who’s 4. Kathryn can’t imagine raising him anywhere else.
“From day one, there’s been so much ancillary support outside the nuclear unit,” she says. “The house is set up for kids, the infrastructure is there — I didn’t have to buy toys or clothes. Breastfeeding is the norm, with no feeling like you had to cover up and hide or any of that. I didn’t pump, as our labor system is such that every set of parents has a budget of hours to spend on caring for their child.” Kathryn’s main job here, as a book indexer (another Twin Oaks cottage industry), was cut in half after Linus was born, and has slowly gone back up over time.
Then there’s the feeling of family that Twin Oaks provides. “[Neighbor] Finley is like a built-in brother with a different dad, and there’s no sibling rivalry,” she says. “I feel very protected here, very safe. I never worry when my son is out of sight. There are no locked doors — he doesn’t understand the concept very much, that when we go visit family [elsewhere] how you actually can’t just walk into other people’s houses. Here you can walk in, open their refrigerator, make yourself a snack. Any house here is a public building, owned by all of us.”
An unexpected twist for Kathryn came recently, when she and her partner split after nine years together. They’re attempting to co-parent peacefully. But breakups here can be grueling, due to what Twin Oaks co-founder Kat Kinkade dubbed the “in-your-face phenomenon” in her book about the commune’s early years, “Is It Utopia Yet?” (Still, wrote Kinkade, who died in 2008, “The parents may be going through private hell, but the child’s life remains in many ways much the same as it always was — ‘primary time’ with each parent on separate evenings, playing or learning with the same peer group, probably living in the same quarters as before.”)
As Kathryn explains, “It’s not like before I moved here — I had a breakup, a partner moved out, we didn’t need to see each other anymore. It’s more like high school, except you’re grownups, and the stakes are higher.” Even more so for parents who choose to remain at Twin Oaks and carry on separate lives in order to keep life smooth for the kids. “That,” she says, “can lead to feeling trapped.”
Adder tutoring one of his young charges, Izzy. (Photo: Khue Bui for Yahoo Parenting)
She’s now involved with someone new — Adder, 27, a math wiz with hipsterish muttonchops, who came here from his parents’ home in the Philadelphia suburbs after doing a Web search for “Do hippie communes still exist?” (Many do, in fact — at least 200, according to the Fellowship for Intentional Community). Now Adder is one of the main homeschool tutors for the children here, as well as a very active primary, or mentor, in other kids’ lives.
“I think that’s really good for a kid to be able to have real relationships with adults and interact with them not as a different species,” he says, noting that he and Kathryn are trying to conceive a child of their own.
But Adder’s attentions are divided in a way that may seem startling to the outside world: He also has another girlfriend — who in turn has her own girlfriend, as well as a toddler whom the two women co-parent together.
As it turns out, polyamory — being in a committed relationship with more than one person — is quite normal at Twin Oaks (though the majority of people are monogamous). And everyone here, it seems, takes it in stride — including the kids, say their parents, because it’s all they know. Many even count it as a child-rearing bonus.
“I think it makes a parent stronger at communication,” Claire, the mom of a 1-year-old named Grace, tells me one day. Claire, more than many at Twin Oaks, delivers beautifully when it comes to the expected, free-flowing hippie image: barefooted, long-haired, joyously mellow, and prone to allowing her milky nipples to slip out of her blouse in between Grace’s nursing sessions. “You really have to hype your communication skills to be in a poly relationship,” she explains. “And I think that’s a great thing to offer your family and your children.”
Twin Oaks has a long, strong history of thoughtful non-monogamy. “Any group that settles on monogamy as a norm has to figure out how to defend it,” wrote Kinkade back in 1972, in an earlier book about the community’s history. “Without a heavy Puritan religious bias, this is very difficult.”
Today, that tradition continues — minus, many here agree, any confusion for the kids. Part of that is because every adult resident has his or her own bedroom, married or partnered or not, as a way to maintain a semblance of privacy within the context of everything else being shared.
As Angelica, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native who has no children of her own but is an active primary to several kids, tells me, “It’s not like parents are always sleeping in the same room every night.”
Every parent I speak with is quite open about his or her various permutations of non-monogamy. Summer and Purl are among the minority of couples who have legally married, for example, but they’re also polyamorous, and Summer — who landed at Twin Oaks after a rather privileged, conventional life in Connecticut, boarding school, and a brief stint at Oberlin College — has had a boyfriend for several years.
“Anya knows he is my boyfriend, someone special to me,” Summer says about her daughter’s understanding. “I don’t think I ever need to sit down and have a talk with her, like, ‘This is what this is,’ because this is just what it is.”
Summer with her daughter, Anya. (Photo: Khue Bui for Yahoo Parenting)
Summer is not starry-eyed, though, and admits she has concerns about Anya. “I think that she is more social than Twin Oaks gives her. I think she wants to be around more kids her age, especially more girls her age, which there aren’t any right now,” she says. If her daughter ever became adamant about attending public school, she says she’d be willing to give it a try. For now, they’re going to enroll her in a local Girl Scout troop in the fall, and they’re considering a summer gymnastics course, though fees and transportation issues will make it difficult.
Studies about children reared in unconventional, communal settings are rare, so rare that the go-to expert on the topic appears to be Daniel Green |
00pm.Seattle is now the second most bus-reliant metropolis, after San Francisco. It’s how one out of five of us — that’s 78,000 Seattleites — get to our jobs, according to FYI Guy's analysis of census data.
A lot of folks have accused City Hall of waging a “war on cars.” Well, it looks like — whether a casualty of battle or just changing habits — cars are losing.
Between 2010 and 2014, Seattle experienced the biggest jump in bus ridership of any major U.S. city, according to my analysis of census data.
In this period, Seattle’s workforce population grew by about 44,000 — and nearly 19,000 of those folks are commuting by bus. That’s 42 percent of the total increase.
And that 19,000-person bump handily beat out No. 2 Chicago’s gain by more than 4,000 riders.
With that surge in ridership, Seattle now ranks as the second most bus-reliant major U.S. city, after San Francisco. It’s how one out of five of us — that’s 78,000 Seattleites — get to our jobs.
This doesn’t even count the increase of 3,000 folks getting to work by other forms of mass transit — light rail or trolley or ferry.
Driving alone to work, meanwhile, seems to be losing steam in Seattle. The number of solo car commuters increased by just 9,000 in this period — less than half the ridership gains made by the bus.
Clearly, newcomers to our city are overwhelmingly choosing to bus it to work. Additionally, the data suggest that longtime residents are switching over from their cars.
It isn’t that most of these folks have no other choice. According to surveys conducted by King County Metro, about 90 percent of its riders have access to a vehicle.
Rather, people are busing because they’ve concluded it’s a better option than driving. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or transportation engineer) to figure out why — and it has nothing to do with the so-called war on cars.
No, the cost of parking and the misery of driving in Seattle’s stop-and-go traffic is surely behind the surge in bus ridership.
In this fast-growing region, our road network is being stretched beyond its capacity. And most people still do drive alone to work — 65 percent countywide, according to the census.
So it’s no wonder that our traffic is consistently placed among the worst in the nation. The most recent report, from the TomTom navigation company, ranked Seattle’s evening rush hour as the second worst among American cities, behind Los Angeles.
But you don’t need any ranking to tell you that — one slow crawl on I-5 is proof enough.
Meanwhile, bus commuting increased in two out of three census tracts in Seattle between 2010 and 2014. In several neighborhoods, it more than doubled: Greenwood, Crown Hill and the Meadowbrook area of Lake City.
Still, the most bus-dependent place in Seattle is the Chinatown/International District — it’s how half of all workers who live in the neighborhood get to their jobs. While no other neighborhood comes close, there are a few where about one in three workers take the bus: Capitol Hill, the University District and Fremont.
It’s not just an urban thing, either.
Although ridership is generally lower in the suburbs — about 60,000 commute by bus in King County outside Seattle — the numbers are growing at an even faster clip than in the city.
In fact, the neighborhood with the biggest jump in bus commuting since 2010 is in the suburbs. Can you guess where it is?
In this brief period, its share of residents who commute by bus jumped from 12 percent to 28 percent.
Answer: the Crossroads section of Bellevue.When Google first announced its plans to offer 1-gigabit-per-second broadband service back in 2010, it seemed ridiculously fast. At the time, many households had broadband speeds that were 100 times slower, and only a handful of cities had residential internet service anywhere close to 1 gigabit.
Today, Google offers gigabit in Kansas City, Austin, and Provo, Utah, and it's gearing up to offer service in several additional metro areas in the next couple of years. At the same time, incumbent cable and telephone companies have become a lot more interested in offering high-speed broadband service.
The latest example is Comcast, which announced Thursday that it would be offering 2 Gbps service in the Atlanta metropolitan area. It's probably not a coincidence that Atlanta is one of the metropolitan areas Google has selected for future expansion of its own broadband service.
AT&T has also gotten religion on gigabit broadband service in the last couple of years. The company introduced gigabit service in Austin (a Google Fiber city) in 2013, and announced last year that it would eventually expand the service to 21 cities.
Time Warner Cable has yet to join the gigabit club, but it is also in the process of dramatically increasing broadband speeds. Last year the nation's second-largest cable provider announced that it would increase its top speed tier by a factor of six, from 50 Mbps to 300 Mbps. Lower speed tiers will also see dramatic improvements. The upgrades began in New York City and Los Angeles in November, and are expected to expand to additional cities in 2015 and 2016.
The great thing about this from Google's perspective is that by directly supplying gigabit service in a handful of metropolitan areas, Google can prod incumbent broadband providers to offer faster service in areas where Google isn't directly operating. It would raise too many awkward questions if AT&T and Comcast only upgraded to gigabit speeds in Google Fiber cities. Both Comcast and AT&T have promised to offer gigabit speeds in cities where Google isn't competing. That's good for Google because faster internet connections will make all of Google's online services work better.
Disclosure: My brother is an executive at Google. Also, Comcast Ventures is an investor in Vox Media, the parent company of Vox.com.
Update: Based on a helpful tip, I added a paragraph about Time Warner Cable's recent speed increases.
WATCH: 'Ezra Klein recaps February's big net neutrality developments'The Meteoritical Society
One of the most infamous near-Earth asteroids is held together by forces other than just gravity and friction. Researchers have found that asteroid (29075) 1950 DA is a loose blob of particles that clot together much as Moon dust collects on astronauts’ spacesuits.
Any mission to divert an asteroid on a collision course with Earth would need to take these newfound cohesive forces into account, suggest the findings, published in Nature1 on 14 August. This means that gently nudging an asteroid onto a new trajectory is potentially a safer option than blasting it to smithereens, Armageddon-style.
“You’d want to avoid interacting with the asteroid directly,” says Ben Rozitis, a planetary scientist at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and a co-author of the study.
Researchers have suspected that undetected cohesive forces help to hold some asteroids together — especially ‘rubble-pile’ asteroids, which are agglomerations of dirt and rock2. Some of these rotate slowly enough for the gravitational attraction between the particles to hold them together. But for faster-spinning asteroids, centrifugal forces would overwhelm the gravitational pull and rip the rocks apart.
The fast-spinning 1950 DA will pass close by Earth in the year 2880. At one point, the odds of its hitting Earth were estimated to be as high as 1 in 300 (ref. 3), but more recent observations have lowered that risk to 1 in 4,000 (ref. 4).
Nature Podcast Ben Rozitis tells Charlotte Stoddart about the forces holding together the asteroid 1950 DA. You may need a more recent browser or to install the latest version of the Adobe Flash Plugin.
Using information about how sunlight nudges the rock through space, along with measurements of its shape and the thermal properties of its surface, Rozitis and his team calculated its density. The rock turned out to be surprisingly lightweight, at just 1.7 times the density of water. That implied that the 1.3-kilometre-wide rock contains a lot of empty space, making it one of the rubble-pile group, Rozitis says.
If 1950 DA is a rubble-pile asteroid, then something more than gravitational attraction must be holding it together as it spins around. Calculations suggest it could spin no faster than about once every 2.2 hours if it were held together by gravity alone, but the asteroid goes faster than that, once every 2.1 hours. The researchers calculated that cohesive forces, exerting no more pressure than a coin resting in the palm of a hand, must be at work.
Understanding such forces could be important for NASA’s plan to drag an asteroid into lunar orbit to study it, or for commercial companies that claim they plan to mine asteroids, says Daniel Scheeres, an aerospace engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder who also wrote a related News & Views.
The forces would also be important if an asteroid were discovered to be heading towards Earth. One leading strategy to deflect it is a ‘gravity tractor’, a spacecraft that would fly alongside the asteroid, using its gravitational to pull the rock onto a new trajectory. Such an approach would be preferable to blasting the asteroid apart, says Rozitis, because nobody knows exactly how the cohesion would affect how the fragments blast apart.
“I just hope that an asteroid on a collision course with Earth will not be spinning rapidly and it will not be a rubble-pile asteroid,” says Bong Wie, an aerospace engineer at Iowa State University in Ames.Ubisoft helps confirm rumors Nintendo's developing a console with capable hardware.
Ubisoft has been a reliable partner for Nintendo, especially so before Wii became a worldwide phenomenon. Red Steel wasn't great, but its existence was Ubisoft showing early belief in the platform. That has continued on 3DS and, expectedly, Ubisoft will be an early supporter of Nintendo's next console, to be unveiled at E3.
A key difference this time, however, may be what kinds of games Ubisoft brings to the platform.
During Ubisoft's fiscal earnings call today, CEO Yves Guillemot was asked about his plans for supporting the Wii's successor. Specifically, whether the development costs would make an impact, usually by requiring a separate product.
"First, the platform Nintendo is coming with is really a fantastic platform," said Guillemot. "We think it will be extremely successful and what we see is that we will be able to leverage a lot of the work that we do for Xbox 360 and PS3 when we will create games for the platform. We will not have to redo completely the games we create. We'll be able to use all the capacities the console is giving, but also use all the work that we do for the other platforms."
Could we finally see an Assassin's Creed on a Nintendo console? Bet your money on it.
Until now, our expectations about the hardware specifications for Nintendo's upcoming hardware have been shaped strictly by rumors. Guillemot represents an on-the-record account of a machine capable of competing, if not necessarily exceeding, the power inside Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3's boxes. Nintendo's machine will certainly have its own unique hooks, but publishers having the ability to publish games already coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 anyway should prove a significant boon to Nintendo. And gamers.TORONTO — A top Toronto hospital and research centre has fired dozens of employees for alleged misuse of its employee benefits plan.
St. Michael’s Hospital confirmed to the National Post a routine audit uncovered “irregularities” in health benefits claims totalling approximately $200,000. Thirty-one employees have been fired. It is not known how many other employees are under investigation.
“The hospital takes its role as custodian of the public trust very seriously,” the hospital said in a statement to the Post Tuesday.
“St. Michael’s has a strict policy for its health benefits plan. We are continuing to work with Sun Life, our benefits administrator, to ensure a thorough investigation.”
So, it would be a big black eye for the hospital if it was true that hospital employees were misusing an insurance plan
In an internal email to employees Monday obtained by the Post, hospital vice-president of human resources Mary Madigan-Lee said the claims were examined and “found to be in breach of our code of conduct.”
“Necessary measures have been taken with the employees involved,” she said.
The $200,000 in irregularities relates to the 31 employees who were let go, spokeswoman Leslie Shepherd told the Post.
She said she could not elaborate on the nature of the irregularities, or what sort of health claims they involved because the matter is still under investigation.
She could not say whether police might be brought in.
A number of other employees have been suspended in connection with the investigation. Most of those affected were secretaries and other support staff, one physician said.
Doctors are not covered by the health plan.
Another physician who works at the downtown facility said he was also in the dark about the nature of the irregularities and learned of the affair only when the memo was circulated by email Monday.
The situation is concerning, said the doctor, who spoke on background.
“One of the things we do here is research on what should be publicly funded,” he said. “So, it would be a big black eye for the hospital if it was true that hospital employees were misusing an insurance plan.”
Another physician also said he learned of the allegations only Monday in the hospital-wide email from human resources. “I know no details other than the letter you (the Post) got,” he said. “I’ve not heard any gossip about it,” he added. “I guess they’re being very tight.”
Board chairman Tom O’Neill declined to comment. “Our channels of communication are through the CEO” and public affairs, he said. “We’re not up to date; they’re up to date.”
John Klein, director of communications at SEIU Healthcare, which represents more than 850 service employees at St. Michael’s, said the union was aware of the ongoing investigation.
“We adhere to a strict privacy code as we respect our members’ rights to confidentiality during this ongoing enquiry,” Klein said. “In the case that any of our members is brought under investigation, we will provide them with the best possible representation in accordance with their rights under the Ontario Labour Law.”
The hospital, which calls itself Toronto’s “Urban Angel,” is one of the top 15 research hospitals in Canada and is home to the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute.
It also has longstanding links to federal finance minister Bill Morneau and his family’s pension and human-resources company, Morneau Shepell.
Morneau was chairman of St. Michael’s board of directors from 2009 to 2013, and at least one executive at the firm, Hazel Claxton, is still listed as a member of the board.
Two years ago, an unknown number of Toronto Transit Commission employees allegedly colluded with a local orthotics shop to bilk the TTC’s benefit plan.
One supervisor was suspended over the insurance fraud scheme that totalled up to $4 million in bogus claims.
In that case, investigators said a store created fake invoices for such items as orthotics, knee braces and socks, then split the cash with employees.
• Email: jskirkey@postmedia.com | Twitter: sharon_kirkey
• Email: tblackwell@nationalpost.com | Twitter: TomblackwellNPKuchisake, wife and mother
Murdered by a jealous lover
If she finds you in the dark
She's going to leave her ghastly mark.
A child wanders alone through a dark street.
CHILD
Hello?
The child sees a woman standing alone in the flickering light of a gas lamp
CHILD
Can you help me" I'm lost...
The woman hides her face. Turning her head slightly, she speaks
KUCHISAKE
Tell me... Do you find me pretty?
The child seems confused.
CHILD
Uh, sure, you're pretty I guess.
WOMAN
Thank you,
The woman uncovers her face, revealing a grizly wound opening her mouth from ear to ear.
KUCHISAKE
Do you find me pretty now!?
Kuchikase shows her smile,
Full of teeth, cut wide a mile.
Any child she can catch
Will get a toothy grin to match.
The child screams and flees. Kuchisake follows, wirlding a massive pair of scissors.
KUCHISAKE
I will make you pretty like me!
Fleeing in bling terror, the child dows not see our hero, Lee, wandering in the fog until he collides right into her.
LEE
Oof!
They both fall to the ground.
LEE
I'm sorry, I didn't see you there! This fog is crazy, right?
CHILD
She's after me!
Confused, Lee does not see the figure of the scarred woman emerging from the fog.
LEE
Who is?
KUCHISAKE
Tell me... do you think I'm pretty?
LEE
I have to stop you there.
The displeasure is obvious on the scarred woman's face, as she was expecting either a yer or a no. Lee, however, seemed not to notice.
LEE
Have you looked in a mirror recently? I think you need to seek medical attention
Once again Kuchisake pulled her hand away from her face, revealing the grizly wound.
KUCHISAKE
I will make you pretty like me!
LEE
Oh, I get it now.
Lee pauses, then grabbing the child by the hand, flees the angry ghost.
LEE
Run!
CHILD
She's going to kill us!
LEE
Shh! Let me think!
Even in deadly flight, Lee clearly kept her mind's wheels spinning.
LEE
"'Knowledge will be my weapon,' said the newt." What do we know?
She turned back towards Kuchisake, picking out details. Kuchisake showed murderous intent, which was unusual because there seemed to be no provocation. She displated repetitive behavior, always asking the same question before each attack. And strangest of all, she had that grisly wound on her face, her mouth split wide from ear to ear, and she seemed quite unaware it was even there. Could it be?
LEE
That's it!
CHILD
What's it? What are you doing?
The child stared wide-eyed as Lee stopped running, turned on a heel and marched right back towards the advancing terror.
LEE
This is a rabium phasmatis!
CHILD
Gesundheit
LEE
No, rabiem phasmatis! That's the technical name for this type of rage-ghost! Commonly called a revenant, this is what happens when an emotion outlives a person. That means she left her brains behind when she died!
At that moment the avenging specter caught up with the two of them, and took a firm grasp of Lee by her head. The ghost raised her rusty pair of scissors, readying to cut Lee's cheeks open.
LEE
Don't you think it's better to be smart than pretty?
The ghost froze, as if unsure what to do. A moment passed, the scissors began to shake in her hand.
KUCHIKASE
I... what?
The ghost stiffened, her arms went limp, the scissors dangling harmlessly by her side. Lee grinned a victorious grin.
KUCHISAKE
Better to be? Make you... like me!
LEE
I knew it! Score one for science!
Lee began to examine the ghost, beside herself with excitement at her new scientific study.
LEE
Wow, look at her! She even has feet! It's really rare to find a fully-formed free-floating apparition in the wild like this.
CHILD
What happened?
LEE
I told you, this type of ghost has no brains. It only knows how to do one thing, rage rage, kill kill, etc. etc. I just confused it by asking it to think about something new. She doesn't have the processing power for it, so she's all frozen up, unable to hurt anyone.
CHILD
Good, let's get out of here.
LEE
What's your hurry? We know how to control her now!
A look of mischevous delight began to overtake Lee's face.
LEE
Hehe! Those fatcat PhDs will have to take me seriously after this!
CHILD
What are you talking about?
LEE
I'm talking about academia, kid! Professorships, and field studies, and sweet sweet tenure! A rare specimin like this can make your whole career! Publishers won't take me seriously just because I'm only twelve....And technically I've never been inside a school. Well this will show them! This ghost is the first step in my becoming the greatest zoologist in the world!
By now the ghost had begun to stir, as if it's tiny processor of a brain had finally come to a comflusion and was ready to act on it.
GHOST
Murder... someone better.
LEE
Hey wait, where are you going?
KUCHIKASE
Make them pretty... like me...
LEE
No, you can't leave! I still want to study you! I'm going to get a fat research grant out of youuu!
And so the ghost receded back into the fog, and Lee after it, chasing another hopeless dream of zoology.
Kuchikase, vengeful wight
Stalks her victims in the night
She'll carve your mouth into a slit
Unless you get away with witAndy Wilman claims the new motoring show with Jeremy Clarkson will offer "lots of newness."
Just a day after Amazon announced that it had snared the highly sought-after signatures of Jeremy Clarkson and his former Top Gear co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond for a new motoring show, their producer has revealed more about the deal.
Andy Wilman, who helped create Top Gear’s most recent and hugely popular format with Clarkson and remained its producer until shortly after the controversial presenter was dismissed in March this year, told Broadcast magazine that Amazon’s was the "strongest and most intelligent offer."
"Money, freedom and a love of quality. Those three things are what was attractive," he said, claiming that the new show has been backed by a "really good budget,” believed to be Amazon’s single biggest investment in original content to date.
"Everyone we have talked to has said to us: 'They leave you alone to make your show.' That’s a big one for us – we don’t like interference, we don’t need to be policed," he said. Following the announcement on Thursday, many industry voices indicated that freedom from the demands of advertisers, as offered by the BBC and SVOD platforms like Amazon, was crucial for the show's success, with the hosts known to trash-talk car manufacturers.
Wilman also disclosed some details about the new program's format, which would include "lots of newness" but still some echoes of the team’s Top Gear heritage, with "indoor" studio elements and international escapades.
"But there will be a new look, new elements, new home. We’ve been so busy doing the bloody deal... that [the development] process now begins in earnest," he said.
Each of the three seasons commissioned by Amazon will feature 12 episodes of roughly 60 minutes in length, he claimed, with the first due for delivery in the fall of next year. But unlike other streaming formats, he suggested the season might not be made available in one go, instead keeping with the weekly scheduling Top Gear enjoyed on the BBC.
"We’re a one trick pony, I wouldn’t watch 12 episodes in a row," he joked.
In the wake of Clarkson’s dismissal from the BBC, Wilman admitted that there had been "very early chats" with fellow British broadcaster ITV, but a contractual clause had barred them from creating a motoring series on a terrestrial rival for two years.
And on the "fracas" that led to Clarkson’s departure (he punched a producer), Wilman said that that the Top Gear team would have stayed with the BBC had it not have happened, while also welcoming his old show’s reboot.
"We didn’t plan this and we would have carried on but that’s life, and crikey it’s looking pretty good right now," he said. "We get to carry on working, we get new challenges and Top Gear is in good hands. The viewers get two car shows, there’s nothing wrong with that."infoliberationfront a guest Aug 29th, 2015 23,903 Never a guest23,903Never
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rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint text 80.20 KB This is an IRC log from #tor-internal - our water cooler irc channel. It was made on November 10th, 2014. I have created this log because it is absolutely essential that everyone on tor-internal@ see the internal live chat related to the recent tor-internal@ mailing thread. Please be considerate with this log file - it is probably not a good idea to leak it to anyone but transparency for this is absolutely essential. We're headed for some soul searching as a result of the recent messaging thread and this is probably going to be an involved process. Here is the log file: 19:29 < sekritarma> i am going to invite david chasteen in here shortly. he's going to send mail to the tor-internal list explaining lots of things. then everybody here can discuss with him if they want. 19:36 < puffin_> we have a Kickstarter account 19:37 -!- puffin_ is now known as puffin 20:18 < mrphs> speaking of which, how do we get an offical Google and Dropbox account? 20:19 < mrphs> we need thse accounts for gettor 20:19 < sekritarma> what needs to be official about it? the name? an email address it's associated with? 20:20 < mrphs> maybe the email. I could make one, using my @tpo email. but we should enable 2factor. 20:21 < mrphs> I could also get a burner and do that 20:21 < mrphs> but thought I'd ask first 20:22 < mrphs> people wouldn;t get to see the actual account, but it's important to keep them safe. 20:22 < mrphs> we're shipping binaries after all 20:24 < gamambel> i created a gettormail@gmail once 20:25 < gamambel> to use gmail SMTP to be able to send larger mails to gmail recipients 20:25 -!- DaveC1 [~ubuntu@ec2-54-164-45-151.compute-1.amazonaws.com] has joined #tor-internal 20:25 < DaveC1> Hola. 20:25 < puffin> mrphs: I can sign up for a burner phone if you would like 20:25 < qbi> hiho DaveC1 20:28 < mrphs> puffin: that'd be helpful 20:46 < mrphs> "I was never involved in or aware of 20:46 < mrphs> operations against US persons" 20:46 < mrphs> what about non-us persons in this community? 20:46 < mrphs> DaveC1: ^ 20:47 < DaveC1> mrphs: "I was never involved in or aware of operations against NGOs and/or journalists or activists, American or otherwise. 20:48 < DaveC1> Tor is an NGO as is every organization I think you'd include in "this community." So no. 20:49 < DaveC1> Not to my knowledge. 20:59 -!- Yawning [~yawning@0001bef1.user.oftc.net] has joined #tor-internal 21:02 < puffin> mrphs: Is an old Nokia OK, or do you have a burner phone already? 21:04 < mrphs> puffin: I dont have one. but wait, things are getting a bit weird these days. I need to rethink my opsec. 21:04 < mrphs> pls keep this on hold 21:04 < puffin> ok 21:06 < mrphs> we're going to ship binaries, and we like it or not, most people dont check sigs. I want to make sure we can keep these accounts as secure as possible. 21:10 -!- ln5 [~linus@00017a4c.user.oftc.net] has quit [Ping timeout: 480 seconds] 21:11 -!- StrangeCharm [~StrangeCh@000170a3.user.oftc.net] has quit [Ping timeout: 480 seconds] 21:12 < gamambel> DaveC1: i read your statements as honest, and it is a very brave move. thank you for that. incredible. i do however share the scepticism in regard to whether this can end well for tor (and you) 21:12 < gamambel> good luck 21:14 < DaveC1> gamambel: Thanks. I appreciate it. You and me both. I really wish it hadn't worked out this way with the HS thing. Timing is terrible. 21:14 < gamambel> i hear you do an excellent job, and based on that i can understand the hope and belief that you will help make tor better. i share that hope. i just don't see how this can possibly work. but you are the person who has thought about this the most. 21:16 < gamambel> this is the first time i feel the immediate need to share and discuss it, but i don't have any tor people around me and i don't want to take -internal stuff out in the open. this time, it is really hard not to just share this with the people in my room... ugh 21:16 < DaveC1> Yeah. I mean, we want to be as transparent as possible as soon as possible. I think Boingboing is a great way to break it since they get Tor and I trust them. 21:17 < gamambel> i hope this embargo can be lifted rather sooner than later, but it will turn into hell 21:17 < helix> I think it was incredibly selfish of you to join tor knowing this would utterly fuck us PR-wise 21:17 < gamambel> i understand the time constraints, but to keep this'secret' for that long is quite a burden for all of us 21:17 < helix> it's nice you want to do nice things, but the amount of trust you're going to destroy is unbelievable 21:17 < helix> if you care about tor you should have stayed away 21:17 < gamambel> especially those that have the freedom to live transparently 21:18 < athena> seconded: are you *out of your fucking mind*? have you seen the months-long harassment campaign from pando, including an *actual fucking rapist*? 21:18 < gamambel> i've never had to keep a secret in my life, and i really didn't want to start that now :( 21:20 < puffin> In terms of skills we need, someone who can teach us some things about physical security would be nice if one of the pando people decides to show up 21:22 < Yawning> puffin: errr, I'm not seeing that 21:22 < Yawning> have them removed from the event, it's private proerty 21:23 < Yawning> is there more to it than that? (am I being naive here?) 21:23 -!- StrangeCharm [~StrangeCh@000170a3.user.oftc.net] has joined #tor-internal 21:25 < mrphs> honestly I feel betrayed for reading that 3 letter word. 21:25 < mrphs> I cant even stop thinking about all the terrible things. 21:26 < puffin> would you rather have the government exclusively staffed by people who don't care about human rights? 21:26 < puffin> who is supposed to watch the watchers and raise objections? 21:27 < mrphs> I would rather have my family (and myself) alive, at first place, tbh. 21:27 < Runa> DaveC1: hm, I read your "I will go public with this regardless"-statement as you not taking tor's interests into account. I got the impression from your first email you wanted to coordinate with Tor and publish when everyone's on the same page, not the other way around. 21:27 < DaveC1> (Was writing emails, back) 21:29 < DaveC1> Runa: I totally want to coordinate with Tor and publish when everyone's on the same page. But the option is being floated to tell me to go away and sever conection as much as possible. 21:29 < DaveC1> Which would mean not coordinating a public statement. 21:29 * helix hugs mrphs 21:29 < Runa> DaveC1: I think you need to be a bit patient and let the news sink in with everyone. 21:30 < Runa> DaveC1: if you move forward without being on the same page as the rest of the organization, you will only make things even worse. 21:30 < DaveC1> And, of course, I'm going to be accused of having been (the worst ever?) illegal penetration of a US NGO. I plan on still having a career, so I'm going to have to defend myself. I'd rather do it WITH Tor. :-( 21:30 < DaveC1> Runa: I totally agree. 21:30 < DaveC1> 100% 21:30 < DaveC1> And I'm not going anywhere unless I'm told to. 21:30 < DaveC1> But that option was floated this morning. 21:30 < DaveC1> I don't think it's a good one. 21:30 < helix> I think it's the best one 21:31 < DaveC1> helix: Understood. 21:31 < Runa> DaveC1: I'm curious, how do you picture an ex-CIA within the Tor Project as being good for Tor's public image? 21:32 < DaveC1> Runa: Well, so there are multiple audiences that Tor needs to talk to. 21:32 < DaveC1> You guys are most familiar with the activists who run the nodes and use the software and... activate. 21:32 < DaveC1> I'm most familiar with the bureaucrats who debate whether or not to keep paying the bills at Tor. 21:33 < DaveC1> And I"m most familiar with their decisionmaking process as to whether they should keep doing that. Ignorant people are all "oh, but then we won't be able to still do the job of securing the country." 21:33 < DaveC1> I'm in an unusally authoritative position to say, "um, bullshit." 21:33 < Runa> I'm concerned we are going to lose a lot of public support 21:36 < Yawning> Without a well qualified PM/somone that can talk to funders or people from the Man that can make our lives increasingly difficult, is there going to be something for the public to support? 21:37 < Runa> Yawning: yes, I think so, Tor can do a lot better with fundraising and getting help from the community than what it has attempted to do so far. 21:38 < helix> god, is project management really so important that we're willing to ruin our reputation? 21:38 < Runa> what helix said 21:38 < helix> can't believe the responses I am seeing 21:38 < puffin> we are skating on *very* thin ice with current funders 21:38 < puffin> who talk to the foundation people - it's a small world 21:39 < DaveC1> helix: I definitely don't want to ruin Tor's reputation. But what looks worse: we hired this guy who defected from the intelligence community to support net freedom, let's see how he is, or "Tor was secretly penetrated by the CIA and then tried to hide it." 21:39 < puffin> we have needed a PM for years 21:39 < helix> how bout "we accidentally hired an ex-CIA guy and fired him as soon as we found out" 21:39 < helix> that would have been the ideal story 21:40 < puffin> I have to go - there are some fundraising threads out there 21:40 < Yawning> puffin: gl 21:41 < Yawning> DaveC1: just to clarify something, will you have anything that resembles git push access to code? 21:43 < Runa> Yawning: an upside of open source, I guess? 21:44 < DaveC1> Yawning: Not a coder. 21:44 < DaveC1> Just a PM, so no need. 21:44 < Yawning> DaveC1: right, that's what I thought 21:46 < DaveC1> helix: That can still be the story. But there's also, and I don't want to be a dick about this, but some of the anti-vet comments I've heard and anti-vet hiring policies that people have been advocating make it sound like "we accidentally hired a vet and fired him as soon as we found out" and that doesn't feel very good. Or very legal. 21:47 < Runa> not to be a dick, but "we hired someone who we realized would not be a good fit for this community" 21:47 < helix> well put, Runa 21:49 < DaveC1> Runa: That's a completely legitimate reason and I'll defer to it. But I would submit that you can't decide whether I'm a good fit for this community based on my resume any more than you can based on my skin color or race or gender. 21:49 < helix> uh 21:50 < Runa> I disagree completely. 21:50 < helix> I would equally feel super comfortable stating ex-mossad is not a good fit for this community 21:50 < helix> that doesn't make me an anti-semite 21:50 < helix> so please stop implying these kinds of things 21:51 < ioerror> |
helped them get their freak on, got them weed, packs of cigarettes. They'd give me 20 bucks for a pack of cigarettes. "Keep the change, man. I got you, man. Keep the change."
Around the same time, I got my first real translating job. I went to the airport, and I saw this heavyset white guy with dark hair and some shorts on coming off the plane, and I said, "Hey, you speak English?"
He did, and he worked for NPR News.
I said, "You need somebody to translate for you?"
That's how Money G started getting his hustle on.
If I had stayed in Florida, I would have died in Florida.
If given the choice I would rather come back here a thousand times over going to prison in the US. In some ways now, I figure it was God's plan for me to get arrested and deported. I was either going to shoot somebody, or I was going to get caught up in some crossfire. No question in my mind, if I had stayed in Florida, I would have died in Florida. I wouldn't have my wife and my kids, the people who inspire me, that keep me alive.
Listen, I'm shit in the United States. I'm nothing but a drug dealer, a convicted felon. So getting deported to Haiti was the best thing that happened to me. I've never been in trouble in Haiti. I have a clean record and a good driver's license. I don't steal shit from the people I work with. I don't have no bad reputation. I'm a respected journalist who has worked with the LA Times and the Miami Herald. I'm working real hard so my kids won't have to hustle. I work as a translator, but I do other types of trades in order to make it. I sell Coca-Cola drinks. I have a charcoal business—I sell charcoal made from wood for boiling water and cooking. I sell bags of water, those see-through plastic bags, you see that are sold all over the neighborhoods. Yeah, I sell water, too. Because everything costs something in Port-au-Prince. You gotta buy water. Lucky for me, I have a refrigerator and a freezer at home, so I buy gallon bags for $3 or $4 and freeze them. They sell faster.
Our house is open for business. My wife sells the charcoal. She also sells pèpè and rice and beans out of the house. People come to her. I'm a positive type of guy. I always think I'll be able to pull off a business. No matter what type of business I'll try it and see if I can make it work. Every job's a hustle. There's a word for hustle in Kreyol. Brase. That word's used all the time.
A shortened version of Jean Pierre's longer story excerpted from Lavil: Life, Love, and Death in Port-Au-Prince, edited by Peter Orner and Evan Lyon, by arrangement with Verso Books. Special thanks to senior associate editor Laura Scott and Jean Pierre Marseille.0 Flares Filament.io 0 Flares ×
Monday afternoon Facebook exploded with this photo of two men wearing roughly similar outfits, yet only one of them was denied entrance into Kung Fu Saloon based on a dress code.
Stephen Robinson, the gentleman on the right, was turned away based on the length of his shorts yet Michael Frey, the gentlemen on the left, was let in wearing shorts of a similar length.
They were with a large group of people and pointed out that the doorman had admitted the man on the left earlier. According Scott Hundall on social media the response of from the door man was that they did not want people dressed too “ghetto” inside the bar. This statement is what prompted the large group of patrons to take their business elsewhere.
As Stephen Robinson told KEYE news yesterday:
“He told me essentially it looked too ghetto and apparently they can't have a ghetto bar in that crowd and that's why I wasn't allowed to go in,” said Stephen Robinson.
Read more below the jump.The fact that Kung Fu Saloon can have a dress code is not the issue. They are allowed to have and enforce one, although there is no mention of any dress code anywhere on their website.
The problem is that this arbitrary dress code doesn't seem to be equally enforced.
First of all, in case you haven't noticed it's hot outside, people should be dressing down, (also, hello, this is Austin). Second, a bar that prides itself on having free old school arcade games should not be too pretentious about enforcing a dress code, despite the fact that they do have a right to do so. Third, if we're just going by looks, Mr. Robinson looks delightful. He looks more amiable to a party than most people downtown. The word “ghetto” does not come to mind when you see this man. Seriously.
Unfortunately Kung Fu Saloon has been in the news before regarding this issue. In Houston last year a man was refused entry after not wearing the right sneakers. Kung Fu Saloon never responded to that particular situation and in fact doubled down and blocked the man from Kung Fu Saloon's Facebook page.
Kung Fu Saloon has finally responded to this incident, despite blocking comments on their Facebook page, with this statement, according to myfoxaustin.com:
“Management of Kung Fu Saloon is currently investigating a claim that an employee of the company made an inappropriate comment to a customer trying to gain entrance to the bar wearing unacceptable attire. Management will determine whether the comment was racially motivated and if so, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken. Kung Fu Saloon is home to one of the most diverse crowds in the Austin bar scene – a reputation that we value and cultivate. It is not the policy of Kung Fu Saloon to deny any customer entry based on race or ethnicity. Our aim, as always, is to continue to provide a fun, safe and welcoming atmosphere to anyone, in keeping with Kung Fu Saloon policies.”
Hopefully they will admit that the situation was handled poorly, to say the least. This statement comes after a strong social media outcry calling for answers to questions of racist behavior.
The bar could now also possibly be subject to legal action if Mr. Robinson decides to file a complaint with the NAACP, or in court. Austin Chapter President of NAACP Nelson Linder noted that “This person's language confirmed that this is really about race and as a result it's also illegal.”
Austin generally prides itself on being a diverse town, but when it comes right down to it, how diverse is a community where situations like this are, sadly, not that surprising? Hopefully, Kung Fu Saloon will learn from this incident and reevaluate the enforcement of their “dress code,” and apologize to a 23-year-old black man who, according a statement he made to fox news had “never experienced what he believes was racism before Sunday.”By Glen Ford / Black Agenda Report
In May, Rep. Adam Schiff (second from left), a Democrat and House Intelligence Committee member, provides a summary of the FBI investigation into alleged Russian hacking of the U.S. election. (Screen shot via CSPAN)
For more than a year now, the collective U.S. ruling class, with Democratic Party and corporate media operatives in the vanguard, has frozen the national political discourse in a McCarthyite time warp. A random visit to a July 26, 2016, issue of the New York Times reveals the same obsession as that which consumes the newspaper today: “Following the Links from Russian Hackers to the U.S. Election,” “Spy Agency Consensus Grows That Russia Hacked D.N.C.” A year later, the allegations persist, piled ever higher with innuendo and outright nonsense. However, proof of the predicate act — that Russia, not Wikileaks, penetrated the DNC — remains totally absent.
What is the purpose of this torture-by-media? Clearly, the Trump White House has been crippled by the tsunami that never ebbs, but the Democrats have not been strengthened in the process, and the corporate media’s standing among the public erodes by the day. A poll conducted last month showed majorities of voters want Congress to ease up on Russia investigations and get to work on healthcare, terrorism, national security, the economy and jobs. Almost three out of four respondents to the Harvard-Harris poll said lawmakers aren’t paying attention to the issues that are important to them — including 68 percent of Democrats. Sixty-two percent of voters say there is no hard evidence of White House “collusion” with Russia, and 64 percent think the investigations are hurting the country.
The non-stop vilification of Russia and Trump has seriously backfired on the corporate media. Another poll by Harvard-Harris, conducted back in May, showed that two out of three Americans believe the so-called “mainstream” press is full of “fake news” — including a majority of Democrats. The Russiagate blitzkrieg, designed to delegitimize Trump and demonize Vladimir Putin, has exacerbated an already existing crisis of legitimacy for the entire U.S. political system. “Every major institution from the presidency to the courts is now seen as operating in a partisan fashion in one direction or the other,” said poll co-director Mark Penn.
The only unequivocal winner is the bipartisan War Party, which has used the manufactured crisis to drench the nation in anti-Russian hysteria – worse than back in the bad old days of the Red Scares. By March, Black Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) was using much the same language as Dick Cheney to describe the Kremlin. “I think this attack that we’ve experienced is a form of war, a form of war on our fundamental democratic principles,” said the hopelessly brainwashed representative of the Black Misleadership Class. “Liberal” Democratic Maryland Rep. Ben Cardin called the nonexistent “attack” a “political Pearl Harbor.”
If the U.S. Congress actually took seriously its Constitutional powers to declare war, the human race would already have been exterminated.
So insane have the Democrats become, that we are probably better off with war powers effectively in the hands of Donald Trump, than with California’s Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress that voted against the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. She was in her “right mind” then, but no longer. Trump’s willingness to talk with the leader of Russia, in Hamburg, infuriated Rep. Lee, who tweeted: “Outraged by President Trump’s 2 hr meeting w/Putin, the man who orchestrated attacks on our democracy. Where do his loyalties lie?” A better question is: When and where did Lee join the War Party?
The dogs of war at U.S. intelligence agencies have led the charge against Trump since they encamped at Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters, last year. The spoiled oligarch was not trusted to maintain the momentum of the U.S. military offensive begun by Barack Obama in 2011, with the unprovoked war against Libya. The state of war must be preserved, whatever the cost to the empire’s domestic institutions. Skilled in the arts of regime change, the spooks joined with their longtime partners in corporate media propaganda, to foment a “color revolution” at home. Barbara Lee is a recent recruit.
Although the Democrats will ultimately harm themselves with the electorate by folding into the War Party, it suits the purposes of party leadership and the fat cats that finance them. The ruling class has nothing to offer the people except the total insecurity of gig-jobs and austerity. The Lords of Capital effectively shut the Democrats down decades ago. They can campaign as if there really is a clash of ideas about the organization of society, but they must propose nothing that fundamentally conflicts with the steady consolidation of wealth and power by the oligarchy (the American one, not the Russians). That goes for Bernie Sanders, too. Heard anything about single payer from him, lately?
The “all Russiagate, all the time” information regime — which also prepares the public for a wider war scenario – provides the illusion of motion that passes for “resistance” to the rule of the rich, as personified by Donald Trump. But there has been no Democratic program to reorder society for at least a generation. And now, under the New McCarthyism, the only politics that is allowed is war politics, consisting of denunciations of those who threaten “our fundamental democratic principles” – which need not be defined or even proven to exist.
That’s why it has been an empty year, albeit a very loud one. As Gil Scott-Heron sang in “Winter in America,” “Nobody’s fighting, ‘cause nobody knows what to save.”If you knew me personally, you’d see that I’m not one to be afraid to talk about poop. Specifically, having healthy eliminations. Like urine, your poo says a lot about what you’ve been consuming; it’s pretty significant to know how things are processing.
The word “poop” comes from the Middle English word poupen or popen which originally meant “fart.” The word evolved into “poop” (with its current meaning) around 1900.
So, what is poop exactly? Water, dead bacteria, indigestible fiber, a mixture of fats, phosphates, live bacteria, dead cells and mucus (from the lining of the intestines), and protein. So, why does poop smell? Simply put, the smell of poo comes from what you eat. Those who eat meat enjoy a much stinkier poo, while those who do not have a less pungent smell. So as you can see, what you put in affects what you put out.
Everyone Does It, But Vegans Do It Better
Not surprisingly, vegans have the best poop in the land according to a recent study done by the University of Bristol. I’m going to let Dr. Greger from Nutrition Facts give you the scoop on poop though; he does it with more grace and composition than I’d ever have using the term, “smooth vegan snakes.”
Get Evidence-Based Nutrition Facts
If you’ve never heard of NutritionFacts.org, then you’re missing out. I love this site. Launched in August of this year, NutritionFacts.org is a labor of love featuring all the videos from Dr. Greger’s past Latest in Clinical Nutrition DVDs, split into hundreds of bite-sized topical segments that can be searched and shared. Dr. Greger’s videos are strictly science-based with citations, which makes them the perfect resource for discussing our vegan health.
Dr. Greger has committed to uploading a new video every day for an entire year, so there’s always something fresh for us to learn. Folks can, and should, subscribe to the daily video feed here NutritionFacts.org. And, come on, with videos like this one- why wouldn’t you subscribe?
Photo credit: Charleen Angle-TraegnerA group of kids attacked a Canada goose near a pond behind Batavia High School Friday evening, inflicting injuries that have confined the bird to a nearby animal treatment facility.
A Fox Valley Wildlife Center intern saw a "couple of kids" between the ages of 7 and 12 years old kicking the goose on the school grounds around 5 or 6 p.m. Friday, said Laura Kirk, the center's director of animal care. It appeared that some other children were trying to stop the attack, Kirk said.
An intern tried to capture what was happening on video, then intervened and rescued the goose, Kirk said. The intern brought it home for the night because the wildlife center was closed.
"When she brought it to us, it was laying in a box, its neck was kind of bent over, it wasn't able to stand or get up," Kirk said.
The wildlife center doesn't have a veterinarian on staff, so they called Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn and transferred the goose for further treatment, she said.
The goose has a localized neck injury, but nothing is obviously broken and it doesn't have any open wounds or external bleeding, said Sandy Fejt, Willowbrook's education site manager. Officials do not know whether the goose is male or female because that would require an internal check, said Fejt.
It's still not able to stand or lift its head up, and veterinary staff are giving the creature supportive care to build up strength before they perform more exams, Fejt said.
"We're trying to pinpoint exactly what that's from," Fejt said. "(The goose) is eating and resting, and we're hoping in a day or so to get detailed blood work."
It's possible the goose was already in a weakened physical condition, making it difficult for the bird to escape attack and more prone to injury, Fejt said. Not only is it morally wrong to intentionally harm an animal, Canada geese are migratory and protected by federal law, Kirk said.
The incident took place as the Batavia Bulldog Boosters corn boil fundraiser was going on nearby.
Batavia School District 101 spokeswoman Sue Gillerlain found out about the attack from a Facebook post Sunday, and has since been talking with the animal hospital and wildlife center about the incident, she said. It's unknown if the kids who attacked the goose go to schools in the district, and officials said they do not even know whether they were boys or girls.
"It's just not an acceptable thing to do no matter what," Kirk said. "Whether you're a kid or an adult… doing that is a crime, and also obviously it's inhumane."
The center originally posted a note about what happened on Facebook, but removed it when the comments became too much to monitor, "some of which didn't align with our intention," Kirk said.
"We sincerely appreciate everyone's attention to the goose and that you all take this as seriously as we do," reads a post published by the wildlife center later on Sunday. "We hope this sheds light on things that include not letting these situations escalate, having productive conversations with kids about how to handle similar situations and having respect and empathy for all life."
hleone@tribpub.com
Twitter @hannahmleoneThe multi-billion-dollar valuations of Flipkart and Snapdeal are no pricing bubble, but a signal that India’s technology boom has begun. The next five years will see a flurry of technology innovation that will transform the country as much as cellphones have over the past 15 years. This will be enabled by the availability of low-cost smartphones, the digital identity that Aadhar has provided to hundreds of millions of people who lacked any documentation, and a host of exponential technology advances. A billion Indians will be joining the global economy during this decade.
There is a lot for Indian entrepreneurs to learn from Silicon Valley. But the bigger opportunities are for them to leapfrog it by solving the problems of the many rather than of the few. The same infrastructure lacuna that enabled India to create Aadhar—lack of all technological legacy to have to worry about—offers it an opportunity to implement changes unarguably for the public good and to show the world how to create an entirely new digital infrastructure in areas such as the following.
———
Electronic Commerce. Flipkart and Snapdeal have largely focused on consumer products for the well-to-do. The real market opportunity is to address the needs of the people who will soon be coming on line. New marketplaces need to be built for artisans in villages so they can design and create custom crafts for customers world wide; apps are needed by which fruit sellers, sweet shops, and restaurants can showcase their products and take orders from neighborhood customers; local merchants need the tools with which to provide the same types of one-hour delivery services that Amazon and Google are launching in American cities.
Sharing economy. Uber showed Indian entrepreneurs that app-based ride-sharing was practical even in India’s chaotic cities. But Uber, too, targeted elite, high-end customers. The bigger opportunities will be to share rides in three-wheelers, bicycle rickshaws, and buses. Technology can also facilitate hiring of workers in the informal economy—laborers, technicians, maids, and painters—through automation. Also needed are apps for tractor-sharing on farms; jhuggi rentals, bike sharing; and seed swaps.
Health apps and devices. Inexpensive sensors can be connected to smartphones and tablets to result in medical devices that are as accurate as those that western hospitals use. That is what Kanav Kohol did with the Swastaya Slate, a health device with 33 sensors, for blood pressure; blood sugar; heart rate; blood haemoglobin; urine protein; and diseases such as HIV, syphilis, dengue, and malaria. Using this Rs. 40,000 device and the A.I.-based apps that come with it, health workers in Jammu and Kashmir are providing life-saving medical care to a population of 2.5 million people. Telemedicine can also connect people in remote villages to medical experts.
There are endless possibilities for entrepreneurs to transform India’s health-care system to provide medical care to billions of people in need, in India and abroad.
App-based automation of public services. Whether it be for booking railway tickets and monitoring train arrival times or for analysing government productivity and efficiency data, virtually every aspect of government services could be improved through measurement, monitoring, and automation. Entrepreneurs can take a key role in modernizing governance by using technology and data to stem corruption.
Smart cities. Small, inexpensive, Internet-connected sensors, monitoring things such as traffic patterns, air quality, noise, radiation levels, and water quality, can be used to manage pollution and waste, parking, traffic congestion, security, and almost every other aspect of a city’s functioning. Entrepreneurs can start building smart neighborhoods and then smart cities.
Education. No matter how hard the government tries, it will not be able to fix India’s public schools in time to educate the more than 100 million children in towns and villages with sub-standard educational facilities. The only solution for them rests in using technology.
The XPRIZE Foundation has launched a $15 million global competition to develop software that will enable children to teach themselves basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. Already, there are tens of thousands of apps that can teach subjects such as history, geography, music, mathematics, and science. These need customization for regions and local languages, and adaptive learning platforms in order to tailor education to the needs of the student.
Agriculture. At a minimum, Internet-connected smartphones can be used to educate farmers on how to improve crop yields and minimize chemical usage. Social media can connect them with each other so that they can share experiences, and sensors can help monitor soil humidity and optimize watering. Supply chains can be improved, and on-farm diagnostic technologies can increase efficiency.
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With India's abundance of I.T. talent—and its greater abundance of social and infrastructure problems—its entrepreneurs have a unique opportunity to lead the world in innovation. I have little doubt that they will step up to this task and that 2015 will be the launching point for India’s technology revolution.Gingrich: Most GOP Lawmakers Have 'Zero' Ideas On Health Care
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jonathan Ernst /Reuters /Landov Jonathan Ernst /Reuters /Landov
Look your Republican member of Congress in the eye and ask, "What is your positive replacement for Obamacare?"
In most cases, says former House speaker and past Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich, "they will have zero answer."
At the Republican National Committee's summer meeting in Boston on Wednesday, Gingrich said his fellow Republicans are too "caught up in a culture... [where] as long as we're negative and as long as we're vicious and as long as we can tear down our opponent, we don't have to learn anything — and so we don't."
Talking Points Memo has posted video of Gingrich making those comments.
TPM YouTube
Gingrich was also in the news Wednesday for:
-- Not ruling out another bid for the White House in 2016, though he said he's not "focused" on that possibility right now. (The Boston Herald)
-- Disagreeing with CNN's Wolf Blitzer about whether Republicans paid a price for the 1995 shutdown of the federal government. "The first re-elected House Republican majority since 1928 occurred after the shutdown," Gingrich said, and it wasn't unusual that an incumbent president — Democrat Bill Clinton — also won re-election.Unlike so many, I don’t suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS).
It’s a curious and spreading affliction that renders its victims hysterical and incapable of forming coherent thoughts. The mere mention of President Donald Trump’s name causes those suffering from TDS to go completely unhinged.
As the Urban Dictionary puts it: “The obsession to mock, slander, make fun of, and defame Trump at any moment possible.”
And though I haven’t succumbed to the “it’s cool to bash everything Trump does and tweets” crowd, it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand and rationalize what is going on in the White House as the president keeps stoking the TDS flames.
Since his Inauguration Day six months ago, the president has been more erratic — hard to believe that was possible considering what we saw during the primaries. But I’m specifically referring to his inability — or unwillingness — to directly tackle the questions about Russian collusion/interference in the 2016 election.
The latest bombshells about his son, son-in-law and former campaign manager meeting with Russians in June of 2016 will likely turn out to be more smoke than fire (all three have been asked to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee this week).
Donald Trump Jr. not disclosing the meeting and who was in attendance is certainly problematic but hardly rises to the level of treason the overzealous Democrats still upset about the election are suggesting. Adding to the excitement was Trump’s “private meeting” with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 leader’s dinner this month. Earlier in the day Trump had challenged Putin about his government’s interference in the US election. Putin denied it, of course, as any crafty former KGB agent would.
But there still remains no hard evidence.
So why not get ahead of it instead of allowing the death by a thousand leaks to the media?
Further, it is the White House that has allowed the Russia narrative to persist and it is holding up the president’s agenda.
For someone who wants to move things ahead, why hasn’t he removed his biggest obstacle from getting on with draining that pernicious Washington swamp?
Even more bizarre was the president’s hour-long interview with the New York Times last week — the same newspaper he’s constantly railing against as “failing” and “fake news” — where he took to side-swiping his own Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
If this was the president’s attempt at changing the channel and taking away the focus from his children, it failed miserably.
Trump’s biggest successes thus far — supreme court appointment, deregulation, economic growth the slowing down of illegal immigration — are constantly overshadowed by his own actions.
And Republicans in the House and Senate are watching.
It should be relatively effortless for Trump to get healthcare reform through and make good on his campaign promise. The Republicans are in charge of all three branches of government and the Democrats are a leaderless, rudderless hot mess.
Yet, repealing and replacing of Obamacare proves to be elusive to the president because many Senate Republicans have no idea what Trump will do or tweet next. And many are worried about their seats in next year’s midterms.
In fairness, the establishment of the GOP was never really with Trump. But eliminating Obamacare and moving ahead with tax reform were to be the great uniter.
So it’s way overdue for Trump to stop with the self inflicted wounds. The TDS chorus may be only yelling at themselves right now, but eventually the symptoms spread.
Even the president’s most ardent supporters will get fed up if he doesn’t move forward on his agenda. The only way to do that is he himself has to honestly put an end to the Russian story.
abatra@postmedia.comThe National Security Agency is fed internal information from Google and Yahoo’s private networks by British counterpart GCHQ, which intercepts communications traveling between company data centers based in Britain.
Documents supplied by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and reported by The Washington Post last Wednesday showed how the NSA and GCHQ work together to intercept private links that connect Google and Yahoo global data centers. On Monday, The Post added new background and details of a program known as “MUSCULAR” to its previous report to paint a more succinct picture of how the spy agencies access these supposedly protected data links.
For instance, The Post begins by pointing out the reaction to the previous story from NSA Director Keith Alexander, who said prior to reading the report that “I can tell you factually we do not have access to Google servers, Yahoo servers.” The Post points out that the previous story did not mention access to servers, but that the NSA intercepts information as it passes between private data centers through private fiber-optic cables.
Upon first comment on the report, Alexander also said, “We go through a court order. We issue that court order to them through the FBI,” a likely referral to the PRISM program. PRISM, first revealed in June, is known by Google and Yahoo - among other companies - and allows the NSA to compel them to turn over customer information legally through authorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).
But, again, this is not what The Post reported last week. GCHQ is responsible for gaining access to these internal information streams within British territory, thus allowing the NSA to avoid bothering with FISC authorization and other domestic guidelines.
In Monday’s follow-up, The Post likened the internet to an “international highway system that anyone can use,” and the companies’ data center links as a system of privately-owned highway, or thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable only used by those companies.
Security experts queried by The Post pointed to information found in the Snowden documents that show the NSA and GCHQ acquired unencrypted data that companies like Google and Yahoo would never allow out into the public internet, thus suggesting internal “cloud” access.
“This is not traffic you would encounter outside of Google's internal network,” said one of the experts, who added that one slide in the document trove exhibited a data format “only used on and between Google machines. And, also as far as I know, Google doesn't publish their binary RPC (remote procedure call) protocol, which is what this resembles."
RPC is used when a data server must confirm that it is sharing with another. The author of the slide showing this information confirmed that the captured data was “internal server-to-server authentication,” The Post reported, which should not be seen outside of network systems, according to experts.
The NSA also developed Google-specific “protocol handlers” to weed out proprietary information it did and did not want to keep.
Bulk collection in the MUSCULAR program that is run by GCHQ and fed to the NSA is illegal in the United States. Thus, GCHQ heads the operation.
“Intercepting communications overseas has clear advantages for the NSA, with looser restrictions and less oversight. NSA documents about the effort refer directly to ‘full take,’ ‘bulk access’ and ‘high volume’ operations on Yahoo and Google networks. Such large-scale collection of Internet content would be illegal in the United States, but the operations take place overseas, where the NSA is allowed to presume that anyone using a foreign data link is a foreigner,” The Post reported last week.
Since the initial report, the NSA insisted it does not use executive authority vested in intelligence agencies to avoid the FISC to collect data.
“The Washington Post’s assertion that we use Executive Order 12333 collection to get around the limitations imposed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and [FISA Amendments Act] 702 is not true," an NSA spokesperson said last week. "The assertion that we collect vast quantities of U.S. persons’ data from this type of collection is also not true.”
NSA General Counsel Rajesh De added Thursday, “The implication, the insinuation, suggestion or the outright statement that an agency like NSA would use authority under Executive Order 12333 to evade, skirt or go around FISA is simply inaccurate.”
“There is no scandal about the lawfulness of NSA’s activities under current law,” he said.
Also on Thursday, the office of the Director of National Intelligence, General Counsel Robert S. Litt, said, “Everything that has been exposed [in the press] so far has been done within the law. We get court orders when we are required to, we minimize information about U.S. persons as we are required to, we collect intelligence for valid foreign intelligence purposes as we are required to.”EXPLAIN THIS: A Man Named ‘Trump’ Starred in 1958 Show Promising to Save Citizens by Building a Wall
I have a theory.
First, watch this spooky piece of teevee history, about a conman who promised to save a town from ruin, if only they’d build a wall. That man was named ‘Trump.’
Circa 1958
Not enough to rattle your cage?
Back in 1990, Heavy Metal comics published a story about Trump, who at the time was famous in NYC. In this story, named The Wall, he convinced the people to follow him to overthrow the rich establishment shills in charge of the city.
The result was Trump in charge and people writing ‘Dump Trump’ on the wall. Oh, by the way, part of his strategy to gain popular support was to hand out Trump hats. One of this key supporters was Mike Tyson, who, incidentally, was a vocal supporter of Trump this election.
Here is the 12 part series.
So are these incredible instances mere coincidence or are we living in a simulation and simply living out a script like in the HBO show Westworld?
If you enjoy the content at iBankCoin, please follow us on TwitterFor a small city, Derby is big on parks. From Allestree to Alvaston, Chaddesden to Chellaston, there are too many to cover in one short post. Here are five of my favorites.
Darley Park
A sweeping slope of green grass runs down to the River Derwent in this gorgeous park just north of the city center. The mature trees provide welcome shade in summer, when you can relax with a picnic and watch cricketers on the pitch or rowers on the river. Keen gardeners can admire the beautiful blooms of the large hydrangea collection, while kids will find this the perfect place to throw a frisbee.
Go for: a long walk with the dog, followed by a bacon butty on the terrace at Darley Park Tea Rooms.
Derby Arboretum
The Arboretum has the distinction of being Britain’s oldest public park. Squeezed in between the closely-packed buildings of Rose Hill, the winding paths weaving through the carefully designed landscape make this park feel larger than it really is. A few runs of colorful flowers punctuate the shady greenery. In the other half of the park is a large playground with a summer splash pad, a café and some tennis courts.
Go for: a stroll along the Tree Trail to spot the Cucumber Tree, Tulip Tree and Tree of Heaven.
Markeaton Park
Best known for the child’s heaven that is Mundy Play Centre, Markeaton Park also incorporates tennis courts, pitch and putt golf, and a boating lake. A sunny Sunday will find it packed with families enjoying the open-air paddling pool and other activities, but the rest of the park is often relatively peaceful. Take a walk around the newly surfaced perimeter path, or browse the shops in the craft village. Or if you’re feeling energetic, join the weekly Parkrun. Parking is all pay and display, so don’t forget cash for that as well as the Play Centre tickets. Go for: an activity-packed day out with the family.
Elvaston Castle
There’s over 300 acres to explore at Elvaston Castle Country Park! My boys love to walk around the lake and play hide and seek in the grottoes. In the formal gardens are great green humps of immaculately-trimmed bushes, perfect for picnicking by. Follow a bridle path and see what you can spot among the wider growth in the woods, then finish up with an ice cream.
Go for: a ranger-led wildlife walk through the nature reserve.
Alvaston Park
“The park with the planets” is how Alvaston Park is known in my house, due to the models of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars that sit along the paths. If you don’t fancy outer space, go for the sport instead; there’s an outdoor gym, football fields, a BMX track and a fishing lake. Once you’ve worked off some energy, you can refuel at the quirky Mad Hatters Tea Rooms” – don’t forget to count the clocks!
Go for: a cycle around the park and along the river into the city center.MANILA, Philippines — US President Donald Trump on Friday praised the Philippines for the strides it had achieved in gender equality and heaped paeans on a host of Indo-Pacific nations for their economic and social transformations in the past decades.
Speaking at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vietnam, Trump praised the host nation, the Philippines as well as Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and India for their economic transformations, saying that the US has been an active partner of the region since it gained independence.
Trump applauded Manila particularly for its achievements in closing the gender gap and for embracing women leaders in both business and politics.
"The Philippines has emerged as a nation of strong and devout families. For 11 consecutive years, the World Economic Forum has ranked the Philippines first among Asian countries in closing the gender gap and embracing women leaders in business and politics," Trump said during his remarks before leaders and businessmen of the region.
READ: Activists picket US Embassy ahead of Trump visit
Trump is on his fourth stop in a five-country swing in Asia Pacific that will bring him face-to-face with the region's leaders jittery over North Korea's missile and nuclear program, Washington's shift inwards and the looming threat of terrorism.
He has met in the past days the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China where he was treated to lavish welcome ceremonies that were sure to please the businessman-turned-politician.
READ: Trump isolationism allows China to fill Southeast Asia void
Aside from the Philippines, Trump also lauded other Indo-Pacific nations for their "extraordinary progress in the last half century."
He complimented the host of the gathering, Vietnam, for its economic development which propelled it as "one of the fastest-growing economies on earth," a remarkable transformation in relations between former Cold War adversaries that fought a bloody war in the 60s.
The American leader also touted Indonesia, a large archipelago home to the third largest democracy on earth, for its efforts to build domestic and democratic institutions in the past decade. He also touted Jakarta for its economic development that made it one of the fastest economies in the G-20 group of nations.
He also took note of Thailand's transformation to become an upper-middle income country in less than a generation. He said that during this period Bangkok had become the most visited country on earth.
"That is very impressive," he said.
In the case of Malaysia, it was able to rapidly develop and become one of the best places on earth to do business, according to Trump, whose companies have interests in the region.
He also extolled former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yu for transforming the island-nation and making its citizens one of the |
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Virginia is for Lovers: Exploring cities throughout the state
We are fortunate to have family and friends spread throughout Virginia! Michael’s family and friends have lived in various cities of this scenic state. For hiking suggestion in the Blue Ridge, check our Asheville, North Carolina post! This is our roundup, thus far, from our trips throughout the state for lovers.
Fun things to do in Harrisonburg, VA
When we began dating in 2008, we lived 14 hours away from one another. I agreed to visit him during our summer break because he had flown down to see me for spring break. Upon arrival, we drove in his Jeep to meet the family. It was my first time seeing them in 9 years; I was nervous! We drove through the hillsides and winding curves of this small town and, at last, across train tracks to the cutest neighborhood I had ever seen. Their home was nestled between hills and valleys without fences to separate the neighbors. We arrived during a dreamy sunset!
Check out this post if you are headed up the East Coast of the USA.
We found some fun things to do in Harrisonburg, VA through the usual small town venues:
Play in the George Washington National Forest:We could have played here for a week, skipping rocks & mud riding. Catch a movie Go Bowling Sleep under the stars Catch the sunset from a hill overlooking a valley
First time visit to Tysons Corner, VA
During my First time visit to Tysons Corner, VA, Michael wanted to take me to the place where he spent most of his youth. We drove 2 hours North and arrived in Loudoun County. We played around the three-story Tyson Corner Center Mall. This was the largest mall I’d ever been inside.
After shopping for 3 hours, we left the city in favor of the countryside for a firework show to celebrate the fourth of July. We parked at Firemen’s Field, and lying on the hood of the Jeep underneath a star-filled sky, watched bursts of red, white, and blue fill the night. Before flying back South, I knew Virginia would always hold a special place in my heart!
Here are some historical sights for your first time visit to Tysons Corner, VA:
1.Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
2. Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
3. George Washington Memorial Parkway
4.Ocean Dunes Water park 5.Jefferson District Park 6.Various other parks spread throughout
First Time Visit to Leesburg, VA
On my first time visit to Leesburg, VA 3 years ago, we visited Michael’s best friend Ethan. He lives in a historic and charming town. We only had 2 days to enjoy with him before our stent to D.C. but he gave us the grand tour. We visited 3 or 4 breweries and had 1 of the best pizzas of our life! We retraced military steps and dined at sidewalk cafes. It was nice to be in a new town not overwhelmed with tourists. I also loved hearing Michael and Ethan gab about their childhood memories and old hangout spots.
Here are some ideas for your First time visit to Leesburg, VA:
Town of Leesburg Parks Flower & Garden Festival Play Bocce at the hidden bar of Shoe’s Cup and Cork Sip craft beer at Macdowell’s Brew Kitchen Enjoy American eats with a vintage style at Leesburg Brewing Company Indulge in the best oven fire pizza at Fire Works Catch a live music show at Tally Ho Theater
First time visit to Richmond, VA
A few years ago, Michael’s family moved to Mechanicsville, just outside of Richmond. We have since visited twice. Here are some hotels that put you right in the action! Our first time visit to Richmond, VA took us to the James river, the capital building, and mile marker zero. The capital was built between 1785-1788 and designed by Thomas Jefferson. We went to the top of the James Monroe building and enjoyed panorama views of downtown Richmond.
We also let our inner child run free at a local amusement park. We headed to Kings Dominion, about 25 miles North of Richmond. We spent half a day jolting around on roller coasters and getting soaked on flume rides!
On our later visit, we played downtown again and joined in on the RVA festival. The summer arts festival was complete with a dog agility show, food trucks, hipsters slacklining, and live music. We strolled along the River walk and imagined our future life in Virginia (you know, if we decide to settle down). We retired at Capital Ale House for stouts and pretzels.
Michael and I ventured our way downtown to explore the Church Hill Historic District. We found Cuban coffee at Brewer’s Cafe, Edgar Allen Poe’s residence, a few microbreweries, and old factories renovated into apartment complexes. We strolled along the James river again, admiring sturdy kayakers paddling along at sunset.
Some breweries to try out on your first time visit to Richmond, VA:
Triple Crossing Brewing – Downtown Stone Brewing Richmond Champion Brewing Company Legend Brewing Co
Lastly, I have found these two resources to be helpful when deciding what breweries or wineries to visit in Virginia!
Be Well and Travel Often!!
PIN IT!Official: It is Ukraine's right to prohibit Russian elections on Ukrainian territory Tuesday, September 13, 2016 11:30:52 AM
To allow or deny elections within its territory is a sovereign right of Ukraine. It should not give anyone authorization, the Deputy Head of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, Andriy Mahera, said in his comments to GORDON.
According to Mahera, the decision of the Ukrainian authorities on the prohibition of conducting elections for the State Duma of the Russian Federation within the territory of Ukraine on the 18th of September is consistent with international law.
"There is a misconception that the diplomatic mission is the foreign state's territory. This is not so. The Consulates and Embassies of Russia are still clearly Ukraine's territory. Another issue is that the premises are subject to the principle of extraterritoriality. There are certain privileges and immunities in accordance with international law. However, to allow or deny elections within its territory is a sovereign right of Ukraine. Ukraine doesn't have to explain to anyone why it does that. So, it is possible to prevent voting in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation," the Deputy Head said.
In his opinion, there is no critical need to prevent the vote in Kyiv, Lviv or Kharkiv.
"However, if the Ukrainian government makes this decision, it will be completely legal," Mahera said.
He noted that if elections are held in the occupied Crimea and deputies are elected to the State Duma, Ukraine will be able to block the return of the Russian delegation at the next session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
"Half of the deputies in the State Duma are chosen by the proportional system, half are based on uninominal constituencies. Such constituencies were created in the Crimea and Sevastopol. After the voting in Russia there will be the problem of the legitimacy of the new composition of the Russian Parliament and who represents the State Duma. And the question is, will this really be an additional advantage for Ukraine at the next session of PACE to prevent a return of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly," the expert said.
Elections to the Lower House of the Russian Parliament – the State Duma – are scheduled for the 18th of September, 2016.
On the 10th of September, 2016 the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, to inform the Russian leadership about the impossibility of holding elections to the Duma within Ukrainian territory.
The Director-General for Policy and Communications of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleksii Makeiev, said that the Ministry has already made the demand not to hold elections within the territory temporarily occupied by Russia or the territories of the embassies and consulates, as this violates international law and Ukrainian legislation.
Previously, Klimkin stated that the organization of the elections to the Russian Parliament within the occupied Crimea is contrary to legal norms. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Parliament) addressed the international community with this concern.
The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation called the statement by Kyiv the “discrimination" of 80,000 Russian citizens living in Ukraine and expressed its intention to organize elections in the embassies and consulates in Kharkiv, Odessa and Lviv for the employees of diplomatic missions.
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Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.A version of this article originally appeared on Clean Technica.
In an ironic twist, genomics researchers have stumbled upon an incredible discovery — the same ancestral fungus that ended coal formation millennia ago may now be able to boost biofuel and bioenergy production.
The proposal, recently presented by a team of 71 researchers from 12 countries including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), may have identified what ended the development of coal deposits from fossilized plant remains 360-300 million years ago during the Carboniferous period.
Coal as an energy source is incredibly unique — combining one of the most potent available combinations of stored energy with the largest concentration of harmful emissions. But this uniqueness was entirely due to the absence of fungi capable of breaking down the lignin polymer that kept plant cell walls rigid enough to prevent decay.
Over millions of years, this “unbreakable” plant material converted into peat and then coal, and eventually launched both the Industrial Revolution and modern global warming. But, suddenly (geologically speaking), the development of new coal deposits came to a hard stop around 290 million years ago.
The DOE JGI researchers theorize this change was likely the result of the development and spread of an ancestor of Agaricomycetes, or white rot fungus, which could break down the great bulk of plant biomass into basic chemical components and release the stored carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
So, basically, we have white rot fungus to thank for limiting the Earth’s coal deposits and limiting the amount of carbon dioxide, mercury, and other greenhouse gases that can be emitted into the atmosphere. Good job, Agaricomycetes!
While the discovery is meaningful for people concerned about climate change, it may hold the key to increasing biofuel production from feedstocks that are currently infeasible for conversion via fermentation. “The 12 new genome sequences could serve as potential resources for industrial microbiologists aiming to develop new tools for producing biofuels,” said project leader David Hibbett of Clark University.
But increasing biofuel production isn’t the limit for this discovery. Because enzymes from white rot fungi can break down complex organic molecules, researchers think they could ultimately be used in bioremediation operations to remove hazardous contaminants from the environment.
If this theory holds true, it could mean an exponential increase in the ability to reduce emissions from transportation fuels and clean hazardous waste. But white rot could be the tip of the iceberg.
“There’s an estimated 1.5 million species of fungi, we have names for about 100,000 species, and we’re looking at 1,000 fungi in this project,” said researcher Joseph Spatafora. “We’re trying to learn even more to gain a better idea of fungal metabolism and the potential to harness fungi for a number of applications, including bioenergy.”A TEAM of 20 Sherpas on a clean-up mission on Mount Everest has brought back the body of a Swiss climber who died on the mountain in 2008, the team coordinator said today.
The Sherpas left for Mount Everest in late April to collect garbage left behind by climbers and retrieve bodies of victims of the mountain's "death zone'' above 8000m, where oxygen levels are a third of those at sea level.
Coordinator Chakra Karki wrote on the Extreme Everest Expedition blog that the team had set up two camps at 6065m and 6500m and had begun collecting rubbish that will be brought down and put on display at base camp.
They have also achieved one of the their "primary goals'' of locating the body of Swiss climber Gianni Goltz, who died attempting to climb the mountain without oxygen.
"Eight Sherpas have dug out the body from under the snow of Swiss climber Gianni Goltz and have brought his body down from the South Col to Camp 2,'' Karki wrote.
Other corpses on Everest include those of New Zealander Rob Hall and American Scott Fischer, who were guides on the mountain during the infamous 1996 disaster described in the best-selling book Into Thin Air.
Since 1953, there have been 300 deaths on Everest, according to Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Many bodies have been brought down, but those above 8000 metres have generally been left to the elements - their bodies preserved by the freezing temperatures.
The priority of the sherpas had been the death zone above 8000 metres but Karki said that large quanities of rubbish had already been collected around 6000 metres.
There is no definitive figure on how much rubbish has been left on the mountain, but the debris of 50 years of climbing has given Everest the name of the world's highest dumpster.
As well as oxygen canisters, the detritus includes food containers, discarded tents, ropes and backpacks - all of which will be put on display in an exhibition at Everest base camp.What Did UCLA Really Discover About Millennials’ Reasons for Driving Less?
Tony Dutzik is senior policy analyst with Frontier Group and co-author of a recent report on shifting transportation habits.
Members of the Millennial generation drive less than they did a decade ago. That much is clear. But are Millennials driving less simply because of the economy? Or are they driving less by choice, because of changing values or changing technologies?
The answer to that question matters. If the factors driving the Millennials to drive less are lasting, then America can probably afford to spend far less on new highway capacity in the years to come, freeing up resources for other long-neglected transportation priorities.
A 2012 study [PDF] by researchers at UCLA that is just now making it into broader discussion (see this piece from the Atlantic Cities last week) sheds some light on the subject — though not necessarily for the reasons that are gaining the most attention.
The UCLA study analyzes data from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) — which was last conducted in 2009 — to investigate how various economic, demographic and other factors influenced people’s travel behavior.
The most important finding, perhaps, is that younger Americans are indeed driving less than previous generations. “All things equal,” the study found, “younger generations appear to (a) travel fewer miles and (b) make fewer trips than was the case for previous generations at the same stage in their lives.” Specifically, they found that young people born in the 1990s traveled 18 percent fewer miles and took 4 percent fewer trips than those born in previous decades. And the data show that while the economy is one important factor, it’s not the only factor.
That finding should be interpreted with caution since it is based on only a few years’ worth of information about drivers born in the 1990s. Even with that caveat, however, the UCLA study might provide the most direct evidence to date for a generational shift in travel patterns.
The other results of the study, however, are attracting more attention — especially its conclusion that there is no link between reductions in driving among Millennials and the use of “information and communications technologies.”
That’s unfortunate, because the UCLA study uses only one metric — daily use of the Internet — to assess how technology use affected travel behavior in 2009. For young people especially, it’s a very limited and possibly outmoded measure.
The 2009 NHTS, on which the study was based, did not include any questions about texting or the use of social media — both increasingly important means of communication among young people at the time. Two-thirds of all 18- to 29-year-olds were using social media by late 2008, according to data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project (compared to no more than 35 percent of any other age group). By 2010, Pew concluded that text messaging “had become the primary way that teens reach their friends, surpassing face-to-face contact, email, instant messaging and voice calling as the go-to daily communication tool.”
If, therefore, young people were texting or using social media to connect with friends rather than seeing them in person — something suggested as early as 2010 by surveys such as those run by KRC Research and Zipcar — the NHTS, and, by extension, the UCLA study, would not have been able to tell us.
Moreover, as the study’s authors note, daily Internet use is correlated with a host of other factors — including education and income — that also indicate a greater propensity to travel. They acknowledge that “the apparent relationship between web use and [passenger-miles traveled] may thus actually reflect the effect of income on both web use and travel.”
The study’s findings on the impact of technology are even less useful when one considers the vast changes that have taken place since 2009. Tens of millions of Americans now have access to location-aware, Internet-connected devices that they carry with them 24/7 — a qualitative difference from the previous reliance on wired home Internet. As my co-author, Phineas Baxandall of U.S. PIRG, and I describe in our recent report, A New Way to Go, those technologies have unleashed a host of new transportation options — from expanded car-sharing and bike-sharing to real-time transit apps and new models for ride-sharing — most of which did not exist just four years ago.
The UCLA study is an important reminder that the implications of technology on transportation are complex and don’t always run in one direction. But while the study’s findings of changed travel patterns among Millennials add to the evidence in support of a generational shift in travel behaviors, we still need better information to determine how the advent of the smartphone, social media, and other technological advances of the last several years — advances that have revolutionized so many corners of American life — are affecting our transportation choices.Tue 10/18, 7pm – 8pm
Jonathan Lethem discusses his new novel, A Gambler's Anatomy
The author of Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude returns with a devilishly entertaining novel about an international backgammon hustler who thinks he's psychic. Too bad about the pesky brain tumor.
Handsome, impeccably tuxedoed Bruno Alexander travels the world winning large sums of money from amateur "whales" who think they can challenge his peerless acumen at backgammon. Fronted by his aging, doughy, manipulative manager, Edgar Falk, Bruno arrives in Berlin after a troubling string of bad luck in Singapore. Perhaps it was the chance encounter with his crass childhood acquaintance Keith Stolarsky and his smoldering girlfriend Tira Harpaz. Or perhaps it was the emergence of a blot that distorts his vision so he has to look at the board sideways.
Things don't go much better in Berlin. Bruno's flirtation with Madchen, the striking blonde he meets on the ferry, is inconclusive; the game at the unsettling Herr Kohler's mansion goes awry as his blot grows worse; he passes out and is sent to the local hospital, where he is given an extremely depressing diagnosis. Having run through Falk's money, Bruno gambles and calls Stolarsky, who somewhat mysteriously agrees to fly him to Berkeley, and pay for the experimental brain surgery that might save his life.
Berkeley, where Bruno discovered his psychic abilities, and to which he vowed never to return. Amidst the pseudo-radical chaos of the Berkeley scene, Tira's come-ons and Keith's machinations, Bruno must confront two existential questions: Is the gambler being played by life? And what if you're telepathic but it doesn't do you any good?
Jonathan Lethem is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including Dissident Gardens, Chronic City, The Fortress of Solitude, and Motherless Brooklyn, and of the essay collection The Ecstasy of Influence, which was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, Lethem’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and The New York Times, among other publications.The Adrenaline Cyber League 2017 is a four-team invitational LAN event that will be held in Moscow on June 18th, with $100,000 up for grabs.
After last year's edition of the Adrenaline Cyber League was won by a Gambit side featuring Dmitry "hooch" Bogdanov and Emil "kUcheR" Akhundov, the Russian tournament organizer announced a new event, this time featuring some of the best teams in the world and an increased prize pool.
Many former teammates will face off at ACL 2017
The one-day event will feature four teams with strong following in the CIS region: Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere, HellRaisers and FlipSid3. The tournament will feature a single-elimination BO3 bracket with a top-heavy prize distribution: out of the $100,000, $65,000 will go to the winner.
The bracket and full schedule haven't been announced yet, but the first match is scheduled to start at 09:00 on June 18, with the rest of the competition following shortly after.
Adrenaline Cyber League 2017 will be played out at the VTB Ice Palace which hosted EPICENTER: Moscow last year, with the entrance being free to visitors.
The team list for Adrenaline Cyber League 2017 is as follows:
The teams will share the prize pool in the following way:Late last year, largely unnoticed in the West, Tunisia's president, Moncef Marzouki, gave an interview to Chatham House's The World Today. Commenting on a recent attack by Salafists—ultra-conservative Sunnis—on the United States embassy in Tunis, he remarked in an unguarded moment: "We didn't realise how dangerous and violent these Salafists could be... They are a tiny minority within a tiny minority.
They don't represent society or the state. They cannot be a real danger to society or government, but they can be very harmful to the image of the government."
It appears that Marzouki was wrong. Following the assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid last Wednesday—which plunged the country into its biggest crisis since the 2011 Jasmine Revolution—the destabilising threat of violent Islamist extremists has emerged as a pressing and dangerous issue.
Violent Salafists are one of two groups under suspicion for Belaid's murder. The other is the shadowy, so-called neighbourhood protection group known as the Leagues of the Protection of the Revolution, a small contingent that claims to be against remnants of the old regime, but which is accused of using thugs to stir clashes at opposition rallies and trade union gatherings.
The left accuses these groups of affiliation with the ruling moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, and say it has failed to root out the violence. The party denies any link or control to the groups. But it is the rise of Salafist-associated political violence that is causing the most concern in the region. Banned in Tunisia under the 23-year regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, which ruthlessly cracked down on all forms of Islamism, Salafists in Tunisia have become increasingly vocal since the 2011 revolution.
The Salafist component in Tunisia remains a small minority, but it has prompted rows and mistrust among secularists and moderate Islamists. The Salafists are spread between three broad groups: new small political movements that have formed in recent months; non-violent Salafis; and violent Salafists and jihadists who, though small in number, have had a major impact in terms of violent attacks, arson on historic shrines or mausoleums considered to be unorthodox, demonstrations against art events—such as the violence at last summer's Tunis Arts Spring show, which was seen to be profane—and isolated incidents of attacking premises that sell alcohol outside Tunis.
It is not only in Tunisia. In Egypt, Libya and Syria, concern is mounting about the emergence of violent fringe groups whose influence has already been felt out of all proportion to their size.
In Egypt last week, it was revealed that hardline cleric Mahmoud Shaaban had appeared on a religious television channel calling for the deaths of main opposition figures Mohammed ElBaradei—a Nobel peace prize laureate—and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy.
In Libya in recent months, Salafists and other groups have been implicated in a spate of attacks, including the assault on the US consulate in Benghazi in which two Tunisians were suspected.
Among the countries which succeeded in removing their authoritarian leaders in the Arab spring, Tunisia has faced the greatest challenges in its transition from Salafi-inspired jihadism. These groups—once ruthlessly suppressed by Ben Ali—have re-emerged with a vengeance over the past two years.
In May last year, armed Salafists attacked a police station and bars selling alcohol in the El Kef region. A month later, a trade union office was firebombed. In September, a Salafist mob stormed the US embassy in Tunis and an American school.
If it is difficult to describe what is happening, it is because of terminology.
Although many of those involved in violence and encouraging violence could accurately be called Salafis, they remain an absolute minority of a wider minority movement that has emerged as a small but potent political force across post-revolutionary North Africa.
Threats
Although the encouragement to violence from this minority has been most marked in Tunisia, it has not been absent in Egypt.
"We've already started to see real threats," said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Centre last week. "There are many instances in Egypt where Salafis have used the language of incitement against opponents.
"Last year, one Egyptian Salafi cleric, Wagdi Ghoneim, called for a jihad on protesters against President Mohamed Morsi, a demand he repeated this month. Another—Yasser el-Burhamy—reportedly banned Muslim taxi-drivers from taking Christian priests to church."
Yasser el-Shimy, Egypt analyst for the Crisis Group said: "All it takes is for one guy to take it upon himself to carry out a fatwa. But the prospects of that happening in Egypt are less—or certainly not more—than they are in Tunisia. In Egypt, there was a deeper integration of Salafis into the political process as soon as the revolution had taken place."
Most tellingly, two leading Egyptian Salafis last week condemned the death threats against ElBaradei and Sabbahi.
A spokesperson for al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya—which only last week called for the crucifixion of masked Egyptian protesters known as the Black Bloc—"rejected" assassinations as a political tool, while the leader of the Nour party, Egypt's largest Salafi group, went further, criticising "all forms of violence".
Nader Bakkar, a spokesperson for the Nour party, said: "The Salafis in Tunisia are not organised well and they don't have the scholars who can teach them how to deal peacefully with things that they don't like in their country. It gives you a clear vision that we will not see in Egypt what we saw happen in Tunisia."
Bakkar also argued that Shaaban, the cleric who issued the fatwa against ElBaradei and Sabbahi, had little currency in Egyptian Salafism.
"He doesn't have many followers," said Bakkar, who claimed that Shabaan came from a school of Salafism that had preached obedience to former dictator Hosni Mubarak, and whose reputation had therefore been ruined in the post-revolution period.
The main Salafist political parties, which are represented in Parliament, have far more of a stake in democratic transition than in Tunisia and Libya.
In Libya, Islamist violence, in some cases inspired by Salafism, has followed its own trajectory. After more than a year of violence that came as much from the competition between rival groups who fought former dictator Muammar Gaddafi for power and influence, recent incidents have had a more jidahi flavour even as Salafist groups have attacked Sufi shrines and demanded that women be covered.
If there are differences between the strands of Salafist extremism in North African countries, there are some striking similarities. Like Egypt—as Anne Wolf pointed out in January in a prescient essay on the emerging Salafist problem in Tunisia for West Point's Combating Terrorism Centre, "certain territories … have traditionally been more rebellious and religiously conservative than others. Tunisia's south and interior, in particular, have found it difficult to deal with the modernisation policies launched by the colonial and post-independence governments, whose leaders came from more privileged areas."
And while violence—and the threat of violence—by the "minority of the minority" of Salafis has the potential to disrupt the post-revolutionary governments of the Arab spring, for the new Islamist governments it also poses considerable political problems, which are perhaps as serious.
In Tunisia, the government estimates that 100 to 500 of the 5 000 mosques are controlled by radical clerics. Although the majority of Salafists are committed to non-violence, the movement has been coloured by the acts of those following a jihadi stream.
'Re-Islamisation' of Tunisia
That has created problems for Ennahda, which secular opponents suspect of secretly planning with Salafis the "re-Islamisation" of Tunisia, not least because of the government's unwillingness or inability to move against the most extreme Salafi groups.
Indeed, when an al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb cell was broken up in Tunisia last year, all its members were also found to be active in another Salafist grouping—Ansar al-Sharia, founded by Abou Iyadh. He was jailed for 43 years under ex-dictator Ben Ali's regime after being extradited from Turkey, but was freed under an amnesty for political prisoners following the 2011 revolution that ousted the president.
The jihadist strand has recently been vocal in its condemnation of the intervention by France in its former colony of Mali, which has increased anti-French feeling. Algerian officials said 11 of the 32 Islamist gunmen who overran the In Amenas gas field last month were Tunisian. Tunisian jihadists are said to have left for Syria.
For Ennahda—as a number of analysts pointed out last year—confronting extremist Salafist violence has become a challenging balancing act. Fearful of radicalising the wider movement by cracking down too hard—as the former Ben Ali regime did—it has sought instead to have a dialogue with those renouncing violence by condemning the "rogue elements". This is a policy that has led to accusations that it has been too soft or has secretly tolerated violence against secular opponents such as the murdered Belaid.
As Erik Churchill and Aaron Zelin argued in an article for the Carnegie Endowment for Peace last April, "this position opens the door for secular groups to criticise … the ruling party's actions [as] evidence of a double discourse—conservative in private and moderate in public".
In particular, Tunisia's secular leftist parties were critical of the setting up of a religious affairs ministry under Noureddine al-Khademi, an iman affiliated to the Al-Fateh mosque in Tunis, known for its Salafist presence and protests.
Khademi's office vowed that several hundred mosques in Tunisia which had been taken over by Salafist preachers after the revolution would be brought back under moderate control. Last year, his office said that around 120 remained controlled by extremist preachers, of which 50 were a serious problem.
Even MPs in Ennahda have recently woken up to the problem. Zied Ladhari, an MP for Sousse in the Assembly said the Salafist issue was a concrete part of the heritage of the Ben Ali era and "must be handled in a concrete manner".
He said violent Salafism and jihadism "presents a danger for the stability of the country", while non-violent Salafism—"a way of life and literal reading of Islam" often "imported and foreign to our society"—was something that Ennahda distinguished itself from.
"The violent element must be fought very firmly by police and the law," said Ladhari. "Then there should be dialogue with the peaceful element, in the hope of evolution through dialogue. It's more of a sociological issue than a political one."
He said socioeconomic issues and fighting poverty and social exclusion were crucial. He said: "We have to deal with it seriously and with courage, a drift must not take hold."
Selma Mabrouk, a doctor and MP who recently quit the centre-left Ettakatol party in protest over the coalition's stance on the Constitution and power-sharing, said: "The problem is the violent strain of Salafism, not the strain of thought, because we now have freedom of expression, everyone can have their views."
She warned against an "ambiguous" stance by Islamist party Nahda and the centre-left CPR in the coalition towards street violence, hate speech and attacks which she said were going unchecked. She was also highly critical of the fact that two Salafists arrested for the US embassy attack died in prison after a long hunger strike without a proper trial procedure coming into effect.
She said: "There is this ambivalent attitude from the government, a permissivity on street violence on one side and, on the other hand, indifference to prisoners and the hunger strike." - © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited
What is Salafism?But Coles has rejected allegations by the ACCC that it contravened Australian Consumer Law by acting unconscionably, using misleading information and applying undue influence to force suppliers to participate in the program. The ACCC took legal action against Coles in May following an 18 month investigation triggered by complaints from suppliers who alleged they were strong armed into joining the Active Retail Collaboration program. The ACCC has alleged Coles provided misleading information to suppliers about the savings and the value from the program and used undue influence and unfair tactics to obtain payments. Coles required suppliers to pay the rebate within days and if they declined, staff were told to escalate the matter to more senior staff and were threatened with “commercial consequences”, such as being forced off shelves or banned from promotions and new product development. The rebates ranged from about 0.7 per cent to more than 1 per cent of sales, depending on the size of supplier.
The ACCC also alleges that Coles took advantage of its superior bargaining position by seeking payments when it had no legitimate basis to do so, and requiring suppliers to agree to the ongoing ARC payments without providing them with enough time to assess the value of the benefits. Coles provided category managers with training, manuals and scripts – including threats to delete suppliers who refused to pay up – and awarded prizes to category managers who collected payments. In its defence, which was filed late on Monday, Coles said that participation in the ARC program was at all times voluntary. The retailer consulted with suppliers about the value of participating in the program and maintained trading relationships with suppliers even if they refused to sign up. However, Coles’ defence document suggests that the retailer used sanctions to secure the support of several suppliers who were initially reluctant to join ARC.
For example, on October 19, 2011 Coles told supplier Austech Products Pty Ltd that if it did not participate in the program it would withhold replenishment information available to other suppliers and it would order products “as and when required” rather than through a system known as economically efficient ordering. Austech finally agreed to participate in the ARC program. Coles has also admitted that it told confectionery and tobacco supplier Stuart Alexander it would be unable to discuss future new product development or “do anything new” with the supplier unless it agreed to participate in ARC.. Stuart Alexander later agreed to pay an extra 0.42 per cent of confectionery sales as a discount or rebate to participate in the program, but this offer was rejected by Coles. Coles then offered to provide Stuart Alexander with 26 weeks of sales orders if it agreed to pay a rebate of 1.01 per cent of sales.
Stuart Alexander finally agreed to join the program in return for paying 0.7 per cent of confectionary sales. Coles also admitted telling macadamia nut supplier Patons that suppliers who declined to participate in ARC would not have access to a supplier portal, where important sales data was shared. However, it denied allegations that it threatened to not promote Patons products or to buy any new grocery products from Patons. Coles admitted that it hired management consulting firm BCG to advise on supply chain changes, but denied that it hired BCG to develop strategies to boost earnings, saying the aim of ARC was to improve the availability and quality of products. Coles also admitted that BCG proposed that Coles ask “tail” suppliers for a “standard 1 per cent” of sales to share in the benefits from ARC.
BCG initially estimated the total “ask” from smaller suppliers would be about $30 million, but that was later revised to $16 million. Coles said that about 168 smaller suppliers agreed to participate in the ARC program and about 32 refused to take part. “Tier 3 suppliers who elected not to participate in the ARC program were not entitled to receive the ARC program benefits including the collaboration and supplier portal benefits,” the defence document said. “Coles continued to trade with all of the tier 3 suppliers who elected not to participate in the ARC program throughout the finacial years ending June 30 2012 and June 30 2013,” it said. The case is due to return to the Federal Court in Melbourne for further directions on August 1.A Utah detective who was filmed handcuffing and dragging a nurse in July has been fired.
Jeff Payne, a detective with the Salt Lake City Police Department, was fired Tuesday following an investigation, Chief Mike Brown said Tuesday.
In a video filmed July 26, Payne, who was working as a part-time paramedic, asked University Hospital Nurse Alex Wubbels to draw blood from an unconscious patient, which she refused to do, citing company policy.
PROTESTERS CALL FOR FIRING OF SALT LAKE CITY DETECTIVE SEEN IN VIDEO ARRESTING NURSE
The detective had support from his supervisor, Lt. James Tracy, who said Wubbels could be arrested if she didn't allow the blood draw.
Payne eventually told Wubbels she was under arrest and physically removed her from the hospital while she screamed, claiming that she hadn’t done anything wrong.
An investigation by a civilian review board found Payne had apparently become frustrated after a long wait to perform the blood draw and ignored the nurse's correct explanation that she could not allow it without a warrant or |
Fountain Square and in Washington Park, and more.
The Cincinnati Observatory Horse
The Cincinnati Observatory Horse (Photo: Provided)
This horse honors the passion of Ormsby McKnight Mitchel to build the Cincinnati Observatory Center. Opened in 1843, the observatory was the nation's first built by public subscription. The 12-inch lens telescope used in 1845 still remains at the observatory which moved from its original home in Mount Adams to Mount Lookout in the 1870s.
The Oktoberfest Horse
Oktoberfest Horse (Photo: Provided)
Cincinnati is home to the world's largest Oktoberfest celebration – outside of Munich – because of the deep roots established by the early German immigrants who came to Cincinnati in the 1800s. It is a beloved festival filled with wienerwurst, schnitzel, beer and oom-pah!
The Praying Mantis
The Praying Mantis (Photo: Provided)
Cincinnati is home to the Carolina praying mantis, a native to the region. Their serene prayer-like posture makes them popular among artists, poets and musicians who depict their grace and spiritual serenity through art, words and song.
The Queen Bee
The Queen Bee (Photo: Provided)
The Queen Bee reigns as a symbol of civic pride for the "Queen City." Citizens, as early as the 1820s, boasted about Cincinnati's rapid growth and referred to their beloved hometown as the Queen City – a name that had staying power.
The Seven Hills Rabbit
The Seven Hills Rabbit (Photo: Provided)
Cincinnati was named after a Roman aristocrat. The city was, like Rome, built on "Seven Hills." The native eastern cottontail rabbit hops through them all: Mount Adams, Mount Auburn, Walnut Hills, Fairmount, Fairview Heights, Clifton Heights and Price Hill.
Trigger
Trigger (Photo: Provided)
Roy Rogers rode his golden palomino Trigger in nearly 200 films and television programs. Rogers was born in 1911 in Cincinnati – in a home in the neighborhood where the park now stands. Rogers' home – along with many others – were razed to make way for Riverfront Stadium in the 1970s.
CLOSE Artists at Carousel Works in Mansfield Ohio create the new Carol Ann's Carousel for Smale Riverfront Park. Each figure on the 48-foot carousel is a unique reflection of Cincinnati. The Enquirer/Glenn Hartong
What you need to know (so you can tell) about the carousel:
1) Schoolchildren and random Cincinnatians (surveyed while at area parks) brainstormed the animals they wanted to see included. The Park Board and ArtWorks got 1,000 different suggestions.
2) Carousel Works in Mansfield, the world's largest maker of wooden carousels, has some stock animals they work from. But they created a few that will be unique here. Like the pig and the passenger pigeon.
3) Look for cool details: The hat on the Baby Elephant is actually a replica of the dome of the Elephant House at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.
4) Look even closer. Nearly all the animals, while sporting local flora and fauna, also have a Lazarus lizard hidden somewhere. According to local lore, the lizards came to Cincinnati in 1951, when the son of arts patron Irma Lazarus brought a few home from Italy in his suitcase.
5) The soap opera horse? A tribute to Procter & Gamble which pioneered the radio/TV genre to sell Ivory soap.
NEWSLETTERS Get the News Alerts newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Be the first to be informed of important news as it happens in Greater Cincinnati. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-876-4500. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for News Alerts Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
6) See the Play-Doh crown on the Flying Pig? A tip of the hat to the fact that toys such as Play-Doh and Easy-Bake Ovens were invented here.
7) The carousel's 16 interior murals are based on Cincinnati landmarks, such as Music Hall, the Tyler Davidson Fountain, Union Terminal and Crosley Field. They were painted by ArtWorks apprentices and Cincinnati artist Jonathan Queen. Queen's 16 whimsical paintings, each representing a Cincinnati park, encircle the top ring.
8) Total cost: $1.1 million for the carousel, including its carved figures, paintings, lights and installation. (The cost of the building containing it: $4.5 million.)
9) The carousel is named for the late Carol Ann Haile. In May of 2013, The Haile Foundation announced a $5 million gift to fund its construction.
10) The opening day is also Carol Ann Haile's birthday. Expect free rides and cake and ice cream for all. Ordinarily, rides will cost a nominal fee.
Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1zELQtv(USATODAY) — WASHINGTON — Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy announced his retirement Tuesday, two years after President Barack Obama appointed him to right the then-troubled agency.
“I am announcing I will retire from the Secret Service effective March 4,” Clancy said in a message to staffers. “President Trump and his administration have been very supportive of this agency and of me personally which makes this a very difficult decision. My love for this Agency has only complicated the decision further, but for personal reasons it is time. I look forward to spending time with my family.”
Clancy, a career agent who headed the organization’s Presidential Protection Division, was called out of retirement more than two years ago after the service was rocked by a series of high-profile incidents of misconduct and security breaches, including a fence-jumper armed with a knife who made it into the presidential residence before being tackled by agents.Amazon.com chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos also owns The Washington Post. (Jason Redmond/Reuters)
Amazon.com says the cable industry's own proposal for how to shift Americans away from the set-top boxes they currently rent for hundreds of dollars a year is riddled with flaws.
The online retail giant is arguing that the cable companies' vision for accessing TV content in the future — via apps embedded in smart TVs, phones and other devices — doesn't guarantee the copy protections that currently exist with set-top boxes. (Copy protection has emerged as a key issue in the ongoing fight to determine how cable viewers will someday get their shows and movies.)
The cable-backed "app-based approach" to getting your programs is an alternative to what some federal regulators want instead: A system that forces cable companies to hand over all their programming so that any other company — including, perhaps, Amazon — could build and sell their own set-top boxes straight to consumers. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos also owns The Washington Post.)
Proponents of the Federal Communications Commission's plan say letting other firms build competing set-top boxes would give consumers more choices than just what they can rent from their cable providers, and would lead to a range of new user interfaces for TV viewers to choose from. Critics say requiring companies such as Comcast to make their TV content freely available to any other box maker poses copyright risks, raising the possibility of theft by content pirates.
Both the FCC approach and the cable industry proposal could reduce the cost of renting set-top boxes — in some cases, by potentially eliminating the need for them altogether. But Amazon's critique of the industry, disclosed in a regulatory filing, claims that the app-based approach has nothing to say about copy protection. As a result, the industry plan "does not in fact address the security concerns [cable companies] have identified" as a main reason to oppose the FCC's plan.
In a statement, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association said Wednesday that apps based on HTML5 technology do provide enough security for TV content. A recent FCC report, it said, contains "extensive discussion of exactly how HTML5 secures" TV content, "including support for hardware roots of trust."
If this sounds confusing, that's because you're watching the political process play out in real time. In a nutshell, cable companies are saying new regulations could disrupt the copy-protection regime that undergirds the economics of TV. Amazon's saying the cable industry's counterproposal isn't worth its salt, in part because Amazon potentially stands to gain from a more stringent set of requirements on cable companies.national
On Saturday, from 3 pm to 7.30 pm, Santosh Ranjane squeezed a balloon affixed to artificially pumped oxygen machine to keep brother-in-law alive. KEM docs told him no ventilators were available
For four hours at KEM’s emergency ward on Saturday, Santosh Ranjane patiently squeezed the balloon affixed to the artificial oxygen pumping machine at the bedside of his sister’s husband, Pramod Dhanawade, 42. Ranjane had been doing that since 3 pm on Saturday, without stopping. “If I stopped pumping, he would have died, so I could not even move from my seat. My hands were aching, but I could not stop. Of the 27 ventilators in the emergency ward, not one was available,” Ranjane said. It was at 7.30 pm that the doctors finally managed to provide Dhanawade with a ventilator.
After 7.30 pm, doctors at KEM’s emergency ward put Pramod Dhanawade, who had suffered brain haemorrhage, on ventilator
Dhanawade, a resident of Satara, is an engineer and has been working in the city for the past two years. He had been suffering from a fever for a while, which had made him weak and feeble. On Tuesday, while getting out of bed, he fell, badly hitting his head on the side of the bed causing bleeding inside his head. He was first taken to a private hospital in Andheri East, as it was near the SEEPZ area, where he lives. After three days of treatment, when his condition deteriorated, he was put on a ventilator. But, as his family was not satisfied with the treatment, he was taken to Parel’s KEM hospital around 3 pm on Saturday.
Pramod Dhanawade is seen receiving artificial oxygen from a pumping machine
Moved to KEM from Andheri
“When my brother-in-law didn’t respond properly to the treatment at the Andheri hospital, we brought him here,” Ranjane said. At KEM, the doctors said there was no ventilator available and Ranjane was told he would have to manually pump the artificial oxygen machine. Ranjane said, “Hours passed, but all the ventilators were still occupied. It is not like saline that gets over within an hour. I was hoping nothing happened to my brother-in-law until they provided a ventilator for him.”
Of the 27 ventilators at KEM Hospital’s (above) emergency ward, none are currently available for use
There was no one else to take over from Ranjane because he had not told the rest of the family just how serious Dhanawade’s condition is. Dhanawade’s own family, who lives in Satara, reached the city on Saturday morning after hearing that he had been admitted to hospital. “I haven’t even told my sister how serious her husband’s condition is. She has two very young children and is currently staying with another family member in Andheri,” he said.
Hospital says
Dr Avinash Supe, dean of KEM hospital, said, “During weekends, we get the highest number of patients from private hospitals that misguide patients and send them here. But, before sending such patients, they should at least inquire about the availability of ventilators. We have more than 100 ventilators at the hospital, with 27 in the emergency ward. But, if they are unavailable, there is nothing we can do. We can’t remove a patient from a ventilator to make space for another one.”
“In cases where ventilators are unavailable, we send them to other hospitals for emergency treatment,” he said. The hospital gets more than 600 patients every day in their emergency ward.In this Monday, Aug. 3, 2015 photo, Sam Van Aken points out plum varieties on a tree at a nursery at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. Van Aken has stocked the campus nursery where he does his grafting with hard-to-find antique and heirloom varieties, some from an old research orchard. He has collected more than 40 varieties of plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries and almonds he can graft on to his trees. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) The Associated Press
By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Plums, peaches, nectarines and cherries all grow on just one of Sam Van Aken's fruit trees. The trees blossom in a riot of red, white and pink each spring.
The artist calls his creations the Tree of 40 Fruit. And the tree at Syracuse University, and others like it, really does bear 40 or more varieties of stone fruit, thanks to carefully planned grafts.
The hybrid trees provide both juicy fruit and food for thought about preserving agricultural heritage. But most of all, Van Aken wants to provoke a response.
"When somebody happens upon it and they see it blossom in these different colors and they see it growing all these different fruit... there's this rethinking, there's this sort of moment that sort of interrupts the everyday," said Van Aken, who teaches art at the university.
Van Aken's first 40-fruit tree has been located for the past four years on the edge of a campus green. On a recent broiling summer day, Van Aken plucked a few yellow plums the size of golf balls and ducked under a low branch to give a trunk-to-leaf tour. Starting with a plum root stock, he has over the years grafted on a cornucopia of fruit.
"Right here is a nectarine. It comes out on a plum base, but it continues to grow up here, until you have peaches on the end," he said. "There's a couple of apricots that have been grafted on, and this out on the end is a red-leaf plum variety."
The tree project is an outgrowth of Van Aken's work as a sculptor — one used to working with nontraditional materials. Early on, he considered arranging different trees that blossomed at different times before realizing he could "collapse the entire orchard on to one tree." He decided to work with stone fruit — that is, fruit with pits.
"It actually started with a Tree of 100 Fruit," he said with a laugh. "I was sort of ambitious."
He eventually settled on 40, a number rich with biblical allusions, such as the 40 days and 40 nights of rain when Noah built an ark and the amount of time Jesus fasted. Van Aken was inspired to include harder-to-find fruits after reading a century-old book, "The Plums of New York," that listed hundreds upon hundreds of varieties. The abundance was strikingly different from the few types of purple plums found in modern supermarkets.
He stocked the campus nursery where he works with antique and heirloom varieties, including some from a now-defunct research orchard. Over time, he has collected more than 40 varieties of plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries and almonds that he can graft to his trees.
The trees can turn heads in the spring, when the multicolored blossoms signal something unusual. But people who walked by the Syracuse University tree on a recent day barely looked up from their phones to notice the subtle differences in fruit from branch to branch. University employee Karen Davis said she had heard of Van Aken's tree, but walked by it at least twice a day without realizing it.
"I heard about the tree but I didn't know it was right here," said Davis, who called it "fantastic."
Van Aken said there are 16 trees sited around the nation, mostly in the Northeast. More are being grown and grafted in the nursery, including eight that will be planted in downtown Syracuse next year.
Several of the trees have been donated. The cost of the others depends on his travel expenses. Each tree is planted with 20 varieties grafted to it. He returns twice a year for three years after each planting to graft the rest of the varieties.
The trees keep him busy April through September, but he likes the fact that this is a unique type of sculpture that keeps on evolving.
"Every year it's something different. It appears different. It's radically different than it was six months previous," he said. "And that part has been the most rewarding part."A Senior Fellow and Director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute in Washington, Hanke had earlier said that “India simply does not have the infrastructure to adapt to Modi’s demonetisation…he should have known.” (Twitter)
Criticising India’s decision to scrap high value currency notes, noted American economist Steve H Hanke has said demonetisation is for ‘losers’ and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not know where the country is heading now.
“#Demonetisation is for losers and has been bungled from the start. No one, not even Modi, knows where India is heading,” Hanke, an American applied economist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, said in a tweet.
A Senior Fellow and Director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute in Washington, Hanke had earlier said that “India simply does not have the infrastructure to adapt to Modi’s demonetisation…he should have known.”
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 had announced demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes in a major assault on black money, fake currency and corruption.
The Economic Survey for 2016-17 had said, “demonetisation will have significant implications for GDP, reducing 2016-17 growth by 0.25 to 0.50 percentage points compared to the baseline of 7 per cent.”The pyramid is getting an update for the ecotastic age. A clutch of artists has unveiled a conceptual scheme to build nine massive, solar power-generating pyramids smack dab in the middle of the Abu Dhabi desert. And, this being the 21st century, naturally they’re done up in tres chic black. Move over, Giza!
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Lunar Cubit (more on the cryptic name later) has won first prize in the Land Art Generator Initiative, a competition for designers to dream up green energy facilities that could masquerade as sexy art installations in the UAE. The initiative’s strapline: “renewable energy can be beautiful.” Beautiful, indeed. From the renderings, Lunar Cubit looks like a bunch of black diamonds emerging from the dusty sand. You almost expect to see Liz Taylor shooting a perfume ad.
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As for its function: At its most basic, Lunar Cubit is a smattering of power plants covered in frameless solar panels that together produce enough energy for 250 homes. So what’s the connection to the moon? And cubits? Here’s where things get a bit complex. The whole concept is billed as “antiquity gilded with technology,” which basically gives the artists a hall pass to go wild with ancient-civ references. They started off with the Royal Cubit, the first recorded unit of length and the scale used here to size the pyramids. Then, on top of generating energy and generally looking awesome, Lunar Cubit is designed to be a “timekeeper, a monthly calendar, allowing viewers to measure time through eight lunar phases.” So you’ve got eight small pyramids, each representing a different phase of the moon, ringed around one big pyramid. All are equipped with LED lights. Every night, the central pyramid’s LEDs illuminate inversely to the brightness of the moon. The surrounding pyramids light up, too, but only during certain moon phases. Somewhere in all that, there’s a connection to the Islamic calendar. And Einstein.
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Dense stuff. Luckily, you don’t need to know any of it to appreciate the aesthetics of the architecture. The chances of Lunar Cubit getting built are slim, anyway. Who would invest in nine solar pyramids that power just 250 homes, when you can build a solar farm and power 75,000 homes — except maybe a pharaoh? Then again, this is the UAE, and weirder things have happened.
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[The Lunar Cubit team included Robert Flottemesch, Jen DeNike, Johanna Ballhaus, and Adrian P. De Luca. For more info, visit the project website here.]With the announcement of the U.S. delegation to the 2014 Olympics in Russia, President Obama is sending a strong political message. (Thomas LeGro/The Washington Post)
With the announcement of the U.S. delegation to the 2014 Olympics in Russia, President Obama is sending a strong political message. (Thomas LeGro/The Washington Post)
The White House announced Tuesday that President Obama, Vice President Biden and the first lady will not attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February, a pointed snub by an administration that is feuding with Russian leaders on a range of foreign policy and human rights issues.
The U.S. delegation will be led by a former Cabinet secretary and a deputy secretary of state, and it will include two openly gay athletes — tennis legend Billie Jean King and ice hockey player Caitlin Cahow — in an apparent bid to highlight opposition to Russia’s anti-gay laws.
This will mark the first time since the Summer Games in Sydney in 2000 that a U.S. Olympic delegation did not include a president, first lady or vice president. The White House made the announcement in a news release late Tuesday.
Officials said Obama’s schedule would not permit him to attend the Games during a two-week period beginning Feb. 7, although they did not specify what the president would be doing instead. Obama, a major sports fan, is “extremely proud” of the U.S. team and “looks forward to cheering them on from Washington,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye said in a statement.
The U.S. delegation “represents the diversity that is the United States,” Inouye said. “All our delegation members are distinguished by their accomplishments in government service, civic activism, and sports.”
1 of 24 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Sochi in the spotlight ahead of the Winter Olympics View Photos The Russian host city of the 2014 Winter Games is undergoing more than a simple facelift; it’s building an entirely new self, from head to toe. Caption The Russian host city of the 2014 Winter Games is undergoing more than a simple facelift; it’s building an entirely new self, from head to toe. Russians enjoy a warm November day walking on the promenade along the Sochi River, near the Black Sea. The greater Sochi area edges up against 90 miles of Black Sea coastline. Mikhail Mordasov/For The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
In keeping top officials away from Sochi, the United States joins France and Germany among the nations whose senior government leaders will not attend. The Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights group, hailed the announcement and called Russia’s anti-gay laws “heinous.”
“The inclusion of gay athletes is incredibly important and sends a potent message about the inclusive nature of our democracy,” said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the group.
The Obama administration’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has deteriorated this year as the two countries have clashed on several issues. The United States blamed Russia, along with China, for blocking a United Nations resolution authorizing potential military intervention in Syria in the summer, and the two countries have failed to agree on a pact for broader nuclear disarmament.
The White House also was angered by Russia’s decision to grant temporary political asylum to Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked thousands of classified documents detailing the United States’ broad spying apparatus.
In September, Obama canceled a planned bilateral meeting with Putin ahead of an economic summit in St. Petersburg. Among other things, he cited Russian laws, passed in June, that ban the distribution of any materials to minors that suggest homosexual relationships are normal or attractive.
The president met at the summit with civil rights activists instead.
During a news conference in August, Obama said he did not believe it was appropriate for the United States to boycott the Winter Games altogether, as it did in 1980 by staying away from the Summer Games in Moscow after the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
“We’ve got a bunch of Americans out there who are training hard, who are doing everything they can to succeed,” he said. “Nobody is more offended than me by some of the anti-gay and lesbian legislation that you’ve been seeing in Russia.”
Obama added that he hoped some openly gay or lesbian athletes would win a medal, which would “go a long way in rejecting the kind of attitudes that we’re seeing there. And if Russia doesn’t have gay or lesbian athletes, then it probably makes their team weaker.”
Cahow, a two-time Olympian, said in an interview with Go Athletes that she believed it made sense for United States to compete in the Sochi Games, comparing it to the example of Jesse Owens, the black track and field star who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Nazi Germany.
“He demonstrated the greatness of who he was as an African-American athlete,” she said.” It’s precisely the same philosophy we should be taking to Russia. I don’t think any athletes are going to go over there just to protest Russian policy. That makes no sense. They’re going to go over there because they want to compete.”
Janet Napolitano, the former secretary of homeland security who is now the president of the University of California system, will head the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremonies, while Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns will head the delegation for the closing ceremonies.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Obama aide Rob Nabors are also scheduled to attend, along with Olympic medalists Bonnie Blair, Brian Boitano and Eric Heiden.It’s important to remember that while our conversations about religion in the U.S. often center around the false notions of Christian persecution, it’s so much worse in other parts of the world. In certain countries, as we know all too well, you can be lashed, fined, jailed, or murdered for daring to criticize religion.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom just released its periodic report on blasphemy laws, and it’s a depressing account of how bad things are worldwide. (The word they used was “sobering.”)
There are 71 countries that have some sort of punishment for blasphemy, however it’s defined. The Commission ranked them on a scale from 0-80, where 80 represents a country violating all sorts of international principles of freedom many times over.
The worst ones on the list? Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, all of which scored in the 60s — and all of which have an official state religion. Several countries on the list, however, may surprise you. Italy was on there with a 56.2. Greece scored in the mid-40s. Germany, Finland, Spain, and Ireland all made the list, though it’s more because blasphemy laws remain on the books, not because their governments would seriously ruin your life if you criticized religion. (Still, it’s the thought that counts.)
If nothing else, consider reading the report just to become more aware of how lucky we are to have actual religious freedom in the U.S. despite various attempts, in practice if not in principle, to merge church and state.
(Portions of this article were posted earlier. Thanks to Brian for the link)Comparing Apples to Oranges: Differences in Women's and Men's Incarceration and Sentencing Outcomes
NBER Working Paper No. 23079
Issued in January 2017
NBER Program(s):Law and Economics, Labor Studies
Using detailed administrative records, we find that, on average, women receive lighter sentences in comparison with men along both extensive and intensive margins. Using parametric and semi-parametric decomposition methods, roughly 30% of the gender differences in incarceration cannot be explained by the observed criminal characteristics of offense and offender. We also find evidence of considerable heterogeneity across judges in their treatment of female and male offenders. There is little evidence, however, that tastes for gender discrimination are driving the mean gender disparity or the variance in treatment between judges.
Supplementary materials for this paper:
Acknowledgments
Machine-readable bibliographic record - MARC, RIS, BibTeX
Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w23079
Published: Kristin F. Butcher & Kyung H. Park & Anne Morrison Piehl, 2017. "Comparing Apples to Oranges: Differences in Women’s and Men’s Incarceration and Sentencing Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(S1), pages 201-234. citation courtesy of
Users who downloaded this paper also downloaded* these:Chimayo Press and the Language Company (TLC)
Context counts in teaching English. Your students have their own personalities, their own needs, and their own favorite topics. In the summer of 2011, The Language Company, a chain of over 20 Intensive English Language programs across the United States, asked us to create special editions of selected chapters for their intermediate and advanced students. Here are the three distinctive versions of Compelling Conversations created for their high school students, and two levels (intermediate and advanced) for graduate and post-doc students at the Berkeley campus.
11 Selected Chapters for The Language Company High School Students
Authored by Eric H Roth, Toni Aberson
These 11 thematic chapters have been selected and revised for The Language Company for their Edmond campus high school students. This intermediate ESL (English as a Second Language) conversation textbook includes quotations, paraphrasing activities, proverbs, quotations, surveys, and online assignments. Chapter titles are: Getting Started; Going Beyond Hello; Making and Keeping Friends; Loving Dogs and Pets; Pet Peeves; Traveling; Moving to Music; Talking about Television; Playing and Watching Sports; Holidays and Celebrations; and Clothes and Fashion. All chapters are adapted from the original ESL textbook Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics
11 Selected Chapters on Timeless Topics for Level 1 English Language Learners
Authored by Eric H Roth with Toni Aberson
These 11 thematic chapters have been selected and revised for The Language Company in their Level 1 speaking skills class. This intermediate ESL (English as a Second Language) conversation textbook includes quotations, paraphrasing activities, proverbs, quotations, surveys, and online assignments. Chapter titles are: Going Beyond Hello; Coming to America; Being Home; Eating and Drinking; Exploring Daily Habits; Staying Healthy; Traveling; Driving Cars; California Calling; Enjoying Money; and Crime and Punishment. All chapters are adapted from the original ESL textbook Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics
11 Selected Chapters on Timeless Topics for the Language Company Students – Level 2
Authored by Eric H. Roth, Toni Aberson
These 11 thematic chapters have been selected and revised for The Language Company in their Level 2 speaking skills class. This intermediate ESL (English as a Second Language) conversation textbook includes quotations, paraphrasing activities, proverbs, quotations, surveys, and online assignments. Chapter titles are: Being Yourself; Studying English; Pet Peeves; Holidays and Celebrations; Eating Out; What Do You Think?; Change; Handling Stress; Work Relationships; Practicing Job Interviews; Voting and Choosing Leaders. All chapters are adapted from the original ESL textbook Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics.The Fifth Annual Star Citizen Gamescom Party!
For those of you who joined us in Cologne last year, you will be happy to hear that our plans for this year are very similar at this stage. Gamescom runs from 21st through 26th August. We will have a fun and interactive booth in the game halls, opportunities to meet the team in the evenings, and a live show at Gloria Theater on the Friday 25th. Join your host Chris Roberts as we showcase some of what we’ve been working on this year, and deliver some never-seen-before gameplay!
Ticket Details
The 750 tickets for Gloria Theater are €30 each and will go on sale with the following format:
Saturday 22nd April 7PM CEST : 200 Tickets available to Concierge and Subscribers only
: 200 Tickets available to Concierge and Subscribers only Saturday 22nd April 11PM CEST : 175 Tickets available to Concierge and Subscribers only
: 175 Tickets available to Concierge and Subscribers only Sunday 23rd April 7PM CEST : 200 tickets available to all backers
: 200 tickets available to all backers Sunday 23rd April 11pm CEST : The remaining 175 Tickets available to all backers.
The show will start in the evening on the Friday:
Doors Open: 8pm (CEST) // Show Starts: 9pm (CEST)
Tickets will be available here:
SOLD OUT!
When & Where
Friday, August 25th:
Doors Open: 8pm (CEST) // Show Starts: 9pm (CEST)
Gloria Theater, Apostelnstrasse 11, 50667 Köln.
Space is limited, so be sure you get your tickets fast! This will be an evening event, going through until late.
- Frequently Asked Questions
Parking
There are many car parks close by and within walking distance from Gloria. Top 3 below:
Parkhaus Wolfsstraße: Open: Mon-Sun 24 hours Address: Wolfsstraße 6, 50667 Köln
Gertruden-Parkhaus: Open: Mon-Sun until 1am Address Breite Straße 169-177, 50667 Köln
Parkhaus Bazaar de Cologne: Open: Mon-Sun until 1am Address: Große Brinkgasse 5, 50672 Köln
Additional parking available on the street, with a parking ticket necessary until 11pm.
What to Bring
PLEASE remember to bring your printed ticket or a digital copy stored on your phone in addition to your photo ID. If you have a Citizen Card or any Star Citizen clothing, bring it. Cosplay is encouraged, though due to local regulations Gloria Theater prohibits replica weapons of any design. If you come in cosplay, please leave your weapons at home.
There is a bar at the venue for drinks, and a small selection of snacks available from the café. Attendees are highly encouraged to eat meals prior to the show.
Each year, fans have kindly offered gifts for the team. Unfortunately, since many of us are flying back to the United States the next day we are unable to accept anything at the event. We truly appreciate the thought, though!
Is the Gloria Theatre wheelchair accessible?
Wheelchairs should be pre-registered with us by entering a support ticket (link to Contact Us) to ensure suitable entry is available for the event. The hall is located on the ground floor of the theater. While wheelchair users will be given priority access, it is worth noting there are no disabled toilets on the premises; however, these can be found in public buildings in the neighbourhood.
Central Library
Josef-Haubrish-Hof 1
50676 Koln
http://www.stadt-koeln.de/leben-in-koeln/stadtbibliothek/
Can I bring my own food and drink?
No, this is not allowed for the venue – Please stop by one of the traditional German restaurants nearby before the event.
Will there be seating available?
No, this will be a standing event.
Is there an age restriction for the venue?
Yes, the event is 18+
Can people bring their own seating for the wait?
You may bring a small foldable seat to use while outside the theater, however use of them inside the premises is prohibited, so you would need to use the coat check once inside. Please only bring what you’ll need with you to the event, as well as your Star Citizen merchandise!
Is there a Coat Check?
Attendees will be encouraged to store their belongings in the visitor’s cloakroom. Coats, jackets, bags, umbrellas etc., may be asked to be checked if they are large; with deference to everyone’s safety and ease of access. This storage costs €1.50 per ticket (Remember to keep this safe!)
Does my ticket also grant me access to Gamescom?
No, you will need to purchase a separate ticket to attend Gamescom at Koelnmesse. Our party at Gloria Theater does not require you to attend Gamescom. They are separate events.
Please visit the GamesCom Website for their tickets.
What do I do before the show?
Rather than queuing up for hours beforehand, we encourage backers to meet up nearby. Keep an eye on Spectrum for posts on this topic closer to the event date.
If there are unsold tickets from Saturday 22nd, will they be available to all backers when tickets are added on the 23rd?
Yes. On Sunday 23rd the ability to purchase tickets will be unlocked to all backers, which will include any previously unsold tickets.
Stay In The Loop!
Look out for latest news, contests, and additional information about where Chris and the team will be during Gamescom. Whether you’re with us in Germany, or back at home, keep up to date with all things Star Citizen by following our various channels on social media:US President Donald Trump comes face-to-face with Russia's President Vladimir Putin for the first time on Friday.
The formal meeting will be scrutinised across the world, set as it is against the backdrop of US investigations into possible collusion between Russia and Trump campaign figures during last year's election.
Whether Mr Trump will raise the issue of election hacking is the million-dollar question, given he has downplayed Russia's alleged role.
First meetings between major world leaders can be unpredictable affairs. Mr Trump has in the past suggested he could get along with Mr Putin and praised him as a "strong leader" but it is unclear how he feels now.
In Moscow, the Kremlin is painting the meeting as an opportunity for the pair to "get acquainted and finally understand the true approach of each other".
But looking beyond the testy politics of US-Russia relations, what do Mr Trump and Mr Putin have in common, and what sets them distinctly apart?
Route to the top: In the shadows and in the limelight
If there's one sharp difference between these two men, it is their back stories.
Vladimir Putin spent his early career in the world of Cold War espionage, and was working as a Soviet spy in East Germany when the communist state crumbled.
He is used to operating in the |
diabetes—in some counties, that percentage can reach 13 percent. The national average is 8.5 percent.
The diabetes belt spans counties in most of the Southern states and reaches up through Appalachia. And, in general, it's growing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). New counties are added; we let out the belt another notch yet it cannot contain the strain. The geographic area affected closely mirrors the "stroke belt," and its population generally is more prone to developing not only diabetes but also other chronic diseases.
Amit Vora, MD, FACE, is a professor of endocrinology at the University of Tennessee–Knoxville and a practicing endocrinologist. In his practice, he sees how some of the risk factors for type 2 diabetes culminate in a kind of perfect storm. Vora cites an unhealthy food culture, few convenient or safe places to exercise, and an impoverished and poorly educated population—and all too often, he sees complications in patients who didn't get diabetes care early or regularly.
"I saw a patient who came in with an A1C of 13 [percent]," he remembers. "I said, 'Had you not been feeling well?' The patient said, 'Doctor, I haven't been to any doctor. I don't like to do that unless something's broken.' People just don't go to the doctor."
America's "diabetes belt" is a cluster of 644 counties in 15 states, mainly in the Southeast. At least 11 percent of residents in these counties have diagnosed diabetes, compared with 8.5 percent nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified the belt to spur community leaders to prevent new cases of type 2 diabetes by working to reduce obesity through healthy eating and increased physical activity. Obesity is a risk factor for type 2. Some U.S. counties with high rates of diabetes aren't included in the belt because they are isolated from other diabetes hot spots.
Recipe for Disaster
Income, healthful food, access to health care, insurance coverage: All of these are social determinants of health—factors that can affect a person's well-being. And in the diabetes belt, they all play a part in the diabetes crisis.
Poverty is a huge factor in people's risk for type 2 diabetes. The states in which the highest percentages of residents live below the poverty line correlate with those in the diabetes belt almost exactly. These places often also have the lowest percentages of residents with health insurance and the fewest health care providers per capita—which means people aren't getting access to the care they need, says J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, director of the federal Office of Minority Health. This can be especially true in minority populations concentrated in urban centers in the South, as well as in rural areas throughout the diabetes belt.
POVERTY
At least 18 percent or more of the people in these states lived below the poverty line in 2011. The poverty line is the federal government's estimated minimum annual income for a person or family to have the necessities of life. In 2011, the poverty line for an individual was $10,890; for a family of four, $22,350.
"It's not just the health care system itself but also the broader social determinants of health," Gracia says. "It's these risk factors, and lower rates of exercise, and higher rates of obesity."
It's true that obesity, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, is much more common in the diabetes belt than it is in the rest of the country. Most states in the belt have an obesity rate of more than 30 percent—outside the belt, only Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri have such a high percentage of obese residents.
OBESITY
In these states, 30 percent or more of people ages 18 and over were obese in 2011. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher.
That fact could be chalked up to a few causes. For one, the traditional Southern diet is high in carbohydrate and fat. "The South has never had the best eating habits, but we do have the best food," says Stewart Perry, a former chairman of the board of the ADA and current volunteer in Lexington, Ky. Perry, 56, has lived with type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years. "I grew up eating chicken and dumplings, and fried apple pies, and it's not particularly healthy."
Historically, says Andrew S. Rhinehart, MD, FACP, CDE, BC-ADM, of Abingdon, Va., many people living in the diabetes belt worked in manual labor on farms and in coal mines (indeed, the U.S. census still finds that many states in the diabetes belt have high percentages of rural residents). Today, he says, "we're all desk jockeys."
Even formerly physically active jobs have been made easier, and thus less calorie-burning, than they were in the past. Rhinehart recalls telling a patient he wasn't active enough. The man told Rhinehart he was a farmer. "Then his wife said, 'Honey, you sit on a tractor all day,' " Rhinehart says. "It's not like the old days."
And the way our bodies work may still be tied to our ancestral lifestyles. The "thrifty gene" hypothesis speculates that, as a means of survival, human beings evolved to hold on to fat and store it. But now, with more nutrient-dense (and sometimes unhealthy) foods readily at our disposal and a much less active lifestyle, those fat-storing genes work against us to pack on pounds.
Nowhere to Turn
A large swath of the diabetes belt comprises states that have both the most and the least rural populations in the country. While that might seem like a contradiction, living in either an urban center or a rural setting can limit a person's access to health care. Several states in the diabetes belt rank among those with the fewest physicians per capita in the nation. And these populations often don't have good access to safe places to exercise. Rhinehart says he once asked an Appalachian patient about her exercise plan. It wasn't going great, she said, because she lived on a winding, mountainous road with no shoulder—walking there was out. She lived 45 minutes from the closest high school, so getting to that gym or track was a no-go. And she was afraid to work out in her own yard, she said, because she had seen bears there in the past. That's a lot stacked against someone who just wants to get in a 30-minute walk every day.
There's also the matter of food security, defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as "access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life." More than 17 percent of the populations of diabetes-belt states Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas have food insecurity. That has an impact on people's wallets and their health, says Edward Gregg, PhD, chief of the Epidemiology and Statistics Branch in the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation.
FOOD INSECURITY
Households that are "food insecure" do not have "access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life," as defined by the federal government. The national average of food insecurity from 2009 to 2011 was 14.9 percent. In these states, at least 16.5 percent of households are "food insecure."
"The cheaper foods tend to be more dense and less healthy foods," Gregg says. "If you go to high-risk rural areas, there are fewer options for people, combined with less awareness and less education. The way we eat and the way we move are embedded in our culture, and those can be difficult to shift."
But more than anything, Gregg says, poverty is the No. 1 risk factor for type 2 diabetes, statistically speaking. From there, the risks pile up: If you don't have access to fresh, healthful foods, you buy what you can. The cheaper something is, the more plentiful it becomes in your diet. Living in poverty usually means less access to education, which leads to fewer opportunities for jobs that pay well and provide health insurance. If you can't afford insurance, going to the doctor becomes even more expensive—and so on and so forth. It's a vicious cycle.
And if diabetes is something you grow up surrounded by—especially in some families, where "a touch of sugar" is seen as no big deal—it can be hard to find the motivation to take preventive measures against type 2 yourself, says Rhinehart. "In some families, it's so prevalent, it's [considered] inevitable," he says. "[People think], 'That's going to happen to me no matter what I do.' "
Turning the Tide?
Making diabetes education and prevention accessible to residents of the diabetes belt is no small task. It takes action on personal, neighborhood, and national levels.
On the largest scale, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a "disparity action plan" that promotes community-based interventions to help people achieve better health. The department's Office of Minority Health offers community transformation grants for programs that attempt to reduce the burden of chronic disease, says Gracia. Health and Human Services also is funding ongoing research to better understand why disparities exist in the health of different racial or ethnic groups, in order to reduce them, she adds. In 2011, the ADA partnered with the Office of Minority Health to promote a community-driven effort to reduce disparities.
NO HEALTH INSURANCE
On average, 16 percent of Americans did not have any form of health insurance in 2010–2011. In these states, 18 percent or more of residents were uninsured.
And on a governmental level, Gracia says, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is making a huge difference for those who want access to health care but who were previously locked out of insurance plans because of their preexisting health conditions, including diabetes. But that alone won't shrink the diabetes belt, she says. "It can't be done by the government alone, but it also can't be done by the health care industry alone," Gracia adds.
To be effective, diabetes prevention needs to be local, at the community level. Perry says he can see this firsthand. His mother, father, and other relatives also have type 2 diabetes, which he calls "the family curse." Perry has dedicated himself to raising diabetes awareness locally and nationally. "You have to start recognizing the problem and building communities around that problem," he says. "We've got to get out to the people where the problem is. It's going to take government leaders to step up and say, 'This is important.' "
Rhinehart suggests that communities strive together to be healthier, which can take civic planning. For example, in designing buildings, architects "have to hide the elevators and escalators," he says, to increase the odds of people taking the stairs instead. Cities and towns need to build walking and biking trails that are safe to use.
Of course, projects like these cost lots of money, not just to design and build but to maintain. Yet consider this: In 2012, the cost of diabetes in the United States was more than $245 billion ($176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity), according to the ADA's "Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2012," published this year.
On an individual level, Rhinehart says reaching those at risk—especially while they're young—and educating them are keys to reducing the number of people who develop type 2 diabetes. One effective method, he says, is the Diabetes Prevention Program, which brings people with prediabetes to meet one-on-one with health care providers. Participants aim to lose 7 percent of their body weight in 16 weeks through changing what they eat and increasing their physical activity. The program has been supported by the ADA, and the YMCA has offered it at many facilities. "We're not talking about getting down to your high school game weight, just a 5 to 7 percent loss," Rhinehart says. "What we have to do is take that next generation and make it a healthy generation."
Vora, the Tennessee endocrinologist, also says health care providers are where "the rubber meets the road" when it comes to preventing type 2 diabetes. Just talking about diabetes care and prevention, he says, can have a huge impact. He likened the hush-hush nature of diabetes management in the past to erectile dysfunction: "We didn't talk about it until the Viagra commercials. But [now] it's OK to bring it to the doctor's attention."
Reaching people where they are, before they even meet with a doctor, can also help raise awareness and get people moving in a healthy way. The ADA does this through several of its programs for high-risk populations, such as Live Empowered: Learning to Thrive With and Prevent Diabetes, designed for African American church congregations. "We can't change poverty a whole bunch, but attitudes, and seeking care, will probably change," Vora says. "Education, increasing the awareness of the problem, will only help."
Raising awareness, Perry believes, is the first step in breaking down the diabetes belt. And to do that, he says, people need to get fired up about stopping diabetes, as they are for fighting cancer or AIDS. "I want to see this disease put down," Perry says. "Think about polio: People got behind [research and education, and now polio is rare]. We can show people how to prevent their diabetes from getting worse and how to prevent themselves from getting [type 2] diabetes if they're one of those 79 million people with prediabetes."
FEWEST PHYSICIANS
Nationally, there was an average of 25.7 physicians per 10,000 people in 2008. In these states, there were fewer than 21 physicians per 10,000 residents, making it more difficult to get access to health care.Apple is reportedly set to begin production of its next-generation iPad Air this month with display components going into mass production in the middle of this month and components such as the processor and camera sensors going into production next month. The design of the sixth-generation full sized iPad will mimic that of the current model and the display resolution will stay at 2048 x 1536, according to ETNews.
The new iPad Air will sport a more advanced A8 processor, which sources previously noted focuses on efficiency and battery performance for the iPhone (likely for the iPad too):
Sources also say that Apple has developed a new A8 system-on-a-chip for the next iPhone that focuses on marginal speed improvements rather than core architectural changes, but adds significant performance and efficiency enhancements in order to improve the iPhone’s battery life. With a larger, higher-resolution display combined with the next iPhone’s far thinner body, the A8 chip will be essential to maintaining the seamless, fluid iPhone experience that Apple prides itself on.
The new rear-camera is expected to move from a 5 megapixel sensor to an 8 megapixel sensor (which would bring the tablet in line with the latest iPhones), and the front camera could make the jump from 1.2 megapixels to 1.5 megapixels. That’s a small jump on paper, but will likely make significant improvements in the quality of FaceTime calls and Photo Booth selfies. The iPhone still beats the iPad in the camera department with its True Tone dual-LED flash, Burst Mode, and Slow-Mo video capture mode, so perhaps Apple will also bring further parity in those areas upon launching the new Air.
While today’s report does not mention Touch ID, we’re expecting the new Air’s main selling point to be the addition of a fingerprint scanner in the Home button. As Apple launches iOS 8 with new Touch ID APIs for developers, Apple will want to spread the technology across its high-end device lineup.
On the other sides of the iPad line, Apple is also working on a new iPad mini with similar upgrades as well as a larger model with split-screen app multitasking. We’re expecting at least the new Air and Mini to hit sometime this fall, but the launch timeframe on the larger “Pro” model is not as clear.
Perhaps indicating that the new iPad Air and Mini models are hitting the marketplace sooner rather than later, the devices are already seeing some significant discounts from big name retailers.The second league meeting of the season has been scheduled for a lunchtime kick-off.
Derby: Celtic won the first league encounter of the season. SNS Group
The SPFL have confirmed that the second Old Firm derby of the 2016/17 campaign will take place on Hogmanay with a lunchtime kick-off.
Rangers were already scheduled to play host to Celtic on December 31 when the full fixtures for the season were published four months ago. But it was expected that the game would be moved to an alternative date.
However, it will take place on the original date and will be moved to a 12.15pm start for television.
Celtic ran out 5-1 winners in the first meeting between the sides this season, with goals from Stuart Armstrong, Scott Sinclair and a Moussa Dembele hat trick.Celebrate 100 years of tanks in a big way with revamped rewards, class-specific events, and a never-before-offered Premium tank you can earn!
To paraphrase Henry Ford, we've got whatever you want, so long as what you want is TANKS!
T-44-100 Marathon
We've never before offered the T-44-100, but it can be yours by battling your way across all eight nations!
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100 Years of Tank Rewards
We're rolling out more rewards this month in honor of 100 Years of Tanks.
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Deal of the Week
Each week in September has a fresh set of deals on vehicles from specific classes.
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September Independence
Special missions in honor of Brazilian and Mexican independence!
September 7: Brazil
September 16: Mexico
Weekend Specials
Our weekend specials are sending you back to school with plenty of ways to earn extra XP!
Sept. 2-6: Labor Day weekend!
Sept. 9-12: x3 XP first win bonus
Sept. 16-19: x2 Crew XP
Sept. 23-26: x3 XP first win bonus
Third Thursday Throwdown
Two more easy-to-unlock rentals!
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Weekly Class Focus
Looking to learn a new class or brush up on basics? Each week has missions, rentals and special bundles to get you going.
On Track Events
September is the month to work your way up the tech tree towards these two tier X brutes!The new 6-String bass features many upgrades! A slim line, dual cutaway, contoured solid Alder body with headstock that matches the finish Highly figured Maple Spalted Top String-thru-bridge design for maximum attack and sustain Active pickups with active/passive pull tap, bass, treble, balance and volume controls Separate battery compartment lets you change batteries quickly Bolt on Maple neck with adjustable double trus rod and 6-bolts and brass nut for incredible stability Rosewood fretboard Fretless version features position markers on side of neck All black die-cast hardware creates an incredible look Scale length is 35" String Gauges are.029,.045, 065,.085,.105,.128 Width of the neck at the nut: 2 1/8" at the 24st fret: 3 1/4" Overall length: 44 1/2" not including the strap button. Width at widest point is 12 3/4" Pickup dimensions 1 3/8" x 4 3/8" String spacing is 16mm at the bridge Actual Weight is only lbs 8.5 lbs HXB Wiring Diagram Your final shipping costs will depend on your location and the items you order. To determine your total shipping cost, please click on the add to shopping cart button, and enter your address information. You will have the opportunity to cancel your order after you are quoted a shipping price. $329.95
QuantitySecurity vulnerabilities in the Java Development Kit and Java Runtime Environment that were patched in a February release pose such a security risk to browser users that the Mozilla Foundation has added older versions of the Java plugin to Firefox’s blocklist, disabling them from running within the browser.
In a post to Mozilla’s Firefox Add-Ons blog, Mozilla channel manager Kev Needham said the vulnerability “is actively being exploited, and is a potential risk to users.” Currently, the blocklist includes only out-of-date versions of the Java 6 and Java 7 plugins for Windows, but Needham said that an entry for the Mac OS X Java plugin “may be added at a future date.”
The vulnerabilities, revealed by Oracle on February 14, allow an attacker to bypass the Java “sandbox” and execute code on the system being attacked. Malicious websites using the vulnerability have already been found by researchers at Microsoft’s Malware Protection Center. And according to security blogger Brian Krebs, tools that automate configuration of sites to take advantage of the vulnerability are already being distributed as “exploit packs” for BlackHole, a tool used to create malicious websites that can infect PCs with botnets and other malware.
But the patch posted by Oracle to close the vulnerability remains widely uninstalled. Marcus Carey, a security researcher at Rapid7, said that he estimates 60 to 80 percent of computers running Java are still vulnerable to the attack. “Looking long term, upwards of 60 percent of Java installations are never up to the current patch level,” he said in an e-mail to Ars.Text size:
Study: Medical Marijuana Legalization Doesn't Lead to More Crime
Researchers Say Decriminalizing Medicinal Use May Reduce Homicide, Assault Rates
Dr. Robert Morris, associate professor of criminology
The legalization of medical marijuana has sparked debate across the nation for decades.
Some have argued that medical marijuana’s legalization will lead to higher crime rates. But according to a new study at UT Dallas, legalization of medical cannabis is not an indicator of increased crime.
It actually may be related to reductions in certain types of crime, said Dr. Robert Morris, associate professor of criminology and lead author of the study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
“We’re cautious about saying, ‘Medical marijuana laws definitely reduce homicide.’ That’s not what we’re saying,” Morris said. “The main finding is that we found no increase in crime rates resulting from medical marijuana legalization. In fact, we found some evidence of decreasing rates of some types of violent crime, namely homicide and assault.”
The UT Dallas team began its work in summer 2012 after repeatedly hearing claims that medical marijuana legalization posed a danger to public health in terms of exposure to violent crime and property crime.
The study tracked crime rates across all 50 states between 1990 and 2006, when 11 states legalized marijuana for medical use: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Since the time period the study covered, 20 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana for medical use.
Using crime data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, the researchers studied rates for homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft, teasing out an effect for the passing of medical marijuana laws.
“This new information, along with continued education of the public on the realities of the negative aspects of smoking marijuana — which there are considerable negative attributes — will make the dialogue between those opposed and in favor of legalization on more of an even playing field. It takes away the subjective comments about the link between marijuana laws and crime so the dialogue can be more in tune with reality.” Dr. Robert Morris,
associate professor of criminology
None of the seven crime types increased with the legalization of medical marijuana.
Robbery and burglary rates were unaffected by medical marijuana legalization, according to the study. These findings run counter to the claim that marijuana dispensaries and grow houses lead to an increase in victimization because of the opportunities for crime linked to the amount of drugs and cash that are present.
Morris said the models accounted for an exhaustive list of sociodemographic and econometric variables that are well-established links to changes in crime rates, including statistics on poverty, unemployment, college education, prison inmates and even the amount of beer consumed per person per year. Data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The results are remarkable,” Morris said. “It’s pretty telling. It will be interesting to see what future studies hold.”
Once data are available, the researchers plan to investigate the relationship between recreational marijuana legalization and crime in Washington and Colorado, where the legalized marijuana marketplace is taking shape.
While it’s too soon to say if there are definitive drawbacks to legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, Morris said, the study shows that legalization does not pose a serious crime problem, at least at the state level.
“This new information, along with continued education of the public on the realities of the negative aspects of smoking marijuana — which there are considerable negative attributes — will make the dialogue between those opposed and in favor of legalization on more of an even playing field,” Morris said. “It takes away the subjective comments about the link between marijuana laws and crime so the dialogue can be more in tune with reality.”
UT Dallas doctoral student Michael TenEyck, assistant professor Dr. J.C. Barnes and associate professor Dr. Tomislav V. Kovandzic, all from the criminology program, also contributed to the study as co-authors.
Media Contact: Brittany Magelssen, UT Dallas, (972) 883-4357, [email protected]
or the Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, [email protected].Media playback is not supported on this device Brazilian GP: Nico Rosberg makes it five-in-a-row at Interlagos
Brazilian Grand Prix Venue: Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace Dates: 13-15 November Coverage: Live TV, radio and text coverage of the race. Full coverage details
Lewis Hamilton said he was still confident of winning the Brazilian Grand Prix despite being beaten to pole by team-mate Nico Rosberg.
The world champion, who lost out to the German by just 0.078 seconds, is keen to win in Brazil for the first time.
"My main job is done this year, so it's not the most important thing but that's the target," said Hamilton.
"Last year I was strong in the race. I hope to be able to carry that through and see if I can make the difference."
For the ninth time this season, Rosberg, Hamilton and Vettel, make up the top three - albeit in various orders
Rosberg's pole was his fifth in a row and he appears to have turned around the qualifying deficit he had to Hamilton in the first part of the season, which saw the Englishman take 11 poles from 12 races, the foundation of his championship-winning campaign.
But Rosberg has turned only one of those pole positions into victory - at the last race in Mexico two weeks ago.
"If there are any cracks anywhere I will try to find them," said Hamilton, who also started second in Brazil last year and spun while trying to make up time to pass his team-mate at the pit stops.
Media playback is not supported on this device Highlights: Rosberg wins after Hamilton spins
Hamilton added that he did not believe the change was a result of his relaxing, having tied up the title, saying: "I don't believe there has been a drop in intensity."
Rosberg could not give a reason for the turnaround in qualifying form.
"It was an area I had to work on so I have been working on it through the season, but I don't have a direct explanation of any precise thing that's now different. I'm just happy it's going that way. It's better this way, but I don't know why," he said.
Before the race, following Friday's attacks in Paris, governing body the FIA has organised for the drivers to wear black armbands on their parade lap "as a sign of mourning and tribute to the victims of the Paris tragedy and as a gesture of solidarity with their families and loved ones".
The FIA added in a statement: "A French flag decorated with a black ribbon will be carried on the truck used during the drivers' parade.
"The same flag will be displayed on the world television feed, as will 13/11/2015, the date of the tragedy."
A capacity crowd is expected at the Interlagos track in Sao Paulo, one of F1's most historic venues.
The Brazilian Grand Prix is live across the BBC, with coverage starting on BBC One at 15:20 GMT and the race starting at 16:00.
Andrew Benson's Brazilian Grand Prix preview Sao Paulo's Interlagos is one of the great theatres of sport Situated in one of the less salubrious parts of a city with a dark underbelly, Interlagos positively throbs with a Brazilian vibe The crowds are passionate and partisan, and the circuit, nestled in a natural amphitheatre with views over this sprawling metropolis, provides plenty for them to get excited about Great for racing, some challenging corners, a short lap keeping the action coming - and much of the track visible from wherever your vantage point Sao Paulo, a place for which the word 'edge' might have been invented, is not a place to visit for a relaxing weekend. But for visceral thrills, there are few better places to watch Formula 1
Full qualifying results
Brazilian GP coverage details'If Trayvon was white what would have happened?': Rachel Jeantel says jury cleared Zimmerman 'because of race' as protesters take to streets across America with violent clashes in LA and Oakland
Star witness Rachel Jeantel spoke publicly for first time since in court
Trayvon Martin's friend said that she was 'disappointed, angry, upset'
Jeantel said untreated underbite caused her to have difficulty speaking
Protests continue across U.S. after Zimmerman was acquitted of murder
Trayvon Martin’s friend Rachel Jeantel, revealed last night that she ‘had a feeling’ that the largely white-female jury would find George Zimmerman not guilty because of their race.
'If Trayvon was white and he had a hoodie on, would that have happened?' said Miss Jeantel, who was the last person to speak to the teen.
Meanwhile protests continued throughout the U.S. as thousands of people gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, and Birmingham, Alabama, as well as smaller crowds in New York City and Washington D.C.
Scroll down for video
Her side: Trayvon Martin's friend Rachel Jeantel said that she was 'disappointed' by the outcome and she believes that George Zimmerman thought Martin was a thug
Miss Jeantel said that she believed the jury misinterpreted much of her two days of testimony, saying that neither she nor Martin used the word 'cracka' as a racial slur.
Instead they consider it a common way to describe how a man like Zimmerman was acting at the time of the February 2012 incident, she added.
She defined the word as fitting 'a person who acts like they're like a police, a security guard acting like a police (officer)'.
She said she is certain that there was a struggle between Zimmerman and Martin because his Android phone went off by one of them touching the screen.
'What do you think was going through George's mind that night: "I'm finally going to get one,"' she said of what she thought the neighborhood watchman was looking - and hoping - for at the time given the spate of break ins.
Father and son: Jovan Blacknell (right) and his boy Justice attend a peaceful protest of the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, in Los Angeles, California, on Monday
Running: People jump on a car on Crenshaw Boulevard during a protest against the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin trial in Los Angeles, California
On guard: Two men stand near a Los Angeles police officer during a protest against the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin trial in Los Angeles, California
Masses: Demonstrators walk up Martin Luther King Jr. Drive as they march to downtown to protest George Zimmerman's not guilty verdict in the 2012 shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin in Atlanta, Georgia
Candles: Aaliyah Wright (centre), nine, participates in a vigil for Trayvon Martin, the teenager who was shot and killed in Florida last year, in New York City Pensive: A woman participates in a candle lit vigil for Trayvon Martin, the teenager who was shot and killed in Florida last year, in New York City
Miss Jeantel, who seemed much more confident on the CNN set next to her lawyer than she did on the witness stand, touched on a number of the criticisms that she faced both in the courtroom and on social media, including her attitude, choice of words, and her decision not to attend her friend's funeral.
'I didn't put Trayvon in that casket... I did not plan for that week to be at a funeral,' she said.
Juror B37 said that the way Miss Jeantel spoke and the phrases that she used caused some of her testimony to get lost in translation.
'I didn't think it was very credible but I felt very sorry for her... I think she felt inadequate in front of everyone because of her education and communication skills,' the juror told Mr Cooper.
When that quote was played for Miss Jeantel she said that she felt angry about the juror's comments, offering instead that generational differences caused bigger problems in terms of getting the point across.
'Well, the jury, they see their facts. My thoughts of the jury, they old, that's old school people. We in a new school, our generation, my generation.'
Miss Jeantel also used her CNN interview as a time to paint a different picture of her slain friend than the one that defense built, bringing up the fact that his bloodstream showed low amounts of marijuana.
She said that while she doesn't smoke marijuana, Martin did about twice a week- a practice that she feels is common in their area.
On the brink: Police cars were attacked in Oakland on the second night of protests following the acquittal
Mayhem: A group of protestors try to tear down a fence in Los Angeles where the demonstrations turned violent on Monday night and many were arrested
Damage: Rioters in Oakland wrecked storefronts after a protest turned chaotic
In his name: Martin's family have put out a statement urging protestors to remain non-violent (person pictured spray painting the victim's name in Oakland)
'Weed for Trayvon... it don't make him go crazy it just make him go hungry,' she said.
She vehemently denied Zimmerman's claims that Martin was peeking in the windows of houses on his walk home- which led the neighborhood watchman to believe he was going to rob a home in the area.
'Trayvon is not a thug, they need to know a definition of a thug to judge,' she said.
She told CBS Miami that told Martin to run on the night he died: 'I kept telling him to run, run, run. run.
Miss Jeantel said she had thought the sentence would be harsher.
'Because they had asked for manslaughter information, right? Clarification on it. So I was like ‘yeah, ok we gonna do it! We are getting justice! Oh, thank you Jesus’, and all that, she told the news channe. But she said she was let down by the verdict when it came in. “You want me to be honest? I was sleeping. Lying down because I knew what it was, I had a feeling. I was lying in my room. My auntie just came in my room and busted out crying and said ‘we didn’t get no justice. It’s like the old days, we just lost another child, we just lost Trayvon again’.' All over: The protests took place across the country, with a large crowd gathering in Minneapolis Monday
Ones in the fight: Jeantel felt Zimmerman (left) was looking for a fight when he followed Martin (right)
Courtroom confrontation: Jeantal, seen here on her second day of testimony, said that she did not 'cuss out' defense attorney Don West because she's 'a Christian'
In the third part of Pier Morgan asked his guest if there was anything she wished she’d said on the stand.
Miss Jeante answered with one word: 'Ni***.'
She told Morgan that 'the whole world say it’s a racist word' but the version of the word that she testified Martin had used in reference to Zimmerman which has an 'a' instead of an 'er' does not have a racist meaning.
When Morgan asked if it meant a 'black male,' Miss Jeantel said it meant any type of make including a 'Chinese' man.
'But n*****,' Jeantel said, stressing the 'er' part is a 'racist word.'
She told Morgan 'I’d advise you not to be by black people... because they’re not going to have it like that.'
The first juror to speak out following the acquittal of Zimmerman revealed that half of the jury wanted to convict him for killing Martin.
Three of the six female jurors believed he was innocent from the beginning of their deliberations, while one wanted to convict the neighborhood watchman of second degree murder and the other two wanted to find him guilty of manslaughter.
In the end they all found him innocent, but that did not make them feel any better, as all six of the women reportedly broke down in tears after submitting their final votes to the foreman on Saturday.
‘It's just hard thinking that somebody lost their life and there's nothing else that can be done about it,' the juror told Anderson Cooper.
'It's a tragedy this happened, but it happened. I think both were responsible for the situation they had gotten themselves into. I think both of them could have walked away it just didn't happen.'
National issue: Demonstrators protested in Atlanta on Monday, two nights after the verdict was handed down Cause: Protestors in Birmingham, Alabama called for further action to be taken, which will likely come from the Justice Department as they continue an investigation into the possibility of a civil suit against Zimmerman for a potential hate crime Immediate: Jeantel said she had no idea how big the case would get (like the thousands of people who filled Manhattan's Times Square on Sunday night)
Making a statement: Activist Quanell X (right) leads a protest in Houston and they brought an empty casket along
Making a statement: Activist Quanell X (right) leads a protest in Houston and they brought an empty casket alongThe Seattle Seahawks' search for a starting left tackle continues to ramp up ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday, per sources involved in the situation.
To make a move for a blindside blocker, Seattle would be willing to part ways with tight end Jimmy Graham for salary-cap purposes, per Rapoport. The team has had trade talks centered around the tight |
they have only just launched but are already well on their way to their $160,000 goal.
Second, Adam Heine and Colin McComb were featured for a Torment-themed interview in the latest issue of CypherCaster Magazine. If you are interested in this Cypher System-oriented mag, you can find that issue here.
Thank you for joining us. We'll be back soon with more as we continue to put the finishing touches on the Torment Beta Test!
Until next time,
Chris Keenan
The CloserBitcoin prices have reached a new milestone, as the price has now officially traded above $1,000 for an entire month.
The digital currency’s price has remained above this level in spite of notable headwinds, specifically the rejection of the bitcoin ETF proposed by investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and the ongoing debate over how best to address the digital currency’s perceived technical limitations.
Bitcoin prices first crossed the $1,000 mark roughly halfway through 14th February, and reached one month above this level at approximately mid-day today, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).
During this month-long period, bitcoin primarily followed a steady, upward trend, making numerous attempts at breaking $1,300, BPI data shows.
Shortly after the SEC announced its decision, the currency plunged, falling nearly 30% from roughly $1,290 to $1,022.68, its low on the BPI, though single exchanges may have seen sharper declines.
At the time of report, bitcoin is trading at $1,249.64, roughly 25% above the $1,000 mark, BPI figures show.
Mountain peaks image via ShutterstockRunning Apache Spark on the Jupyter Notebook
The Jupyter Notebook, formerly called IPython, is a web-based IDE for Spark development. Jupyter lets users write Scala, Python, or R code against Apache Spark, execute it in place, and document it using markdown syntax.
It is natural and logical to write code in an interactive web page. The user can write some lines of code, execute it, fix errors, and add some more code (and fix that). All of this is easier than using the cursor keys to iterate through the command history or use a text editor that does not have an interpreter and Spark connection. On top of all this, the Jupyter Notebook user does not need to perform any configuration or be concerned about the details of the Spark implementation.
Running and Installing
Running Jupyter is as easy as installing Docker and then running this one command to download the image from Docker and start it:
docker run -d -p 8888:8888 jupyter/all-spark-notebook 1 docker run - d - p 8888 : 8888 jupyter / all - spark - notebook
Then open Jupyter by navigating to localhost:8888 in your browser.
As you can see, when you click New it gives you the opportunity to write Scala, Python 2 or 3, or R code. There exist interpreters for other languages as well.
At this point, a dialogue box opens up into which you can type. Each of these boxes is called a cell. A cell can contain code to be executed or markdown to be rendered.
Construct an RDD
Just as when you use the Spark shells, when you write code in Jupyter, there is no need to set the SQLContext /SparkContext or import those statements, since that is already brought into scope automatically.
Now we can construct an RDD. You simply write this code into a cell and then click Cell/Run Cells.
val data = Array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5) val distData = sc.parallelize(data) 1 2 3 val data = Array ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ) val distData = sc. parallelize ( data )
Working with the Notebook
You can change the title of the notebook by typing over the word “Untitled” at the top of the screen. There is no Save button. Jupyter saves all your changes in a.ipynb file as you work.
Add blank cells by clicking Insert.
As you work on your program, the screen will be filled with errors and run output. Click Cells/All Output/Clear to clear all output.
Markdown
Markdown is the syntax used to write README.md pages at Github. Use it to make headers, bulleted and numbered lists, and create code blocks. You can use this cheat sheet for markdown.
To change the cell from code to markdown click Cell/Cell Type/Markdown.
It might attempt to interpret as you type. To have it evaluate click Run Cells as normal
Deploying Jupyter
You should configure Nginx or Apache as a reverse proxy server in front of Jupyter if you want to run Jupyter over the public internet, since that exposes it on port 80, so there is no need to change your firewall rules. Be sure to give it a password, since Jupyter Notebooks also let you write Bash code. A hacker could do real damage to your computer if you left that open.
Jupyter is generally configured to work for one person, i.e., a local installation of Spark. But you can make it run atop a Spark Mesos cluster. Here are some instructions for that.Jagr Archive
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(The link above is one post condensing all the originals from MGTOWForums) Blue pill society has it wrong. They'll tell you that your worth as a man is determined by your success with women. That "real men" are players, are pussy magnets, etc. PUAs certainly believe that- they talk about becoming a better man, but who defines "better"? Women. MGTOWs instead believe in. AV is about developing traits that help you navigate and enjoy life; traits that make you a good friend, a good man, and help you reach your goals- whatever they may be. They arethe same as- which are traits that women find attractive. This article steps through the differences. The original version from MGTOWForums is here Just how does life as a bachelor and bachelorette differ? Given our different biological instincts, men being individualistic and consumed with passions and interests thrive in bachelorhood. Women, craving companionship, don't seek to jump in a different guy's bed every night, but that's what they end up doing; being a 'bachelorette' is rarely a choice. One of my more popular articles on MGTOWForums.Life is different after you've gone MGTOW. You're in the same world as everyone else, but you interpret it very different than your average blue-pill mangina. Don the MGTOW Superglasses and step into a new reality where the truth reveals itself.Besides your mother, women don't care unless there is something in it for them. This explains why they ignore or even have contempt for any male less than alpha, especially if they have any medical ailment. And if you're a beta and you lose a loved one, don't expect any sympathy; if you're an alpha, expect wailing and gnashing of teeth from women in support.Men age like wine, women age like milk. Our respective SMVs go in different directions at 30 and beyond. Men NEVER have lower SMVs at 30 or later; we become distinguished, our wallets fatten, we gain status. Women, on the other hand, are on the fast-track to irrelevance.
Beware the "Groupie" An increasing number of modern women play groupie to male alphas, riding the Cock Carousel, showing the utmost respect for such men and forgiving their every trespass. They ignore non-Alpha men, get f*cked and chucked, and wander off the tour bus, psychologically damaged, full of resentment against "men", none the wiser about their errant mate selection criteria, and expecting beta males to wife them up. Be able to spot the groupie.Many women ride the Cock Carousel....by accident. They listen to their 'instinct' not reason, and therefore indulge in wishful thinking. They spread their legs for a man out of their league; wishing against reason the high SMV man will stick around. Predictably, they get dumped. What happens after determines whether she'll spend her next 10 years riding the Carousel and pissing away her sexual prime. Many women rationalize the pump & dump to herself and her friends (to save face and preserve ego). She tells herself she "just wanted sex" (when in actuality she wanted to use sex to land an LTR with the alpha); this excuse becomes the Reason for her continued riding of the carousel.Women were not made to be independent, unlike men. Therefore, a "loser" in female terms is one who has not attached herself to a productive male; 'losing' in terms relevant to a parasite. Turns out female losers give themselves away with their language (and attitudes). Find out how.No p*ssy passes to women for "being women". Increasingly, I see men exonerating women for engaging in hypergamy- the instinct of a woman to upgrade her man and opt for a man with the traits that would aid her survival in pre-civilization times. Men who benefit from female hypergamy (natural alphas, PUAs) intentionally and unintentionally misrepresent hypergamy to mean: women want the best man. In truth, hypergamy is about idiotic mate selection criteria which has no relevance in the 21st century; and is often used to justify all kinds of awful female behavior including cheating, quitting on her man, and excusing her for not stifling her biological instincts even when it causes her and men so much grief (all humans CAN stifle their instincts).Sex drive is a powerful and healthy thing. When controlled. The blue pill approach is to be led around by one's sex drive, being pulled into relationshits and possibly into the institution of marriage, against all reason. The red pill approach is to channel this powerful instinct into creating energy towards productive activity. Here I write about how I use sex transmutation to accomplish a task that's important but I don't have native interest in.MGTOWs are curious about the world around them and want to understand the dynamics of human behavior, if nothing else, because we are surrounded by other people. Women have increasingly used something called Slut Game, whereas in the past they used Love Game to land a man. The rapidly increasing number of 'never marrieds' women in the recent Census reports suggests just how poorly Slut Game has worked for women.Referencing other works to summarize a point that many have understood on their own- that women aim for men out of their league in their 20s, get f*cked and chucked, and then stumble into their 30s with a fractured psyche and possibly infected with STDS looking a for a beta male fall-back who, increasingly, never shows up.Did you know that I'm a love doctor? It's true. I dispense advice on love and relationships to women on Answerology. They hate my responses, but what can I do? I can't help but speak the truth. I summarize a few exchanges I've had on Answerology.Some MGTOWs think the only problem is women. But what is causing the rapid descent of female decency? The culture. Female biology may be the same but women are highly responsive to cultural cues. These cues strongly influence their behavior. We can't merely point out the symptoms- female entitlement and ridiculous behavior- without being aware of the root cause. Mentioning culture is calling out the elephant in the room.If you've talked to a post-Carousel woman, it is kind of gross. They've spread their legs for often triple-digits of men; they've lost track of what they let dozens of men do to them, or what they ingested along the way. Many have STDs, they are "wide" down below, and they have more baggage than a jetliner. But there's a bigger problem. They want YOU. To marry them. Now that they're done rolling in the mud and copulating. And they're pretty insistent about it. Sounding the alarm....for your benefit.The alpha male is not treated like other males, by women. Women might make progress in the professional world and in their personal lives if they were able to win over the 80% of men. Instead, they accept hollow promises from alpha males in the work world and hollow promises from alpha males at the bar -- in both cases, they get f*cked and are none the wiser. I explore Alpha Tokenism- how alpha males can offer the barest of concessions and women spin that yarn into something much larger, content, and do the needful thereafter in terms of'rewarding' the Alpha for doing basically nothing. Women once again sabotage themselves with their inferior form of decision-making.Our initial instinct may be to think positively about a man who announces that he has a new GF or that he's getting married......until we remember what that actually means.Women choose to vine-swing, or jump from man to man, for frivolous infractions or because they found a man who gives them more 'gina tingles. This is the official Modus Operandi of the modern woman. Women quit on men for not "holding frame" in situations, drop him, and keep swinging. For women (and perhaps for society), this means finally swinging the vine straight into another tree for a self-induced knockout.Imagine you never took responsibility for anything. And imagine you kept failing. Can you imagine how angry you would be? Hypoagency and relationship failure (failure that is warranted by her own choices) mean that post-Carousel women in their 30s are ANGRY....and all that displaced anger comes back at you, simply for being a man. Sound like a good move to date her?Female sexuality is ready to jump the shark. The availability of a good is related to its scarcity (or perceived scarcity). That which is flaunted mercilessly and given away is taken for granted. We need air. But we don't cherish it because it's. With female celebrities (and their lesser-known female imitators) competing with each other to be the most scandalous, heterosexual men are sitting back, yawning, and wondering when one of them will show a little class. Now that would be sexy.Here’s the first challenge for the new Council.
City officials, armed with a new study showing weaknesses in the local system, are inching toward regulatory changes that would open Houston’s cab industry to new players, such as Uber, which enables customers to schedule trips with a smartphone application, bypassing much of a traditional taxi company’s bureaucracy. Such companies can’t operate now under city codes, which are focused on making sure limos and private cars do not directly compete with cabs. “We need a pretty comprehensive restructuring of our taxicab regulations to get in line with what’s the city’s role in making sure passengers have the safest and best choice available to them,” said Chris Newport, spokesman for the Houston Administration & Regulatory Affairs Department. The city-commissioned study, by the Tennessee Transportation and Logistics Foundation’s director, Ray Mundy, suggests Houston serves certain ride-seekers well. Getting a ride to and from the city’s airports, for example, is easy. What’s unclear is the city’s ability to handle more intercity routes because many cabs rely solely on taxi stands and major trips. Further, the study found some Houstonians have a negative impression of cab rides because of poor service by drivers. Many riders also find the litany of cab colors and company names confusing. […] City staff, based on the report, recommended elimination of a $70 base fare on all private trips and a requirement that trips must be arranged 30 minutes prior to departure. To pave the way for companies like Uber while ensuring safe trips, Houston officials would also establish insurance liability requirements for dispatch companies that cover the drivers. Drivers in the company’s Uber Black service would be independent contractors, not employed by Uber, but part of a partnership with the company that connects them with interested riders. Under the city staff recommendations, the insurance would apply whether the car was carrying a customer or en route to pick one up. The insurance coverage could potentially be extended to all times the vehicle is in use, according to a city memo issued Friday.
Here’s the memo to the Mayor’s office from Tina Paez, the Director of Administration & Regulatory Affairs, with a review of the study and the recommendations for Council. A brief glimpse, from the Conclusions section:
The City of Houston has an interest in strictly regulating the taxi industry because it serves a vital public interest and ordinary market forces have proven themselves incapable of delivering reliable service at reasonable prices in the absence of regulation. This framework is supported by theory, empirical fact, and both local and State law. We recommend moving forward with a phased approach to amending the vehicle-for-hire ordinance to address new entrants and technologies in the market, as well as address the taxicab issues identified in the taxicab study. Addressing the taxicab issues will involve major changes to the existing regulatory structure; thus, we recommend the taxicab changes to the ordinance occur in the second phase of the Chapter 46 amendments, after substantial stakeholder input is solicited and incorporated. In the interest of public safety, the new entrants and emerging technologies can and should be addressed in the shorter term, in Phase I of the Chapter 46 amendments. In this phase we can expand the existing mobile dispatch provisions in our ordinance to ensure public safety standards are explicitly outlined, and we can update those provisions in the ordinance that may have become outdated due to the emerging technologies – such as the 30-minute reservation requirement for a limousine trip. With the advent of smartphone applications that can dispatch vehicles-for-hire at the press of a button, a 30-minute waiting period is no longer reasonable. Several regulatory authorities around the country have reconsidered this requirement and have replaced it with a definition for “prearranged” that instead speaks to the intent of the passenger, i.e. in order for the passenger to request a ride he/she must download the application and agree to the service agreement with the transportation provider, including providing a credit card. This shows clear intent by the passenger to prearrange a trip. Further, these trips cannot be hailed. All passenger information must be provided in advance.
Emphasis in the original. The memo goes on to identify Uber and Lyft as the main firms poised to enter the Houston market and the changes they say they need to be made. I’ve done a bit of blogging about Uber before, and I continue to believe there’s room in the market for companies like them and the existing cab industry. I think they’re coming whether we or the cab companies like it or not, and I’d rather the city took the approach of adjusting its existing regulatory structure in a way that everyone can at least live with rather than do nothing and wait for someone to file a lawsuit or for the newcomers to enter the market as rogues. As it happens, a couple of weeks ago I was having lunch in the tunnels downtown and I ran into Joshua Sanders having a meeting with representatives from Lyft, who were preparing to make their initial pitch to Council. Like I said, it’s coming.
I believe that if done well, the potential is there for the car-for-hire industry in Houston to expand and serve a larger audience with better service and a broader array of options. Frankly, if this happens it will be a boon for those who advocate for more density and a less car-centric culture in at least the inner-urban parts of Houston. It’s a lot easier to go carless or be a one-car household if you know there’s a convenient and affordable ride readily available when you need it. Having said all this, while there’s a lot of justified focus on the customer experience here, we need to keep in mind the needs of the drivers, especially those that will be serving as “independent operators” and thus will have less clout than full-time employees of a company would have. The Roosevelt Institute has some well-timed thoughts on this subject, which I would encourage Council members to read. Let’s make sure everybody’s interests are being represented and considered as we go forward with this.
Related Posts:“Masturbation: the primary sexual activity of mankind. In the nineteenth century it was a disease; in the twentieth it's a cure.” – Thomas Szasz
May is Masturbation Month. We can trace the origin of this special month back to 1995, when US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders said that masturbation is a part of human sexuality and something that should perhaps be taught in sex education courses. Her comments set off a huge controversy that ultimately led to her being fired. To mark her unjust dismissal, sex toy company Good Vibrations declared May 14 to be National Masturbation Day, which was later expanded to include the whole month.
Two decades after Elders' firing, masturbation is something that continues to be controversial. In fact, a lot of people today still think that masturbation is an unhealthy activity that causes a wide range of ill health effects. However, research suggests that rather than being unhealthy, masturbation could potentially be good for us. For a brief overview of what the science of self-love has revealed, check out the video below. For a closer look at the research linking masturbation to potential health benefits, check out this article.May 18, 2017
Something Is Very Wrong in Kyiv Ukraine Brags about Reforms and Harasses Activists By Josh Cohen
Oleksandra Ustinova does not scare easily. Ustinova—Ustik to her friends—is a member of the board of the most outspoken watchdog in Kyiv and has led lobbying campaigns which successfully pushed through anticorruption reforms in Ukraine. She’s also a recognizable face with her straight blond hair and light blue eyes. Ustinova is used to facing resistance from Ukraine’s corrupt old guard, but she’s still shocked by what she’s seen in recent months: a targeted campaign of intimidation by the powerful Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) against her and other activists.The SBU has used a number of techniques to intimidate her. Her flight details when she returned from a vacation in Sri Lanka appeared in the media. Only the SBU could know this information; the new aviation security law allows SBU access to passenger information for domestic and international flights in and out of Ukraine. When she returned to Kyiv on May 7, a bevy of “journalists” accused her of leaving the country while soldiers were fighting in the Donbas. Ustinova lost a close friend in the war last year, but when she broke down at the airport, the “journalists” accused her of “learning to cry on camera.”Her airport ordeal is just the tip of the iceberg. Ustinova says that her e-mails are read. The day after meeting with members of the Parliamentary Committee on Healthcare, the committee chair called Ustinova and described private emails she had exchanged with colleagues about a hard-hitting article on drug procurement corruption she was working on. Most unnervingly, on May 11 video cameras captured the same airport “journalists” at her apartment while she was away.Ustinova’s thinks the harassment is tied to two recent events. The Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC)—she’s on the board there— filed a case demanding SBU staff file their financial disclosures as mandated by Ukraine’s e-declaration law and an article Ustinova wrote on SBU’s involvement in corrupt drug tenders.Ustinova is not the only AntAC executive targeted by the SBU. On April 9, AnTAC chairman Vitaly Shabunin was the victim of a fake “protest” which—thanks to the creative use of drone technology—activists were able to determine was directed by SBU officer Roman Matkovskiy.The SBU is not shy about initiating criminal cases based on bogus charges against activists who cross them. On February 1, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) opened a criminal investigation against two health reform NGOs, Patients of Ukraine and Coordination Council of All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV; the directors of both NGOs were then called to the police for questioning. According to Patients of Ukraine director Olga Stefanyshyna, the case is based on the false claim that foreign grants were misused—the same charge the PGO used to target AntAC last year in a case that has since been dismissed.It’s easy to see why the SBU targets health-sector activists. Ever since pharmaceutical procurement was successfully transferred from the Ministry of Health to international organizations, Ukraine’s corrupt "pharma mafia"—which includes many SBU officials—lost millions in ill-gotten gains. By registering a criminal case, the PGO gained the ability to access all documents from Patients of Ukraine and the Coordination Council as well as to wiretap their staffs’ phones and access their e-mails.The case could now go one of two ways: it could be dismissed or it could get worse, and the PGO could name Stefanyshyna and Coordination Council head Dmytro Sherembey as official suspects. Like the harassment cases, the West needs speak out forcefully.Also this spring, the SBU raided the homes of senior managers from YouControl, an online service company providing financial reports on Ukrainian businesses and their owners. Several days later, the SBU came to YouControl’s offices and left with hundreds of documents and pieces of computer hardware as well as cash. A criminal investigation has also begun.The SBU’s attack on YouControl represents another attack on the e-declaration system, which requires public officials to disclose their assets online. According to Oleksandra Drik, the coordinator of the Declarations Under Control NGO coalition, YouControl makes its data available to anticorruption NGOs and investigative journalists. This allows Drik and her colleagues to verify the e-declarations of hundreds of senior officials—something that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is charged with but has not done.Although the SBU actually harassed the anticorruption activists, reformers uniformly agree that President Petro Poroshenko’s presidential administration directed the SBU to escalate its war on anticorruption reformers. “Poroshenko’s team seeks to crack down on dissent by silencing anticorruption activists in advance of the 2019 presidential election. They want to discredit activists and new anticorruption institutions like NABU,” said Sergii Leshchenko, an MP with the Poroshenko Bloc and the Democratic Alliance Party, in a May 15 interview.Misusing the SBU is not a new tactic, says Ukrainian journalist Maxim Eristavi. And it's "a temptation too big to resist for the majority of local political elites,” Eristavi said in a recent interview. The SBU has an authoritarian legacy dating back to its time as the KGB and possesses a long institutional history of illegal wiretapping, he said. “[T]he biggest constitutional flaw in Ukraine [is] that it puts law enforcement, the SBU, and the army all under direct control of one man, the president,” he said.While the situation in Kyiv is alarming, all is not lost. Ukraine’s vibrant civil society and media will not permit the president to accumulate the same degree of power that deposed leader Viktor Yanukovych did.It’s time for the West to stand up for activists like Ustinova, who put regularly put their necks on the line. Western ambassadors as well as the IMF mission director should bring up the SBU harassment cases regularly in private and public, and make clear that future financial assistance depends on respecting the rights of civil society to do its job.Josh Cohen is a former USAID project officer who managed economic reform projects throughout the former Soviet Union. He is a contributor to Reuters, Foreign Policy, the Washington Post, and others.TAMPA — Jimmy Dunson knew he was taking a chance when he arrived at Lykes Gaslight Square Park on Tuesday morning to feed the homeless.
Just 10 days earlier, the same act in the same park landed Dunson and six others in handcuffs. But this time Tampa police didn't stop Dunson and his group, the Tampa chapter of Food Not Bombs.
Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren released a letter Tuesday dismissing the city's trespassing charges against the group members arrested Jan. 7 in the city-owned park. The group was told it was violating a city ordinance that requires a permit and insurance to distribute food.
The news elicited a sigh of relief from Dunson, but it's just one victory in a bigger battle, he said.
"The next step for us is to get this ordinance changed so this never happens again in Tampa to us or any church group or anyone else that is sharing with people experiencing homelessness," said Dunson, a 32-year-old reiki practitioner who joined Food Not Bombs in 2003.
One volunteer's initial court appearance was scheduled for today. Warren said Tuesday that he would file paperwork to drop the charge and would do the same for the other six defendants.
"My mission is to make our community safer while promoting justice and fairness for everyone," Warren said in a statement. "Prosecuting people for charitable work does not further that mission and is an inefficient use of government resources."
Warren included a catch, though, adding: "We will not prosecute the trespassing charges so long as the Tampa Food Not Bombs organization willingly participates in reaching a resolution to this matter and remains nonviolent."
Warren said his office has consulted with the Tampa Police Department, members of Tampa City Council, Mayor Bob Buckhorn's office and an attorney for Food Not Bombs "to facilitate a resolution."
The City Council voted last week to explore amending the ordinance that requires groups like Tampa Food Not Bombs to pull city permits and have liability insurance, noting that the St. Petersburg chapter of the group is allowed to hold events in downtown parks once a week without a permit.
Still, Buckhorn told the Tampa Bay Times earlier this month that Gaslight park isn't the appropriate place for the group to hold its food-sharing events, which he said attract as many as 80 people and have become "increasingly larger and more intrusive." City spokeswoman Ashley Bauman said in an email Tuesday that the city will work with the group to find a different venue.
"There are locations in closer proximity to those in need with appropriate facilities. Our public places in our urban core are meant to serve as front yards to our increasing number of families, residents and visitors who enjoy them," Bauman said. "A better solution would be for these groups to collaborate with the numerous nonprofits that already comply with the law and serve food in sanitary environments that abide by health code."
Food Not Bombs members said they believe the enforcement effort was an attempt to clean up the park ahead of the Jan. 9 College Football Playoff championship game, a notion Buckhorn has denied. Thousands of visitors descended on downtown for free concerts and other related events during the weekend before the game. The last time Tampa police arrested volunteers feeding the homeless on city property was in August 2012, they said, just before the Republican National Convention.
Still, Dunson said he is optimistic that Food Not Bombs can reach an agreement with the city. The first discussion will come during a City Council workshop Feb. 23.
"I believe civil society spoke very loudly to the city of Tampa and the city heard that message," Dunson said.
Contact Tony Marrero at [email protected] or (813) 226-3374. Follow @tmarrerotimes. Contact Anastasia Dawson at [email protected] or (813) 226-3377. Follow @adawsonwrites.I had planned to post a cute little piece about live nativity scenes today, but instead I felt an uncharacteristic need to comment on current events.
My geographically-challenged mother called from Ft. Lauderdale last Friday afternoon to make sure everyone here was okay. She knew that there had been shootings somewhere in Connecticut, and that we lived somewhere in Connecticut. She also knew that the shootings had taken place in a school and that her granddaughter Casey taught in a school. Therefore, we were in grave danger.
I told her that the tragedy had occurred about 45 minutes away, and that Casey didn’t teach elementary school and that she taught in New York, not Connecticut, and that we were fine.
But that last part may not have been entirely accurate.
I, for one, am not fine. Because I’m pissed. Not so much at Adam Lanza, who was clearly insane, or even his mother, who apparently collected guns as if they were Hummel figurines.
It’s America I’m pissed at. No, that’s not exactly right, either. I’m pissed at Americans.
I’m mad as hell at the loss of an attribute that was once at the very foundation of this country: common sense.
I mean that quite literally, as it was Thomas Paine’s treatise, Common Sense, pu blished in 1776, that is often credited with helping to stir the uprising that became the revolution. It is regarded as a tirade against British rule, but it is actually a tirade against stupidity:
“And however our eyes may be dazzled with show, or our ears deceived by sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken our understanding, the simple voice of nature and reason will say, ’tis right.”
Let me translate that text into modern English:
“n hwevr r Iyz may B dazzled W sho, or r ears duped by sound; hwevr bias may warp r wills, or intrst darkn r undrstndN, d simpl voiC of nature n reasN wl sA ‘tis ryt”
No, wait–that’s modern text. In modern English, it would be: “Ignore the lobbyists, and the 24-hour news channels, and the pundits, and the screamers, and your own political career and just do what is so obviously right.”
Now let’s talk about gun control. The common argument against it is that the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment. But common sense tells us that times were different then. We had just won a war in which people just sort of showed up with their own weapons to fight on one side or the other. There were no police. There was always the chance (or so they thought) of an Indian incursion, or that the British might return, or that the supermarket might be out of fresh bear meat and you’d have to go out and kill one yourself and cure the meat so that it would last through the winter.
Common sense tells us that all of that is no longer the case.
Common sense also tell us that the “arms” you had the right to bear were quite a bit different back then. You might have had a musket. You’d fire it, and then it would take about a half hour to reload so you could fire it again. This would put a severe dent in a shooting spree. There were handguns, too: flintlock pistols that were as likely to blow your hand off as they were to fire, and even when they did fire, they were accurate to about a foot.
So common se nse tells us if you want to take the Second Amendment literally, we should really take it literally. You may, if you wish, own a flintlock pistol or a musket or any other 18th Century weapon. Hell, buy a cannon if you want one, on the assumption that someone might notice you rolling it through town to whatever office or school or movie theater you were planning to fire at and say, “Hey, buddy, where you going with that cannon?”
Seriously, though, e ven if you want to grant that the spirit of the Second Amendment is to allow a gun for self-defense or hunting or target practice, common sense says that no one in this day and age needs an entire arsenal at their disposal, and that assault rifles have little practical use beyond killing lots of people.
So, come on, folks. Let’s start arguing about stricter gun control legislation now so that, in perhaps two years, Congress can maybe pass a half-hearted measure that may do something to limit the carnage.
And while you’re at it, remember this advice from Thomas Paine:
“… the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered”
In other words, “Keep it simple, stupid.”
See you soon.by
In Ankara and Riyadh a decent night’s sleep must be hard to come by nowadays, what with the prospects of the Sunni state they’d envisaged being established across a huge swathe of Syria slipping away in the face of an offensive by Syrian government forces that is sweeping all before it north of Aleppo, threatening to completely sever supply lines from Turkey to opposition forces in and around the city, and all but ensuring that its liberation is now a question of when not if.
The success being enjoyed by government forces and its allies on the ground is a testament to their remarkable morale and tenacity despite the battering they have endured over five years of unremitting conflict. Key to this reinvigoration and success in routing opposition forces – forces which only a few months ago were in the ascendancy – has of course Russian air, communications, and logistical support. Moscow’s decision to intervene at the end of September last year may have been pregnant with risk, but so far it has been validated, and perhaps even beyond initial expectations.
Moscow not Washington is calling the shots in the region now, announcing the birth of a multipolar world and marking an astonishing recovery given the parlous state of Russia throughout the 1990s as it struggled to recover from the demise of the Soviet Union. No sooner was the hammer and sickle flag removed from atop the Kremlin than a procession of crazed free marketeers descended from the United States, and elsewhere in the West, to impose neoliberal nostrums in return for an IMF loan that was necessary in order to avert complete economic collapse. The record shows that rather than this collapse being averted it was accelerated by the structural adjustment reforms implemented by Yeltsin and other Russian converts to the new religion.
In Washington at the time ‘end of history’ triumphalism reigned as oh how they laughed. Well, they’re not laughing now.
Regardless, at this stage in the Syrian conflict neither the Russians nor anybody else with a vested interest in the country’s survival as a non-sectarian state will be prepared to predict victory. Not with the noises coming out of Ankara and Riyadh over the possibility of both countries sending in ground troops.
Though they claim that any such troop deployment would be carried out with the objective of confronting ISIS, only those of a gullible disposition who could possibly believe it. In truth any such intervention would carry with it the primary goal of regime change in Damascus, staving off the complete collapse of opposition forces in and around Aleppo, with Turkey harbouring the additional objective of crushing the Kurdish YPG forces that have been enjoying inordinate success against both ISIS in the north east and rebel forces further west as part of the general tightening of the noose around the city.
Saudi aircraft deploying to Incirlik airbase in Turkey, from where the US has been flying sorties over Syria in recent months, is a significant development, one that indicates the extent of panic in Riyadh at the way the conflict has turned against them since this latest offensive by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies began.
The days when an American president |
or aggressive. It's something like the difference between "Give us another beer" and "I'd like another beer, please."
Many Swiss don't like speaking High German – it isn't their normal spoken language. But Swiss German, which has a number of regional variations, has never been a written language. This means that outsiders tend to look down on it, as "merely" a dialect.
It is different enough to be incomprehensible, at least initially, to Germans, who tend to feel excluded when the Swiss insist on using it with them.
The problems Germans often feel arise on the one hand because many Swiss expect the Germans to try to adapt linguistically. But at the same time, they resent German encroachment. "Germans shouldn't speak Swiss German, because the language is a way for the Swiss to keep their distance from the 'big brother'," says Koller.
Nothing new under the sun
There is nothing new about this uneasy relationship. Back in 1855 Friederich Theodor Vischer, a professor working in Zurich, wrote: "As a German you always have the feeling that the ground could give way at any time when you are mixing with the Swiss, that they could come up with some anti-German remark."
And the eminent Swiss writer, Gottfried Keller commented in 1856: "How terrible, the number of learned people there are walking around Zurich these days. One almost hears more High German, French and Italian being spoken that our good old Swiss German."
swissinfo, based on an article in German by Andreas Keiser
Germans in Switzerland At the end of 2007, 20.7% of Switzerland's resident population of about 7.5 million people were foreign passport holders.
At more than 200,000, Germans account for 12.9% of all foreigners. They are the second largest group after the Italians.
In 2007 some 40,000 German nationals moved to Switzerland, while about 10,000 left.
In 2007 1361 Germans obtained Swiss citizenship, while in 2006 the figure was 1134.
Since August 2007 a change in German law has allowed dual citizenship. As a result, there has been a rise in the number of Germans applying for Swiss nationality. end of infobox
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SWI swissinfo.ch on Instagram SWI swissinfo.ch on InstagramMyth No. 1: Czechia is an unknown and possibly grammatically incorrect short name for the Czech Republic. Czechia is rarely used in English because native English speakers do not like to use it.
Fact: The short (geographic) name Czechia [tʃɛkiə] was standardized as the English translation of Česko (the short name of the Czech Republic in Czech) by the Terminological Committee of the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadaster in 1993. Since 2016, after being approved by the Czech government, Czechia has been listed in the United Nations´ databases of official country names “UNTERM” and “UNGEGN” as the internationally recognized short name of the Czech Republic in English. Since 2016, it has been included in the International Organization for Standardization database of country names and its use has been recommended by U.S. and British government institutions. Since 2017, Czechia has been used, for example, by Google, the Oxford Atlas of the World, Times Atlas of the World, Apple iOS 11, CIA World Factbook and TomTom navigation. EU institutions, such as EUROSTAT, have started to use Czechia in 2018. Although the use of Czechia continues to grow, it has not, up until recently, been well known around the world because the Czech state and its institutions have not used it systematically. Some people confuse the fact that they are not used to Czechia with not liking it.Soil Chemical Properties
Some selected properties of the four soils are presented in Table 1. The chemical and physical properties of the four soils are described in detail elsewhere (Andersson et al., 2013).
View Full Table | Close Full View Table 1. Some general soil properties (from Andersson et al., 2013). Site Depth pH† Clay‡ Olsen P§ P-AL Fe-ox Al-ox PSI Olsen P/PSI cm % mg kg−1 mmol kg−1 % Mellby 0–10 5.8 ± 0.5¶ 7 91.0 ± 4.0 294 ± 10.2 1979 ± 186 1178 ± 67 3.9 ± 0.4 76 ± 6.7 10–40 6.1 ± 0.2 6 77.8 ± 9.3 229 ± 47.0 1996 ± 198 1298 ± 168 4.6 ± 0.2 55 ± 7.3 40–60 6.0 ± 0.1 1 8.0 ± 1.7 15 ± 3.0 1805 ± 513 699 ± 131 3.6 ± 0.4 7.3 ± 2.0 60–80 5.8 ± 0.1 1 5.7 ± 2.4 11 ± 4.8 3960 ± 1994 797 ± 211 4.3 ± 0.5 4.2 ± 1.4 80–100 5.2 ± 0.4 2 10.3 ± 2.8 16 ± 4.9 1727 ± 620 432 ± 134 3.3 ± 0.5 10 ± 3.9 Nåntuna 0–10 7.0 ± 0.2 11 29.6 ± 2.9 164 ± 24.2 1710 ± 203 802 ± 92 2.3 ± 0.7 44 ± 16 10–30 7.5 ± 0.2 9 23.4 ± 2.8 126 ± 11.7 1579 ± 102 768 ± 42 2.3 ± 0.5 35 ± 11 30–50 7.6 ± 0.2 2 15.4 ± 2.1 52 ± 3.8 841 ± 179 491 ± 90 1.2 ± 0.4 48 ± 24 50–70 7.6 ± 0.2 2 16.2 ± 3.0 55 ± 7.2 1049 ± 128 465 ± 92 1.0 ± 0.3 55 ± 16 70–100 7.6 ± 0.1 6 24.6 ± 9.5 76 ± 12.3 2005 ± 426 619 ± 86 1.9 ± 0.2 44 ± 19 Lanna 0–10 6.1 ± 0.2 43 9.5 ± 3.7 33 ± 6.0 3896 ± 475 1798 ± 130 5.5 ± 0.3 5.7 ± 2.5 10–30 6.4 ± 0.1 45 7.7 ± 1.5 31 ± 6.1 3928 ± 361 1848 ± 119 2.7 ± 0.3 4.4 ± 0.9 30–50 6.8 ± 0.1 56 4.0 ± 0.0# 51 ± 24.5 3729 ± 639 2041 ± 259 7.7 ± 0.4 1.7 ± 0.1 50–70 7.0 ± 0.1 58 4.0 ± 0.0# 158 ± 5.4 3076 ± 378 1732 ± 199 6.9 ± 0.3 1.9 ± 0.1 70–100 7.2 ± 0.1 61 4.0 ± 0.0# 207 ± 15.5 2245 ± 654 1694 ± 223 6.0 ± 0.3 2.2 ± 0.1 Bornsjön 0–10 6.0 ± 0.1 60 18.2 ± 1.3 44 ± 5.8 9205 ± 1283 3140 ± 476 7.3 ± 0.4 8.1 ± 0.7 10–30 6.2 ± 0.1 60 16.4 ± 2.6 32 ± 7.5 9430 ± 611 2869 ± 289 7.8 ± 0.3 6.8 ± 0.9 30–50 6.6 ± 0.1 59 4.0 ± 0.0 9 ± 2.7 8805 ± 2770 1919 ± 313 7.3 ± 1.0 1.8 ± 0.2 50–70 6.5 ± 0.1 61 5.4 ± 2.1 12 ± 1.1 10,098 ± 6485 2069 ± 380 7.2 ± 1.4 2.4 ± 0.5 70–100 5.2 ± 0.1 54 21.0 ± 5.3 31 ± 9.5 6562 ± 831 2387 ± 219 10.5 ± 0.6 6.4 ± 1.4 †Measured in water. ‡Particle size fraction: <0.002 mm. §Olsen P, sodium bicarbonate-extractable P; P-AL, ammonium lactate–extractable P; PSI, phosphorus sorption index. ¶Values are mean ± SD (clay: n = 1; other chemical properties: n = 5). #Results were under the detection limit (<4.0 mg kg−1).
There was no calcium carbonate present in any of the soil profiles. Extractable P measured as Olsen P and P-AL was relatively high in the topsoil of the Mellby sand and lower in the subsoil but was high in the entire profile of the Nåntuna sand. In the Lanna clay, the P-AL value increased with depth, whereas the Olsen P value decreased. Ammonium lactate can dissolve Ca-bound P that may be present in soils with high pH. The contradictory results obtained may therefore indicate the presence of Ca-phosphates in the soil because no calcium carbonate was detected in the analyses. In a previous study of a similar clay soil near Lanna, P was found to be bound to Ca complexes with increasing P concentrations with increasing soil depth (Ulén and Snäll, 2007). Phosphorus in these forms is much less soluble under neutral and alkaline conditions, and acid extraction with P-AL may therefore have overestimated plant-available P in the Lanna clay. However, the deviating extraction results in the Lanna clay were not further studied. The Bornsjön clay topsoil had a higher content of Olsen P than the Lanna clay topsoil. Both clay soils had low concentrations of Olsen P in the subsoil except for the 70- to 100-cm layer in the Bornsjön clay, where Olsen P was high. This probably originated from old marine deposits of gyttja (cohesive old organic material settled in lake or marine sediments) and was thus native P. It may also explain the relatively low pH (pH 5.2) in the 70- to 100-cm layer at Bornsjön.
The P sorption capacity, measured as PSI, was high in the entire soil profile of the Mellby sand due to high Fe content. The high P content in the Mellby sand topsoil resulted in high DPS (65%). However, due to low P content and high P sorption capacity, DPS was very low (7%) in the subsoil of the Mellby sand. In the Nåntuna sand, DPS was high in the entire profile (45%) due to low P sorption capacity and high P content in topsoil and subsoil.
Both clay soils had high P sorption capacity (PSI) and low DPS in topsoil and subsoil, although PSI was slightly higher in the Bornsjön clay than the Lanna clay, especially in the 70- to 100-cm layer, most likely due to higher Fe content.
Weather Conditions and Drainage
During the 3-yr study period, total precipitation was 1718 mm, and mean air temperature was 6.4°C (Table 2). Long-term (100-yr) mean annual precipitation and mean air temperature at the study site are 530 mm and 5.5°C, respectively. Mean temperature was lower (slightly below freezing) in January–April in 2011 and 2013 compared with the same period in 2012 (slightly above freezing). Precipitation during this period was lower in 2012 than in the other years and mainly occurred as rain, whereas the lower temperature in 2011 and 2013 resulted in more snow. The snow cover was therefore thicker and the depth of frozen soil shallower in 2011 and 2013 than in 2012. Hence, drainage amounts at snowmelt increased rapidly in all lysimeters in March 2011 and April 2013 and reached between 80 and 110 mm for 2.5 wk, compared with 40 to 60 mm during 2.5 wk in March 2012 (Fig. 2). Drainage at snowmelt appeared at roughly the same time in lysimeters of each soil, whether with or without topsoil.
View Full Table | Close Full View Table 2. Air temperature, precipitation, and drainage from the lysimeters. Year Month Air temp. Precipitation Drainage Mellby sand Nåntuna sand Lanna clay Bornsjön clay Topsoil+subsoil Subsoil Topsoil+subsoil Subsoil Topsoil+subsoil Subsoil Topsoil+subsoil Subsoil† °C mm 2010 Sept.–Dec. 1.8 197 98 ± 2‡ 117 ± 5 118 ± 1 113 ± 19 101 ± 14 115 ± 2 105 ± 18 108 ± 1 2011 Jan.–Apr. −0.1 79 118 ± 10 128 ± 36 104 ± 43 121 ± 28 124 ± 74 126 ± 20 135 ± 23 85 ± 17 2011 May–Aug. 15.8 217 13 ± 5 101 ± 21 79 ± 2 110 ± 11 67 ± 14 85 ± 2 66 ± 11 80 ± 6 2011 Sept.Dec. 6.9 233 166 ± 9 215 ± 4 191 ± 12 216 ± 6 178 ± 9 211 ± 3 193 ± 15 223 ± 18 2012 Jan.–Apr. 0.4 162 89 ± 6 115 ± 3 143 ± 11 139 ± 9 119 ± 29 133 ± 5 128 ± 26 113 ± 20 2012 May–Aug. 14.3 343 91 ± 9 209 ± 13 167 ± 11 199 ± 14 107 ± 26 184 ± 4 141 ± 23 106 ± 93 2012 Sept.–Dec. 4.1 259 181 ± 1 173 ± 6 188 ± 15 179 ± 28 173 ± 1 200 ± 5 164 ± 34 157 ± 24 2013 Jan.–Apr. −1.6 106 119 ± 7 96 ± 9 128 ± 10 110 ± 9 112 ± 38 95 ± 8 141 ± 17 142 ± 25 2013 May–Aug. 16.0 123 2 ± 0 15 ± 11 5 ± 2 28 ± 6 3 ± 1 3 ± 1 4 ± 1 11 ± 11 Total 1718 876 ± 29 1168 ± 90 1121 ± 31 1214 ± 86 985 ± 190 1152 ± 39 1077 ± 119 1027 ± 44 †n = 2. ‡Values are mean ± SD (n = 3).
Fig. 2.
Load of total phosphorus (TP) and drainage amounts from (left) full-length lysimeters and (right) subsoil lysimeters from Mellby sand, Nåntuna sand, Lanna clay, and Bornsjön clay, 1 Sept. 2010 to 31 Aug. 2013. (Note different scale on y axis for Nåntuna sand.)
Water holding capacity differed considerably between the soils used in this study. However, total drainage amounts were not significantly influenced by soil type (P > 0.05) due to variation in drainage volumes from lysimeters of the same soil. Total drainage amounts were higher from subsoil lysimeters than from full-length lysimeters for all soils except the Bornsjön clay, where the opposite occurred (Table 2). However, the difference was only statistically significant for the Mellby sand (P < 0.01) and not for the other three soils (P > 0.05). The approximately 0.3 m shorter subsoil lysimeters, with lower organic matter content and thus less water holding capacity (Andersson et al., 2013), resulted in more drainage than the full-length lysimeters. Bergström et al. (1994) reported water contents at 100 cm tension of 0.231 m3 m−3 in topsoil and 0.132 m3 m−3 in subsoil for the Mellby sand and 0.165 m3 m−3 in topsoil and 0.065 m3 m−3 in subsoil for the Nåntuna sand (no measurements at 100 cm tension were made on the clay soils included in this study). Therefore, although the soil columns were similarly water saturated at the start of the experiment, more water was needed to fill up the pore volume to field capacity in the full-length columns after dry periods. During the study period it was noticed that the Bornsjön clay subsoil lysimeters were often ponded after heavy rainfall. This may have caused more evaporation from the surface, which could have been a contributing factor to the slightly lower drainage volumes from Bornsjön subsoil lysimeters than from the full-length lysimeters. For full-length soil columns, the clay soils showed larger variation in drainage amounts than the sandy soils, whereas the opposite was observed for the subsoil lysimeters (Table 2). For the clay soils, this variation can be explained by the more heterogeneous soil structure resulting in variable quantities of macropore flow, which did not occur in the sandy soils. A previous dye-tracer lysimeter experiment reported extended macropore flow in the Lanna clay (Bergström and Shirmohammadi, 1999). In addition, a recent field plot study on pesticides suggested that macropore flow could be a common flow pattern also in the Bornsjön clay (Ulén et al., 2014). The larger variation among the sandy subsoils is more difficult to explain other than by spatial variability in properties affecting flow rates and water holding capacity.
Seasonal Variation in P Leaching
Particulate-P leaching from the soils was somewhat higher in 2012 than in the other years (Fig. 3) due to higher precipitation (Table 2) and hence higher drainage amounts (Fig. 2). Leaching of PP increased greatly in the Mellby and Nåntuna sand subsoil lysimeters at snowmelt in March 2012 and April 2013 (Fig. 3). From November 2011 to March 2012 and from September 2012 to January 2013, PP leaching also increased in subsoil lysimeters of the Lanna clay and in full-length lysimeters of the Bornsjön clay (Fig. 3) due to increased drainage amounts (Fig. 2). Higher concentrations during these periods of PP in leachate from subsoil lysimeters than from full-length lysimeters of the Mellby sand, Nåntuna sand, and Lanna clay may be attributable to exposure of the subsoil to precipitation and freezing/thawing processes. The organic carbon content was much higher in the topsoil (1.0–3.3%) than in the subsoil (0.1–0.4%), resulting in less stable structure in the subsoil (Andersson et al., 2013). However, the Bornsjön clay contains more organic carbon down to 1 m depth (0.7% at 70–100 cm depth) than the other soils (Andersson et al., 2013), which may have increased the stability of that soil. Nevertheless, the Bornsjön clay subsoil lysimeters were often ponded after heavy rainfall, which indicates a lack of preferential flow through macropores in the subsoil. This ponding most likely protected the soil surface from the erosive power of rain and prevented increased loss of particles from subsoil lysimeters compared with full-length profiles. Ponding conditions in the field could trigger surface runoff, which would possibly increase surface PP losses, but no ponding was observed on any of the full-length lysimeters in this study.
Fig. 3.
Concentration of (left) dissolved reactive P and (right) particulate P in leachate from full-length and subsoil lysimeters of Mellby sand, Nåntuna sand, Lanna clay, and Bornsjön clay, 1 Sept. 2010 to 31 Aug. 2013. (Note different scale on y axis for DRP in Nåntuna sand.)
In contrast to PP, concentrations of DRP in leaching water were rather constant in both the sand and clay soils and thus seemed to be less affected by fluctuations in drainage amounts (Fig. 3).
Fertilization with P in April 2011 did not increase P leaching in any of the soils, indicating that legacy P overshadowed the effect on leaching of a single P fertilizer application on these soils.
Comparison of P Leaching from Full-length and Subsoil Profiles
Mean annual leaching load of TP from full-length lysimeters followed the order: Nåntuna sand > Bornsjön clay > Lanna clay > Mellby sand; the order changed for subsoil lysimeters to Nåntuna sand > Mellby sand > Lanna clay > Bornsjön clay (Table 3).
View Full Table | Close Full View Table 3. Mean annual leaching loads and mean volume-weighted concentrations of total P, dissolved reactive P, and particulate P in leachate from full-length and subsoil lysimeters, 1 Sept. 2010 to 31 Aug. 2013. Soil Lysimeter Volume-weighted concentration† Mean annual load TP DRP PP TP DRP PP mg L−1 kg ha−1 yr−1 Mellby sand full-length 0.08 ± 0.03‡ 0.04 ± 0.02 0.02 ± 0.01 0.25 ± 0.08 0.12 ± 0.05 0.06 ± 0.01 subsoil 0.16 ± 0.11 0.02 ± 0.01 0.10 ± 0.07 0.62 ± 0.42 0.08 ± 0.05 (70%)§ 0.38 ± 0.25 Nåntuna sand full-length 1.16 ± 0.06 0.88 ± 0.08 0.06 ± 0.01 4.39 ± 0.34 3.33 ± 0.39 0.21 ± 0.04 subsoil 1.09 ± 0.65 0.81 ± 0.55 0.11 ± 0.05 4.41 ± 3.02 3.29 ± 2.52 (99%) 0.44 ± 0.19 Lanna clay full-length 0.19 ± 0.05 0.12 ± 0.06 0.05 ± 0.03 0.61 ± 0.27 0.38 ± 0.25 0.18 ± 0.08 subsoil 0.15 ± 0.03 0.07 ± 0.04 0.07 ± 0.01 0.58 ± 0.12 0.27 ± 0.14 (70%) 0.28 ± 0.03 Bornsjön clay full-length 0.20 ± 0.04 0.05 ± 0.02 0.14 ± 0.02 0.71 ± 0.20 0.19 ± 0.07 0.49 ± 0.11 subsoil 0.10 ± 0.02¶ 0.05 ± 0.01 0.05 ± 0.01 0.34 ± 0.09 0.17 ± 0.05 (94%) 0.15 ± 0.03 †DRP, dissolved reactive phosphorus; PP, particulate phosphorus; TP, total phosphorus. ‡Mean ± SD (n = 3). §Proportion of DRP from subsoil lysimeters compared with that from full-length profiles in parentheses. ¶Mean ± SD (n = 2).
Mean annual DRP leaching load was larger from full-length lysimeters than from subsoil lysimeters for all soils, whereas the opposite was true for PP leaching (both concentrations and load) in the Mellby sand, Nåntuna sand, and Lanna clay. However, differences in leaching of TP, DRP, and PP (concentrations and load) between lysimeters with and without topsoil were not significant (P > 0.05) for the Mellby, Nåntuna, and Lanna soils. The higher concentration of PP in leachate from subsoil lysimeters than from full-length lysimeters of these soils may be due to direct exposure of the subsoil to precipitation and freezing/thawing processes. Conversely, mean annual leaching load of PP from the Bornsjön clay was significantly larger from full-length lysimeters than from subsoil lysimeters (P < 0.05), indicating that most PP came from the topsoil.
Leaching of DRP (concentrations and load) was significantly lower from the Mellby sand than from the Nåntuna sand (P < 0.01) despite considerably higher Olsen P content in the Mellby sand topsoil (Table 1) and small amounts of preferential flow in both soils (Bergström and Shirmohammadi, 1999; Bergström et al., 2011). Considerably higher sorption capacity in the Mellby sand subsoil due to the presence of Fe-oxides (Table 1) efficiently functioned as a sink for P leaching. This resulted in low DRP leaching from full-length lysimeters despite the very high P content in the topsoil and also from subsoil lysimeters. In a study on intact columns of the Mellby sand topsoil (0–0.2 m depth) collected from field plots where P fertilizer had been applied at different rates over 26 yr, Liu et al. (2012b) found that TP concentration in leachate from those columns ranged from 0.30 to 0.57 mg L−1, which is much higher than in this study (0.07–0.12 mg L−1 in full-length lysimeters). One contributing factor may be that the field plot from which the columns in this study were collected had not been fertilized for 20 yr before lysimeter collection. Despite this, P-AL values in the topsoil study by Liu et al. (2012b) were similar to those in our study. Thus, the lower TP concentrations in leachate measured in this study were most likely attributable to sorption of P in the subsoil.
Although the Mellby sand was found to have very high sorption capacity in the subsoil, it is important to avoid heavy fertilization of this soil for extended periods because DPS in the subsoil may reach levels where P leaching starts to increase. For instance, De Bolle et al. (2013) reported an increase in DPS in 21 acid sandy subsoils in Belgium between 2001 and 2010 and concluded that this increase posed a great risk of P leaching. Similar results have been reported for Denmark, where TP and DPS in agricultural soils increased between 1987 and 1998 due to heavy P fertilization (Rubaek et al., 2013). The Nåntuna sand subsoil, on the other hand, had high P content and low P sorption capacity, which resulted in very high TP leaching from full-length and subsoil lysimeters. For the Mellby sand, leaching of DRP from subsoil lysimeters was 70% of that from full-length lysimeters, whereas it was 99% for the Nåntuna sand (Table 3). This clearly shows that the Nåntuna subsoil can act as a source for P leaching losses. However, one of the Nåntuna sand subsoil lysimeters had much higher TP leaching than the other two, indicating large spatial variation at the Nåntuna site. Nevertheless, when this soil column was excluded from the calculations, average TP leaching was still high from the Nåntuna sand subsoil (2.74 kg ha−1 yr−1), resulting in 57% of DRP leaching from subsoil lysimeters compared with full-length lysimeters.
Leaching of DRP (concentrations and load) was higher from the Lanna clay than from the Bornsjön clay in lysimeters with and without topsoil. This was most likely due to higher sorption capacity in the Bornsjön clay (Table 1), leading to reduced leaching losses. Although macropore flow and tile-drainage flow have been suggested to be common flow patterns in the Bornsjön clay (Ulén et al., 2014), the water ponding observed on Bornsjön clay subsoil lysimeters in this study during wet periods suggests that macropores were not fully captured in the soil columns used for the lysimeter study. Water flow rate was thereby reduced, increasing the contact time between P in percolating soil water and soil sorption sites. This indicates that the variation in spatial distribution of macropores over the field and between seasons is probably quite large at the Bornsjön site. The leaching load of DRP from subsoil lysimeters of the Lanna clay was 70% of that from full-length lysimeters, whereas in the Bornsjön clay it was 94%. The higher contribution to DRP leaching of Bornsjön clay subsoil than Lanna clay subsoil may be due to the high Olsen P content and low pH at 70 to 100 cm depth in the former. This may enable Ca-bound P forms to be dissolved (Devau et al., 2011). In addition, anaerobic conditions in the uppermost layer created by ponding on Bornsjön clay subsoil lysimeters may have reduced Fe(III) to Fe(II), causing P to be released to the soil solution. However, although the ratio of DRP load from the subsoil compared with the full-length lysimeters was greater for the Bornsjön clay than for the Lanna clay, overall DRP leaching (concentrations and load) was lower from the Bornsjön clay subsoil than from the Lanna clay subsoil, presumably due to higher sorption capacity in the former. Consequently, the difference in DRP leaching (load and concentration) between the Lanna clay and the Bornsjön clay subsoils was not significant (P > 0.05).
P Leaching in Lysimeters Compared with Tile-Drained Plots
A comparison of the data obtained for the full-length lysimeters with long-term field data from tile-drained plots with various crops at three of the four sites revealed that the lysimeters and the field plots had similar chemical and physical soil properties. For example, in this lysimeter study, TP leaching averaged 0.25 kg ha−1 yr−1 in the Mellby sand, 0.61 kg ha−1 yr−1 in the Lanna clay, and 0.71 kg ha−1 yr−1 in the Bornsjön clay (Table 3). For the field plots at the Mellby sand site, reported TP leaching on an organically managed field with mean manure addition of 6.5 kg P ha−1 yr−1 averaged 0.23 kg ha−1 yr−1 over 6 yr (Torstensson et al., 2006). In a previous study at the Lanna clay site, TP leaching over 6 yr averaged 0.81 kg ha−1 yr−1 on an organically managed field without fertilizer or manure addition and 0.41 kg ha−1 yr−1 on a field where manure was added at an average rate of 7.3 kg P ha−1 yr−1 (Aronsson et al., 2007). At Bornsjön, average TP leaching measured over 6 yr on a field without P addition was 0.97 kg ha−1 yr−1 (Svanbäck et al., 2014). Hence, TP leaching was of the same magnitude in this lysimeter study as in the field plots. However, there are certain differences between measurements performed in lysimeters and those in tile-drained field plots that need to be considered. First, no crop was grown on the lysimeters in this study, resulting in more drainage than if a crop had been present, which was the case in the field studies cited. A crop also takes up P during its growth, which would lower the P content in the soil solution and thereby reduce P leaching. In addition, in tile-drained plots, surface runoff and/or lateral water flow (e.g., on a compacted plow pan below the topsoil) can occur if the infiltration capacity of the soil is exceeded. Moreover, tile drainage bypass can be considerable in field plots (Bergström, 1987). In contrast, in lysimeters all water reaching the soil surface that does not evaporate infiltrates into the soil. In addition, lateral water flow into the soil cannot be properly simulated in lysimeters (e.g., due to truncated macropores). In tile-drained soils, there is also a risk of water moving directly from the topsoil into drain backfill and down to the drain pipe due to impeding layers below the topsoil, triggering lateral flow (Bergström and Johnsson, 1988). The result is less transport via water flow between the tile drains in the actual soil profile (Øygarden et al., 1997), whereas in lysimeters all water percolates through the soil profile. The moisture conditions in a lysimeter and in tile-drained plots of the same soil may also be quite different (Bergström and Johansson, 1991), affecting the redox potential and thereby P solubility in the soil. Despite these differences, the ranking of the soils in terms of TP leaching measured in the lysimeters in this study and in the corresponding field plots demonstrate that lysimeters provide a good estimate of P leaching from the soils used here. In fact, there is reason to believe that if the objective is to determine the influence of soil properties alone on P leaching, without the influence of hydrological field conditions, unplanted and undisturbed soil columns such as those used in the present study may be preferable.
Importance of Chemical Subsoil Properties for P Leaching
The data in this study were highly clustered due to high P leaching load from the Nåntuna sand. The relationships between DRP and Olsen P and DPS were therefore analyzed after natural logarithm transformation of the data (Fig. 4). This log-log transformation showed that DRP leaching load increased with increasing Olsen P content and DPS in subsoils in full-length and subsoil lysimeters, whereas the topsoil features had less impact on DRP leaching load. However, the relationships in full-length profiles were not statistically significant. This lack of significance might be attributable to the small number of measurements and to the impact of the highly clustered data. Nevertheless, despite the lack of statistical significance for the relationships in the full-length profiles, the results indicate the importance of subsoil features on DRP leaching load. These results are similar to findings by Djodjic et al. (2004) of no relationship between Olsen P or DPS in the topsoil and P leaching. The lack of a significant relationship between DRP leaching load and topsoil characteristics suggests that determination of topsoil properties is insufficient to assess the risk of P leaching and tile drainage losses from many soils. However, determination of subsoil characteristics such as Olsen P or DPS appears to be useful when estimating the risk of P leaching from soil.
Fig. 4.
Relationship between (left) Olsen P measured in topsoil or subsoil and mean annual leaching load of dissolved reactive P (DRP) for (a) full-length and (b) subsoil lysimeters and (right) relationship between degree of P saturation (DPS) measured in topsoil or subsoil |
., 2009; Lorås et al., 2012; Studenka et al., 2012; Maes et al., 2014). It can be argued that during pause durations—which were made substantially shorter under cognitive load—singers relied on event-based timing. In contrast, research suggests that the temporal control of continuous rhythmic body movements relies on an emergent timing system. In that regard, temporal regularities emerge from the motor system's dynamics with a minimum of explicit, cognitive control (Zelaznik et al., 2008). Accordingly, during the singers' performance of musical phrases, continuous activation of phonatory muscles could have functioned as dynamical framework for emergent timing.
For the experiment, we studied professional operatic singers. This category of musicians is especially acquainted with conditions of heightened cognitive load. Their performance does not only involve a musical component, but also an “acting” component in relation to other musicians and an audience. Hence, especially this category of musicians is assumed to develop timing strategies that capitalize on perceptual-motor abilities as an alternative for cognitive resources. Research demonstrated that the specific performance condition of operatic singers (performing under cognitive load, and the assumed development of perceptual-motor timing strategies) is reflected in a specific brain architecture. Kleber et al. (2010) pinpointed specialized neural networks for enhanced somatosensory processing and performance monitoring in operatic singers, as well as motor sequence attention when compared to laymen and even other singers. The findings suggest that changes in the primary S1, IPL, and DLPFC allow for more accurate fine tuning and feed forward motor commands.
An important question is to what extent lyrics could be a factor influencing our results. However, the lyrics were not likely to be the reason for different timing performances simply because they sang the same aria in each condition. Since all musicians shortened the pause durations in load conditions, we rather count on the fact that working memory load is the predominant factor for the differences. From the singers' point of view, singers may change breathing based on the expression of lyrics. However, this would be likely to remain the same between conditions.
The main finding of the present research is that operatic singers speed up their performance, in particular pauses (to be more specific long pauses), in conditions of heightened cognitive load. We expected that this effect would increase proportionally to the level of cognitive load. Therefore, we included two experimental conditions varying only in the level of cognitive load (low/high). However, we found no significant differences between the low load and high load conditions. A possible explanation for this result is that a so-called ceiling effect occurred; the low load condition was already amply difficult in order that an additional cognitive load did not had any further effect on the timing performance.
There are also some limitations that have to be acknowledged. First, the sample size was rather small. It would be of grate necessity that the results presented here, should be confirmed with bigger sample size. Secondly, we are not perfectly sure whether musicians used the shorter pauses solely for breathing. It is plausible to presume that the longer pauses are not only for breathing, but still, to avoid possible uncontrolled variables (such as lung size or capacity) more controlled methodology (using the breath measurer) might be of utmost importance for the validity of our results.
Conclusion
In this study, we investigated the effect of a heightened cognitive load on the musical performance of operatic singers. Thereby, we focused on musical timing, in particular the tendency of singers to speed up or slow down. Additionally, we differentiated between changes in the duration of musical phrases and pauses. We found that singers, in general, speeded up their performance under heightened cognitive load. Notably, this effect was much more pronounced for pauses, in particular the longer pauses, compared to musical phrases. We suggested that the singers could rely on perceptual and motor resources inherent to the performance of the musical phrases and short pauses to, at least partly, compensate for the disturbing effect of the additional cognitive load task. In contrast during longer pauses singers had to relay on their cognitive resources to keep track of time, which consequently interfered with the performance of the additional cognitive load task. These results provide a better view on the cognitive, sensory, and sensorimotor mechanisms underlying musical timing, and may endow strategies to counteract the disturbing effect of heightened cognitive load on musical performance.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
This study was carried out in context of the Methusalem project “EmcoMetecca,” funded by the Flemish government at Ghent University.
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It is safe to assume that at least some of the weapons were manufactured in Iran and were designated for the Palestinian Global Jihad in Gaza and other terror organizations in the Strip that are funded by Iran. The weapons were probably shipped as "civilian cargo" from the Persian Gulf, through the Indian Ocean and from there to one of the Sudanese ports along the Red Sea. The cargo was unloaded and delivered to Khartoum on trucks.
Sending a Message? Khartoum flames seen in Iran Ron Ben-Yishai Op-ed: Alleged bombing of Sudan arms factory forces Tehran to reassess Israeli threats Khartoum flames seen in Iran
There, deep in Africa, the Iranian weapons were unloaded at the "Yarmouk" military site. According to reports, the site serves as a central distribution station along Iran's arms smuggling routes to clients in the eastern Mediterranean Basin – in accordance with an agreement between Iran and Sudan. These routes are operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, and the clients are terror groups in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syrian forces loyal to Assad.
Apart from weapons that arrive at "Yarmouk" directly from Iran, weapons stolen from the warehouses of the Gaddafi regime's army and later purchased by the Iranians or the Palestinians most likely also make their way to the military site just outside of Khartoum. The weapons are transported from Khartoum by land to the Egyptian border. Smugglers then transfer the arms to the Nile Delta region, and the Bedouins in north Sinai are in charge of smuggling the cargo through underground tunnels into Gaza.
This long, circuitous route was chosen over the more direct route (from Port Sudan, along Sudan and Egypt's Red Sea coastline to the Suez Canal, and from there to Sinai), which was abandoned by the Iranians because they apparently realized that Israel was gathering intelligence in the area and carrying out successful operations to curb the arms smuggling.
According to reliable sources, Israel has attacked a number of arms convoys over the past few years. The new route was supposed to evade the eyes and ears of Israeli intelligence. The Quds force apparently believed that the Israelis would not reach the Sudanese capital.
It appears that the protection provided by the Sudanese government to these arms convoys along a significant portion of the smuggling route (until they reached the Egyptian border) and the ability to conceal the weapons inside trucks encouraged the Iranians and the smugglers: Instead of the small vans that were used to carry the weapons along the Red Sea coast, the recent convoys that departed from Khartoum included trailer trucks loaded with containers filled with hundreds of tons of light weapons, rockets, missiles and explosives.
Massive fire at Sudan 'arms factory' (Photo: Reuters)
The weapons most likely included Iranian "Fajr" rockets, which have a range of more than 70 kilometers, anti-aircraft missiles and maybe even Iranian-made land-to-sea missiles that could possibly endanger Israel's offshore oil and natural gas drilling. Such missiles would certainly pose a threat to Israeli ships patrolling off Gaza's coastline. Just recently terrorists in Gaza tried to intercept an Israeli aircraft using a shoulder-launched Russian "Strela" missile, which is apparently manufactured in Iran.
In summation, the convoys that arrived from Khartoum carried everything the Iranians did not dare transport via the Red Sea coastline or aboard ships en route to Gaza, Hezbollah and Syria.
The Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt is concerned by this phenomenon no less than Israel is. Cairo is aware of the possibility that some of the smuggled weapons will end up in the hands of terror elements that threaten the new government. Therefore, Egyptian intelligence services have increased their efforts, and since the beginning of the year they have succeeded in intercepting two or three massive weapons convoys that originated in Sudan. However, it is clear to all that this is just a drop in the bucket.
Images taken by the Satellite Sentinel Project three weeks prior to the explosion at "Yarmouk" clearly show a large number of shipping containers. Satellite images of the aftermath of the explosion showed six 52-foot wide craters near the epicenter of the blast at the compound, suggesting the site was hit in an airstrike.
The Satellite Sentinel Project, which was founded last year with support from actor George Clooney to monitor the destruction of villages by Sudanese troops in the country's multiple war zones, said: "The explosions were centered on a site that, as recently as October 12, consisted of a 60-meter-long, shed-type building and approximately 40 shipping containers, each 6.5 meters long, stacked nearby. The October 25 image reveals evidence of massive explosions at this site and no evidence remains of the 60-meter-long building or the shipping containers. While SSP cannot confirm that the shipping containers
seen on October 12 remained at the site on October 24, analysis of the imagery is consistent with the presence of highly volatile cargo in the epicenter of the explosions."
The evidence clearly suggests that it was not a legitimate army factory that was bombed, as claimed by Sudan, but containers of weapons and ammunition that were meant to be delivered to terror organizations and Syria. These containers were ready to be loaded onto trailer trucks parked between an oil storage facility and hangars, which were not damaged in the strike.
So why did Sudan claim that it was an arms factory? First of all, to hide the embarrassing fact that it is cooperating with Iran and sending arms convoys that pass through its neighbor, Egypt. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted on genocide charges by the International Criminal Court, is not interested in a crisis with his Egyptian counterpart Mohammed Morsi.
The claim that Israel bombed a weapons factory is aimed at diverting global attention from Sudan's involvement in Iran's arms smuggling operation. It also serves as an excuse for the Sudanese army's failure to prevent four fighter jets from flying over Khartoum. Apparently, Israel's technological and military advantage is a legitimate excuse in Sudan, but the Sudanese have yet to explain how they knew that exactly four Israeli planes took part in the attack. It is doubtful that the Sudanese can prove the strike was carried out by Israeli jets, oitherwise they would have already presented the evidence.Due to the portable nature of smart devices, dropping them is a fairly common occurrence. Various companies have stepped in and tried to make shatterproof screens, the most famous of which being Corning with their Gorilla Glass range; but efforts to develop a product that ends shattering once and for all has been met with difficulty.
That was the case until just a few days ago. In a recently published scientific paper, a team at the University of Akron have found that adding a transparent layer of electrodes onto the surface of a polymer significantly increases surface toughness and the flexibility of the polymer. The team, headed by Yu Zhu, who is assistant professor of polymer science at the university, tell that these findings were established with repeated bending tests and scotch tape peeling tests (the scotch tape peeling test is done to ensure that the coating won't deteriorate or detach from the surface).
"These two pronounced factors drive the need to substitute ITO with a cost-effective and flexible conductive transparent film" - Yu Zhu, UA assistant professor of polymer science
The research team suggests that the findings could replace or improve current screens which have coatings made from brittle indium tin oxide (ITO). These current coatings are more expensive than what Yu Zhu's team have developed, which is also significantly stronger.
The film completely kept its shape and functionality after being bent even 1,000 times. Due to the flexibility, the transparent electrode film could be manufactured in cheap, large-quantity rolls instead of the current more difficult and costly method.
“The annoying problem of cracked smartphone screens may be solved once and for all with this flexible touchscreen." - Yu Zhu, UA assistant professor of polymer science
The full paper is available here.
Source: University of Akron | Image via NewYorkNativesChairs Don’t Change the World, Guitars Do
How Leo Fender inadvertently made the perfect modern object
Modern Amplification Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 6, 2013
The next time you’re in a design museum, skip past the row of chairs by Eames and Van der Rohe and try to find a Fender Telecaster instead. What you can’t find at MoMA is more influential and a bolder embodiment of the Modernist ethos than anything those design giants ever created.
The Telecaster has been in continuous production since 1950. Guitarists know what a Telecaster looks like, along with most non-musicians. All you have to do is say that it’s the guitar Bruce Springsteen plays. Or Joe Strummer, or Albert Collins, or Jonny Greenwood or Justine Frischmann.
Before modernism was an aesthetic, it was a manifesto
What are you going to say to someone that gives you a blank stare at the mention of a Barcelona chair? Remind them that it was part of the influential German Pavilion of the 1929 World Expo in Barcelona, Spain?
Popularity or recognition is no measure of importance or influence. Why something is popular and recognizable is a better gauge. In a lot of ways, the Telecaster didn’t do that many new things. Guitars that catered to jazz, Hawaiian, and folk were being built with pickups, solid body construction and relatively unadorned flat tops. The Telecaster combined those influences in a way that excited many people.
Jazz players on their feedback prone arch tops always had a bass heavy tone — the versatile piano and loud, brash horns got the spotlight. Hawaiian slide guitar was very popular in the 30’s and 40’s, and with a solid body and no feedback you could turn it up and be centre stage, even if all you could do was sit there. Folk and blues players had an intimate connection with the audience, although they were valued more for authenticity than virtuosity. The Telecaster was the full package. You could play it much louder than an arch top, you could roam the stage standing up, and it was an unpretentious instrument. This was the machine that invented Rock ‘n’ Roll. What cultural revolution did your fancy chair spark?
The Telecaster was designed to be made by machines of the era. Its body is a flat block of wood. The top hasn’t been arched or sanded down to mimic the popular electric guitars of the era. The electronics are easily accessible by lifting off the pickguard or control plate; no longer are you trying to service it from the f-holes. The neck is a bolted on, not glued. The headstock is no wider than the neck, and isn’t set at an angle from the fret board, both increasing yield from your raw material and making this a simpler part to cut. Before the Telecaster, skilled luthiers built guitars. In contrast, the Telecaster needed competent woodworkers who could follow a template. This was the first guitar that you could mass produce in a factory, with skilled, but not artisan, employees. That’s modern.
The look is thoroughly modern. The headstock is the most abstracted element. Its form is taken from the profile of a violin, stripped of detail and rotated ninety degrees relative to the fret board. The body is an unadorned single cutaway. The curves at the top of the body where it meets the neck remind me of a sine wave. It’s an invitation to pick up on the Telecaster and make good on its symbolic promise. The bridge is simple and functional, and while it’s rarely used, the cover plate is designed to eliminate palm-muting and facilitate greater sustain — a nod to its Hawaiian roots. Either way, it’s more shiny metal without using an old fashioned tailpiece stretching from the tail peg to the bridge. The control plate, a futuristic chrome subway train with the two unmarked knobs and a switch, is pure modernism.
The Telecaster also did something that too few items of the modernist canon have achieved. It was affordable. The Telecaster listed for about half of a Gibson ES-5. Not because Fender outsourced manufacturing to a low cost country, but because it was a designed to be mass produced at a low cost. The design was radically simple. This is the major achievement of the Telecaster. Before modernism was an aesthetic, it was a manifesto. It was an idea that good things were not just for the select few, but for the many. And the early modernists were practical — the many wouldn’t get good objects unless they were mass produced. You’d be forgiven if you’ve always thought the opposite was true. Modernist now means more expensive, exclusive, and elitist. That wasn’t the original intention.
And this is why guitarists, and the Fender corporation might object to the modernist label. Guitarists think of the Telecaster as utilitarian. A workhorse. A working class guitar. To elevate this straightforward instrument into the category of high art or design would alienate the Telecaster’s target market.
I have no issue with calling the Telecaster a workhorse. The road is never kind to gear, and it’s an easy guitar to repair. But I take great issue with calling the Telecaster utilitarian. There would be no curvy bits at all on the headstock, and beyond a spot for the guitar to balance on your knee, no need for any shape at all on the body. If you wanted utilitarian, you’d get a Steinberger — a guitar so ugly the manufacturer’s own marketing department decided to stick with a bunch of close-ups photographs, rather than let the visitor feast their eyes on the entire product in all its terrible glory.
Leo Fender was not a trained luthier, he was a radio repairman who got into musical instruments. He couldn’t have built a Gibson. He built a testing rig to experiment with pickups. That testing rig eventually turned into the guitar that changed music. He was an accidental modernist, but that shouldn’t prevent his work from being displayed in design museums.'Kim Jong-Un is a big fan of Serie A' - Italian senator reveals North Korean leader's love of Italian football
The politician has just returned from the East Asian country and says that the supreme leader is an avid follower of the Italian top flight
Italian senator Antonio Razzi has claimed that North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-Un is an avid follower of thanks to Kwang-Song Han's impact in.
The 18-year-old forward became the first North Korean player to score in Serie A when he netted for against Palermo in early April.
Barton hit with 18-month football ban
Razzi revealed that not only does Korea's leader follow the exploits of his country's young striker, but keeps an eye on the Italian league as a whole. In fact, Razzi believes that Serie A champions are so popular in North Korea that they would sell out the country's biggest stadium.
"Does he follow Italian football? Of course, he knows all about Series A and NBA basketball," Razzi told Gazetta dello Sport.
"If Juventus were playing in Pyongyang Stadium, which is huge, it would fill up."
Following Razzi's return from the East Asian country, he plans to meet with Cagliari's young North Korean and pass on his regards from the teenager's home country.
"What will I say to Han on Sunday?" Razzi replied.
"I'll give him compliments, he is considered a talent at the level of those in Europe."I’m not sure at what point the Labour party decided people on benefits weren’t equal citizens. Perhaps Rachel Reeves can pin it down. This week, the shadow work and pensions secretary was quoted in the Guardian saying:
We are not the party of people on benefits. We don’t want to be seen, and we’re not, the party to represent those who are out of work. Labour are a party of working people, formed for and by working people.
Reeves is not stupid. She will know that, for example, more than 90 per cent of new housing benefit claims are from people in work – that low wages and high living costs are forcing people to turn up to a job, work all day, and then get "top ups" from the state to afford luxuries like rent and heat. And, as such, that being “the party of people on benefits” would currently largely mean “being the party of people in work who are struggling to make ends meet”.
She will also be aware, I’m sure, that even the reviled “those who are out of work” are not slackers voluntarily unemployed but victims of an unstable job market – and that in that climate of zero-hours contracts, workfare, and agency work, the “working people” who apparently deserve representation can very quickly become the “out of work” people who do not. But still Reeves says “we are not the party of people on benefits”, anyway. She believes in ending target-based sanctions and preventing the need for food banks (as reaffirmed in the same Guardian interview) but, regardless, says Labour “will be tougher than the Tories” on benefits.
Reeves is not alone in this doublethink. She is emblematic of Labour’s wider, growing inability to deal with social security. As someone who has been a member of the party since I was 18 – and who both talks about benefits for a living and relies on my own benefits to live – the party’s response to what is one of the most pressing issues of modern politics and, more to the point, people’s lives, feels shameful.
In a culture of vilifying Benefits Street and baiting the cost of Katie Price’s severely disabled eleven-year-old child, Labour appears – understandably – terrified of being on the wrong side of the scrounger versus striver binary that has been carved for them. That fear is driving them away from their own values and, ironically, in this quest for votes, from the people who would naturally support them.
Multiple sections of society – the disabled, the chronically ill, the low earners, the zero-hours contract workers – risk being widely turned off by the very rhetoric Labour appear convinced will win them over. This week, Jack Monroe publicly defected to the Green party, citing Labour’s response to “welfare” as a key reason. Social media swarms with increasingly disaffected want-to-be Labour voters; people who know what it is to spend the day afraid of the brown envelope, not only from debt collectors but the Department for Work and Pensions. Demonising benefit claimants does not appeal to the voter with MS who has to live on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), just as "other-ing" benefit claimants is a meaningless narrative to the families needing to claim housing benefit because their wages don’t cover the rent.
Disability is a key example of this. Labour is making (often) silent strides on the concerns of disabled and chronically ill people. This year, they re-launched Disability Labour. Kate Green, Labour’s shadow disability minister, speaks out about disability benefit backlogs. Scrapping the bedroom tax is firmly on the agenda. Reeves herself says she wants a welfare state that is there “to protect people in times of need” – for example, if someone “became disabled”.
But it is difficult to present yourself as on the side of the disabled while signing up to a wider, dividing portrayal of social security. Words like “tougher than the Tories” and “not the party of people on benefits” are personal stings that people struggling on disability benefits remember. This stuff is not empty political rhetoric. It is a reflection on people’s lives, their basic self-esteem. Crass, Daily Mail-esque statements on benefits are cheap, pointless jibes that do nothing but leave people who need the support of the state feeling like scum. Or as one voter on ESA put it for the New Statesman this week, as if she “need[s] to apologise for claiming money so I can eat”.
It is telling that the question that caused Reeves trouble this week was: “Is it a problem if Labour are seen as the party of the welfare state?” Imagine a climate where a Labour politician sees that as an accusation. We are at the point where "welfare" brings with it the image of the feckless underclass eating takeaways in front of a 50-inch plasma screens, and structural poverty is cast as personal, moral failure. Labour loses the argument the minute it accepts the Tory premise. “Are you the welfare party?” “We are the party of a living wage for people going to work in the morning and dignified support for anyone unable to,” is an answer that can be said proudly. It is shameful to be the politicians slashing the safety net, not the ones defending it.
Instead, Labour positions itself against the so-called people “able to live a life on benefits” (again, their own words); the political equivalent of forming a plan to hunt Lord Voldemort. Labour is defining itself by how seriously it can chase a villain that does not exist. The "better off on benefits than in work" claim is a complete fallacy. The families where "generations have never worked" have never actually been found. Nor has any evidence of "a culture of worklessness" (in fact, the opposite: people experiencing long-term unemployment routinely prefer to be in jobs rather than on benefits).
What Labour is struggling to tackle when it comes to benefits is a cultural perception: the insecurity and fear that the Conservatives have benefited from stoking. That does not mean it should be ignored or that it’s easy – if anything, the feeling that there are others having an easy life as you struggle is in many ways harder to address than if there were a tangible target. But it requires finding different solutions than Labour is currently managing. It means re-framing the debate itself. Low wage earners will not see their life improved by making an unemployed person’s worse. Disabled and chronically ill people cannot be respected until receiving benefits is presented as something other than lazy failure.
It may feel as if this climate cannot cope with a nuanced, passionate support for social security. But actually, we can’t survive without one. Voters are crying out for a principled alternative to the past five years. Iain Duncan Smith presides over an annihilation of support millions of people rely on. As the Budget this week showed, another £13bn worth of welfare cuts are coming. The Treasury will need to make “unprecedented” welfare cuts over the next three years, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Marginalised, penalised, struggling citizens need someone to defend them. The Labour party can do this proudly. It needs to be bold enough to do it.Eduardo Porter has published an article in the New York Times titled, "A Universal Basic Income Is a Poor Tool to Fight Poverty" It is not the first article to make such a claim, and it won't be the last, but all such articles tend to share one thing in common -- the outright omission of all evidence to the contrary, and a gross manipulation of facts to build an argument out of straw.
In the case of Eduardo's piece he offers three false premises: 1) Basic income is too expensive and could only be funded by defunding everything else; 2) Basic income will provide a disincentive to work but toil is for our own good; and 3) The freedom basic income provides as cash is damaging to people who would be better off with paternalistic programs that limit their choices and treat them like children. Being that none of these things are true, it's sufficient to say his idea of methodically taking something apart is sorely lacking.
Too Expensive?
As I've already covered in a prior article addressing the affordability of basic income, the estimated cost in the US to provide all citizens over 18 with $12,000 per year and under 18 with $4,000 per year would be around $1.5 trillion in additional revenue. This price tag does not touch Medicare or Medicaid or education or defense. It does touch Social Security but in a way that leaves all recipients better off.
Basically, there's no reason whatsoever that a large portion of Social Security can't be distributed in the form of basic income instead, with Social Security itself still existing as a top-up for seniors and those with disabilities. If you're receiving $1,500, there's no reason that can't be $500 or any other number, on top of a $1,000 floor that every citizen receives. It is absolutely false to say this can't be done in a way that leaves everyone currently receiving benefits better off, and still reduces government administration costs in the process.
The question is then does replacing welfare benefits leave those receiving such benefits worse off? Is this as Porter suggests the redistribution of wealth upwards? I've written about this before as well. An example would be a single mother of two receiving $45,000 in Medicaid, child care, housing, food, and cash assistance getting $12,000 in basic income instead. In that case, yes, she and her kids would indeed be worse off, but again, Medicaid is not part of the deal, and neither is child care. Basic income would replace housing, food, and cash assistance totaling $20,000 with a basic income of $12,000 for her and $4,000 for each kid, so $20,000. She is no worse off at all. In fact, because she no longer has to ever jump through another hoop for any of those things again, and unlike before, can earn any amount on top of her basic income without it being taken away from her like welfare would, she is far better off.
So if one cares to dig into the details, which I do recommend we do, it's patently false to claim that a universal basic income by design will leave people worse off by leaving us no choice but to replace all of government with cash. Any intelligently designed program would do no such thing, and realistically there would be no politically achievable way of doing otherwise, because neither the extreme right nor left is going to get everything it wants.
As for where the $1.5 trillion comes from, that answer is simple. It comes from the raises no one has gotten since productivity decoupled from wages and salaries back around 1973. Basic income belongs to us because it's been effectively stolen from us for decades.
We are more productive now than ever. We are doing more with less. We are worth more to our companies than ever before. But we aren't being paid for it like we used to as part of the unwritten productivity growth deal. The result is the real upward wealth redistribution that has been occurring for decades, and being squirreled away in places like Panama.
Meanwhile, spending an additional $1.5 trillion to reduce poverty and inequality would likely save more than that by preventing the costs of not reducing them, costs imposed by health outcomes and crime rates that wouldn't exist to the same degree with universal basic income in place.
To look at all of this and ask where the money will come from is a joke of the highest order. The money is there, it's just massively maldistributed after decades of upward redistribution. Universal basic income is a real way to correct such massive levels of inequality.
Disincentive to Work?
The second argument Eduardo makes is that a basic income would sap the desire to work, and because "work remains an important social, psychological and economic anchor," basic income would be a bad idea. Although unmentioned by Eduardo, some strong evidence to the contrary was mentioned in another New York Times article late last year.
Abhijit Banerjee, a director of the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, released a paper with three colleagues last week that carefully assessed the effects of seven cash-transfer programs in Mexico, Morocco, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Indonesia. It found "no systematic evidence that cash transfer programs discourage work." Still, Professor Banerjee observed, in many countries, "we encounter the idea that handouts will make people lazy."
It's a good article I suggest be read in full. The author went on to explain how cash assistance does not show work disincentive effects, instead providing "very tangible benefits" especially for kids who go on to see improved longevity of life, educational outcomes, health, and incomes in adulthood. The author even concludes with a response to Paul Ryan who last year wished to move people from cash assistance to work.
Before the United States goes down that road again, however, it might make sense to reassess the strength of the underlying argument: that poor people will never act responsibly, get a job and stay in a family unless they are thrown into the swimming pool and left to struggle with little support from the rest of us.
So the author warns the reader that we should look at the evidence before thinking people won't find work unless forced to. I agree. That's exactly what we should do. What does strike me as odd is how the author is the same Eduardo Porter.
So, on the one hand, Eduardo believes basic income won't work because work is so important for us to keep doing and we'll choose not to work if work becomes fully voluntary. On the other hand he himself is familiar with the evidence that giving people cash does not reduce the amount of work we do, and does in fact have many positive effects. Even odder, Eduardo's article about welfare even makes the point that people continue to work despite the high marginal tax rates that welfare imposes by being removed with work. Universal basic income doesn't even have that problem because it's never reduced with any amount of earned income above it.
This is where it becomes clear that universal basic income is an idea judged by many not logically or scientifically, but emotionally. This is likely why Eduardo himself can make the case against those perpetuating the myth of welfare's "corrupting influence" regarding work disincentives in one article, and then in another about universal basic income, practically forget everything he knows is true in order to argue against giving people sufficient money to live without conditions aka basic income.
Be wary of any article against basic income that doesn't include any supporting evidence. Applicable experiments have been done. We have studied the work disincentive effects in the US and in Canada in the 1970s where the results were quite interesting. Fully universal basic incomes have been tested in Namibia and India, where the results of both were more work, not less. The charity Give Directly has given basic incomes to people in Uganda and Kenya, where the results in both locations were more work, not less. Unconditional cash transfers are being used more frequently all over the world entirely because of their successes, and in places like Liberia and Lebanon where they ended up being like basic incomes, they too show more work, not less.
Perhaps most interesting of all the applicable evidence of cash without strings is the seemingly universal shift from typical wage labor to more self-employment and unpaid work. This in no way points toward people doing nothing. This is also why basic income is not at all an idea about paying people to do nothing, but instead about paying people to do anything. There is so much work being done right now that is not seen or recognized as work, but is. And there is so much work people want to be doing on their own volition that they are prevented from doing in a system that requires they spend their hours working for someone else just to survive.
Look at the evidence. Always look at the evidence. If you do that, here's what the evidence is saying in a nutshell: in a world where all resources are locked up and money is the only key, a minimum amount of money does not prevent work, but enables it. No one can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps if they have no boots. The only way to make that possible is to make sure everyone starts with at the very least, a pair of boots with straps. That's universal basic income. It's universal bootstraps. It's the idea that in a globalized economy requiring less and less work of humans to meet the demand for everyone's basic needs, no one should start with bare feet.
And this brings us to the final straw...
Not Paternalistic Enough?
Eduardo Porter argues that a housing voucher is better than cash, because parents would be forced |
public static implicit operator Class2(Class1 d) { return new Class2(); } } internal class Class2 { public static implicit operator Class1(Class2 d) { return new Class1(); } }
Notice how we are assigning an instance of “Class2” into a variable of type “Class1”. And it compiles and works because an implicit cast is going on here. Sure there are very good uses for this, but there about 18 million more abuses for this. Most likely, if one type can be assigned to a variable of the other type, then it should inherit from it. This is not the case in reference types though, which for the most part, is why this behavior exists.
I’m sure that many of you will disagree with my list, and that is good. Please make sure you leave me a comment and let me know why you think the list is wrong, and what I should add or remove in it!The Cambridge-based Australian historian Christopher Clark was not unknown in Germany when he published his latest book, The Sleepwalkers. In 2010, his history of Prussia, Iron Kingdom, attracted considerable praise and saw him awarded the prestigious prize of the Historisches Kolleg, an important centre for advanced study in history. His biography of Wilhelm II, which followed shortly after, was also generously received. The success of The Sleepwalkers, however, is on another level. Rarely does an almost 900-page history book by a university professor, densely written and replete with source material, meet with such an overwhelming response from the German public.
This phenomenon is, at first glance at least, surprising and worthy of explanation. One reason for its success lies in the quality of the work itself. The Sleepwalkers is a probing, well-written book that provides significant, and in part new, insights where Clark draws on archival material. Moreover, Clark, like no other before him, treats the July 1914 crisis as a European crisis. He examines the international system, its players and the underlying structure of interests equally in Belgrade and Vienna, Paris and London, Berlin and St Petersburg. He delves deep into his source material to reconstruct the parameters in which those who decided between war and peace acted, and demonstrates the lack of clarity with which they were confronted. The image that emerges is one of a diplomatic labyrinth in which European monarchs, statesmen and diplomats lost all sense of direction and from which the only way out lay in war. This lends the title of the book a certain plausibility, one which indeed suggests that those actors lacked awareness and understanding. One may, with good reason, question the adequacy of this portrayal and of the title itself. But until now, it has not been possible to read, in such colourful detail, the complexity and the contingency that imprinted the perceptions of the decision-makers of 1914 and determined their actions.
So far we are talking about an important and exciting book. This cannot explain its success in Germany, however. For this success says more about German attitudes than about the book itself. Clearly The Sleepwalkers has touched a nerve of the German consciousness of history. But the reflex does not correspond to what one hears in mainstream public debates; rather, its meaning relates to a subcutaneous feeling in Germany of being unjustly held to blame by history in general and by Europeans in particular. Such feelings weave like a red thread through blogs and comments on the book on the internet – the same type of comment made by frustrated listeners of public lectures and panel discussions on twentieth-century history: when will we move on from this “eternal German guilt”?
So Clark’s book has been sucked into the whirlpool of the debate over German responsibility for the first world war, a debate that leaves well-informed people astonished. It almost seems like we are back in 1964, at the height of the Fischer controversy, when German war aims, German guilt and whether Germany was primarily responsibility for the war were passionately debated. That over the last fifty years all these questions have been intensively studied, analysed and discriminatingly portrayed in international research appears to have been forgotten. Whether calculated risk, theories of preventative war, mindless acceptance, the autonomy of military war planning, nationalistic sparring and high-stake systems of alliance, or plain chance was to blame: all of this has been exhaustively discussed, over and over again, and no historian who wishes to be taken seriously would formulate a simple theory attributing all responsibility for the war to the German Reich. Nor, by the way, did Fritz Fischer.
The more the question of blame arises in public discussion over the first world war, the more reflective one becomes. Beneath the surface, the old trauma of the German people appears to live on: not only standing alone in Europe, but being encircled by resentful neighbours. If true, it would point to a troubling parallel between 1914 and 2014. It might be asked whether Germany is responsible for its own isolation – let’s leave that aside for the moment. But the feeling of isolation and of being surrounded produced in Germany a posture of stubborn insistence on its own morality, and over generations reinforced the impression that Germany was fundamentally ill-treated by its enemies. In this way the Germans deprived themselves of the opportunity to come to terms with the defeat of 1918 in a constructive way. Instead, the Treaty of Versailles and the victorious powers of the first world war appeared, in the end, to share at least part of the blame for Hitler’s rise and the devastation caused by the Nazi regime – a view that serious research rejected long ago.
But surely generational change and the positive experience of German reunification have overcome such feelings? The reception of Clark’s book has shown this not to be the case. And this in the end is its most surprising aspect: the desire for a historically uncharged, so to speak “innocent,” perhaps even “normal,” but still nationally impregnated historical role for the German people remains, in fact, as widespread as ever. If Fritz Fischer once destroyed the exonerating myth that “we all slithered over the brink,” thereby bringing upon himself the hatred of the nationalistic public and not a few of his university colleagues, Christopher Clark, through his portrayal of the July crisis, offers the German people the return to that comfortable consensus.
Not that Clark goes easy on the Germans or denies their partial responsibility for the outbreak of the first world war. But he does not discuss the question of blame or the prime responsibility of the Germans. He does not want to discuss these topics because he sees them as badly posed questions. This must be criticised, for the question of blame had arisen and become an inevitable historical category of the war as early as the German invasion of Belgium. Clark also chooses not to delve into the depths of German structural burdens. The precarious constitution of the Prussian-dominated Bismarckian Reich, which opened all doors to the autonomous deals and plans of the military, and took control away from the parliament; the equally precarious simultaneity of dynamic industrialisation and backward social structure; a problematic bourgeois worldview, which saw its national history and the contemporary conflicts in Social-Darwinist and in part even racist categories; entirely overblown war aims – Clark mentions all of this and much more, but does not view it as specific to German history. So Clark’s diagnosis goes as follows: all of this – the same, similar or at the very least comparable – could have occurred in the history of every other European great power. The German reader can therefore lean back, knowing with academically attested certainty that in no case did a Sonderweg or “special path” lead Germany to world war. Rather, the German trajectory looks very much like that of the others.
But why has such an academic diagnosis proved so attractive for the German public today? One would not be mistaken in looking for an answer in the thorough precariousness of the present political and economic context. Status fear and anxiety – the typical ingredients of (petty) bourgeois mentality in the Kaiser Reich – have made an irritable return in Germany. The eurozone crisis has made it possible. Are not its European neighbours by all appearances coming together in order to harass Germany and, if possible, break its economic and financial strength? Does not the situation recall what happened one hundred years ago, when the Kaiser Reich found itself encircled by its European neighbours? So it feels good to hear an Australian historian, who teaches in Cambridge, explain to the Germans that at that time, at least, they were not in the wrong, and that they bear no special responsibility for the devastation of the Great War.
All the cheaper then is the shot taken in the midst of the debate at a Europe depicted and rejected as a threat. The argument goes as follows. At the outbreak of the first world war, the Germans bore no particular responsibility and were not principally to blame for what happened – as has now, finally, been proved. This gives Germans today the moral right to oppose European integration, which apparently goes against German interests. Cora Stephan, an author of popular books on historical and political subjects, appears to take some pleasure in seeing that “the thesis of prime responsibility of the German Reich is buried deep” by Clark’s book. Together with three well-known younger historians, she rejects the idea that the Reich, because of its lust for power, needed to be violently stopped. Moreover, this view of Germany before the first world war – which Clark apparently refutes – would lie at the core of the present conception of Europe, according to which Germany needs to be “shackled” within a supranational structure to keep it under control. The Germans, with Clark in their briefcases, should vanquish once and for all their “negative exceptionalism and recognise that a Europe based on a historical fiction will fail.” Here, at last, it becomes clear with which subtext and which interests the Clark debate has been promoted.
The deep irony is that Clark does not tell the story these people want to hear. Rather, his book, which does not provide deep structural analysis, and thus in the end a historical-analytical explanation, of the first world war, has been simplified and misunderstood in the German debate. Clark wishes to understand what drove the actors of 1914 to war. What he really shows is the complexity of the system of states and its crisis. He renders palpable the contingent nature of how events developed. Whether the broader public is really interested in this seems, however, questionable. Rather, the German reception of Clark’s book bears all the signs of instrumentalisation: it has been used for something other than what Clark intended. He himself wonders how some in this country have come to see him as especially “sympathetic to the German cause.” Is it perhaps all just a big misunderstanding? Such a misunderstanding would bring into the spotlight, however, problematic rifts in German political culture. For it yields deep insight into the state of mind of every German who rejects the mainstream view, because that view remains uncomfortable. Once again, the “German illness of self-pity,” as Alfred Grosser wrote, expresses itself. And so the difficulties of German history in the first half of the twentieth century – a history marked by violence, annihilation and also guilt – must continue to be discussed. •Array ( [actionDate] => 2014-12-03 [displayText] => Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H8354-8355) [externalActionCode] => 8000 [description] => Passed House )
Array ( [actionDate] => 2014-09-18 [displayText] => Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.(text: CR S5874-5876) [externalActionCode] => 17000 [description] => Passed Senate )
Here are the steps for Status of Legislation:
This bill has the status Became Law
There are 4 summaries for S.2673. Public Law (12/19/2014) Passed House without amendment (12/03/2014) Passed Senate amended (09/18/2014) Introduced in Senate (07/28/2014) Bill summaries are authored by CRS
Shown Here:
Public Law No: 113-296 (12/19/2014)
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on September 18, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 - (Sec. 4) Expresses the sense of Congress that Israel is a major U.S. strategic partner.
(Sec. 5) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005 to extend authority to transfer certain obsolete or surplus Department of Defense (DOD) items to Israel.
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to extend authority to make additions to foreign-based defense stockpiles for use as war reserve stocks through FY2015.
(Sec. 6) Directs the President to take steps to make Israel eligible for the strategic trade authorization exception to the requirement for a license for the export, reexport, or in-country transfer of an item subject to certain export controls.
(Sec. 7) Authorizes the President to carry out U.S.-Israel cooperative activities and to provide assistance for cooperation in the fields of energy, water, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies.
Authorizes the President to: (1) share and exchange with Israel research, technology, intelligence, information, equipment, and personnel that will advance U.S. national security interests; and (2) enhance U.S.-Israel scientific cooperation.
Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into cooperative research pilot programs with Israel to enhance Israel's capabilities in: (1) border, maritime, and aviation security; (2) explosives detection; and (3) emergency services.
(Sec. 8) Directs the President to report to Congress regarding the feasibility and advisability of expanding U.S.-Israel cyber cooperation.
(Sec. 9) States that it shall be U.S. policy to include Israel in the visa waiver program when Israel satisfies, and as long as Israel continues to satisfy, program requirements.
(Sec. 10) Directs the President to update Congress on efforts taken, pursuant to the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act, to provide Israel with defense articles and defense services, including missile and joint missile defense capabilities including Iron Dome, security and intelligence cooperation, and an expanded role for Israel with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
(Sec. 11) Requires any certification that a sale or export of major defense equipment to a country in the Middle East will not adversely affect Israel's qualitative military edge to include:
an explanation of Israel's capacity to address the improved capabilities provided by the sale or export;
an evaluation of how the sale or export alters the regional strategic and tactical balance;
an identification of any new capacity or training that Israel may require to address the regional or country-specific capabilities provided by such sale or export; and
a description of any additional U.S. security assurances to Israel made, or requested to be made, in connection with the sale or export.
(Sec. 12) Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to:
enter into cooperative agreements supporting dialogue and planning involving international partnerships between the Department of Energy (DOE), including DOE National Laboratories, and the government of Israel and its ministries, offices, and institutions; and
establish a joint United States-Israel Center in the United States with offshore energy development expertise to develop academic cooperation in energy innovation technology and engineering, water science, technology transfer, and analysis of geopolitical implications of new natural resource development.
Extends through September 30, 2024, the grant program to support U.S.-Israel research, development, and commercialization of renewable energy or energy efficiency. Expands the scope of covered energy under such program, including the coverage of natural gas energy, water desalination improvement, and other water treatment technologies.
Directs the Secretary of State to continue ongoing diplomacy efforts to: (1) support Israel's energy security, and (2) promote regional energy cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean.One of the downsides of third wave coffee—no, wait, I think it's called New Wave Coffee now—is the simple economics of it all. A small (and I mean small) cup of coffee at any reputable coffee shop now regularly commands three dollars. Home cooks—those who know that coffee is better and cheaper and more convenient when made at home—are also faced with expenses: good coffee machines start at around $200, and good beans hover around $15 for a 12-ounce bag.
That last item is particularly hard to swallow, because if I've learned anything by making coffee at home, it's that you can usually hack a system—be it pour-over, French press, or an automatic drip—to churn out a decent cuppa. But bad beans are a non-starter.
And bad beans are everywhere—especially in the supermarket's coffee aisle. Many times I have walked away from the $15, 12-ounce bags of coffee sold at my local coffee shop and picked up an $8, 1-pound bag of beans at the grocery store instead. And every time I have come to regret it. The big-brand beans tend to make cups of coffee that are aggressive, oily, sharp, bitter, and just plain weird.
So I find myself buying the expensive New Wave stuff, and wincing a little bit every time I do. (For a little more context, note that I am often making coffee for my boyfriend, who drinks, I kid you not, about two full pots—that is, roughly half a bag of New Wave Coffee—a day.)
I love you, but you're making me broke. Photo by Chelsea Kyle
All of this is to say that my interest was piqued when I got a press release announcing a new line of IKEA coffee beans. The Swedes take their coffee-and-pastry moments seriously, and IKEA is nothing if not famous for the occasional cheap product that also happens to be sturdily made and well-designed. Perhaps the new beans fit this mold?
This morning, at Epicurious headquarters, we found out. A full pot was made from IKEA's new Påtår dark-roast beans. Unlike previous IKEA coffee beans, these new beans are organic. They are also certified by UTZ, an organization that highlights products made sustainably and with fair working conditions, which puts the beans on ethical par with many of the New Wave Coffee brands.
That said, we were mostly interested in the flavor. We found the Påtår dark roast to be uncommonly smooth for a dark roast (indeed, the IKEA page calls the beans "medium-dark," which seems more apt), and it struck a nice balance between rich, chocolate flavors and brighter fruit tones. (This, anyway, is my attempt at describing it like a true New Waver.)
Basically, we were into it. I can personally attest to the fact that this coffee far exceeds most of the big brand beans you get at grocery stores. And when you compare the price of the IKEA coffee ($4 for a little more than half a pound, or 50 cents/ounce) to those of some of the New Wave bags ($1.16/ounce here, $1.27/ounce here), a magic thing happens: the IKEA coffee starts to taste even better.Immigration Minister Sylvi Listhaug and State Secretary Fabian Stang. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix
Although a record number of people were sent out of Norway by force this year, the government didn’t quite reach its goal of deporting 9,000 before the New Year.
Through the end of November, Norwegian police deported a total of 7,312 people who were living illegally in Norway, according to figures released on Friday by the National Police Immigration Service Norway (Politiets Utlendingsenhet).
That’s the highest number ever, at around five percent more than last year.
“This is a figure that shows that there have been many who do not have a legitimate claim to asylum who have stayed here and failed to leave the country, and that’s why it is necessary for the police to do the work they have done throughout the year,” State Secretary Fabian Stang told broadcaster NRK.
“It's always brutal when one is forced to use the police to get people to do what they are required to,” added Stang, who is secretary for Immigration Minister Sylvi Listhaug.
More than a fourth of those who were forced to leave the country were also slapped with criminal charges. Most of those were from Romania, Poland and Lithuania. Nationals from those three countries accounted for 43 percent of the 2,041 convicted criminals who were deported.
Although there were a record number of deportations, the government had hoped for even more. A national goal of 9,000 deportation was set at the beginning of the year. According to NRK, the police were planning to make extra efforts over the years’ final two days to add to the figure.Kansas City, KS (KCTV) — A 10-year-old girl gathered with her family to watch the Kansas City Royals take on the San Francisco Giants in Game 5 of the World Series.
As a hail of bullets pierced her grandmother’s home, she bolted rather than jumping to the floor as other family members did. She died as she ran for a back room.
Police and family members believe the bullets were intended for the child’s 19-year-old brother. Numerous KCTV5 viewers have reported that the gunman’s girlfriend stood up for her boyfriend in posts on Facebook and she and others discussed the motivation behind the shooting. Detectives are aware of the postings, but no arrests have been made as of Monday night.
Machole Stewart, who was known as Coco, and her family had gathered inside the home in the 1400 block of New Jersey. Just as Giants ace Madison Bumgarner was throwing out the first pitch, someone sprayed bullets over a two-block area, striking vehicles and Machole’s home. Machole was snuggled on the couch with her mother, who ordered her children to get down.
The woman, her 19-year-old son and a 16-year-old child jumped to the floor as the girl jumped up and ran for a back room. She was hit and died inside her own house before her horrified family members.
“She didn’t get to live her life and she was just 10 years old,” the girl’s aunt, Martika Stewart, said. “All I ask is for someone to give her justice.”
Machole was a student at Rosedale Elementary School. She was on the drill team at her school and loved to dance.
“Anyone who knows Machole knows you are going to laugh when she comes around,” Stewart said. “This baby didn’t deserve this. She didn’t get to live life at all.”
The girl’s great-grandmother says the teen who was targeted is 17 years old, not 19 years old.
KCK Mayor Mark Holland said he and other city leaders have Machole’s family in their thoughts and prayers.
“This is a great loss for our schools and city. I know the Kansas City, Kansas Police is utilizing all resources to bring those responsible to justice,” he said in a statement. “Even with crime at a 30-year low in our community, a tragedy such as this reminds us that any tragedy is one too many.”
KCK Police Chief Ellen Hanson pledged that officers would track down the killer, and spoke against vigilante justice. She said the murder of a child is heartbreaking and impacts the entire community.
“The police department is pulling out every stop to solve this crime as quickly as possible. We want to make sure those people responsible are brought to justice and we are not plugging in another part of the cycle of violence,” Hanson said. “The police department will take care of this and bring justice to the family of Machole.”
Community members spoke out Monday, calling for an end of gun violence that is taking the lives of children. Machole’s death follows the death on Oct. 17 of Angel Hooper. The 6-year-old was shot as she was unwrapping candy while leaving a Kansas City convenience store where she had gone with her father. The drive-by shooter has not been caught.
A radio station opened its phone lines to get tips that would lead to the arrest of the drive-by shooters who took the lives of two little girls.
“We’ve buried too many of our babies,” said Alvin Brooks, founder of Adhoc Group Against Crime, a former police officer and former Kansas City mayor pro tem. “We’ve buried too many in our community. That’s the African-American community it has to be said. We in the African-American community we’ve got to do better about how we raise our children and their role models.”
Others called for people to speak up and be forthcoming about the truth.
Desmond Lamb, pastor of Forest Grove Baptist Church where Machole attended, said she was a special light.
“She was a very gifted kid,” Lamb said. “A very gifted angel that the Lord sent to earth.”
He said the events of Sunday night have shocked and devastated the Kansas City area.
“I believe this is a shock wave throughout our entire community,” he said. “There is no doubt about it. A young lady at such a young age. That’s not supposed to happen.”
Nina Oliver, a community leader who is trying to get tips that will lead to an arrest, said the violence must end.
“The fact that our children are being murdered that should rattle your soul,” Oliver said.
If you have any information, call the KCK Police Department or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.My Singaporean friend, who had newly arrived in Australia, wanted to get a taste of Melbourne’s best cafes, so this Saturday we went for brunch at the Hardware Societe. Being someone who is (almost too) serious about food, I always Google a place before I go there, to suss out the general reviews of the place, what people on the internets recommend that other people order, what the place looks like so I can make sure I find it, etc etc. Many people online say that it’s “the best breakfast in Melbourne”, so I was seriously excited!
So we got there at noon, and was told that there would be a minimum 20 minute wait, which I normally would not wait for as I am impatient, but since we specifically came here for this place, and really wanted to experience Melbourne’s best breakfast, of course we waited. We got a table within 15 minutes, which was unexpected, but it was sharing a round table with 7 other people…oh well. We just wanted to get inside for the warmth and also our first feed for the day.
Ordered the baked eggs with chorizo, which seemed like what everyone else was having, and a flat white. The coffee came, I had a sip and it was…all right. Not too bad, not absolutely excellent, just okay. It was also a little colder for my liking.
Out came the baked eggs with crusty bread. I have to say, the pot is really cute, but the serving is so small! Still, it looked pretty damn impressive, all red and sizzling, so I took my first bite with high hopes.
…my first mouthful of chorizo was COLD!
I dug around in the pot and shoved another spoonful of food into my mouth, this time making sure to choose the sections close to the sizzling pot. This time, it was hot. But the chorizos inside had not been warmed through. I was really disappointed. I think for any food or drink, the first mouthful can really make or break the experience. First impressions really do last.
On the whole, the pot of baked eggs was mediocre. Not much flavour, not much I can really say about it. I have had far better, and my favourite place for such thing is at The Goods Cafe in Surry Hills in Sydney. They do A-M-A-Z-I-N-G griddle pans with eggs, in about ten different styles and flavours, and each pan is just an amazing myriad of flavours, so full on, so delicious. The Hardware Societie’s baked eggs are not even close to their standard.
One of my friends had the scrambled eggs with ham hock, which, when we read the menu, universally agreed that it was absolutely delicious looking, but when we tasted it, we all made a face. It was sub par. Eggs were not smooth, ham had no taste, the whole thing was just blah. And not worth the price tag of almost twenty dollars.
Saddened by the whole experience, the next day I decided to make my own baked eggs. The results were absolutely wonderful, and dare I say, give The Goods cafe’s griddles a run for their money!
See next post for recipe.As you may recall, last holiday season, Friendly Atheist featured a series called Heathen Holiday Cards, and the response was outstanding!
We featured the secular holiday cards from viewers like you, whether they were funny, subversive, or sweet.
Like this one:
When we posted them, the one response we got from a few people was a request that we post them earlier in the year, in case any of you wanted to purchase them for your own (unsuspecting) family and friends.
So if you have an awesome card you want to share with the billions* of readers of this blog, please send them to me (Jessica!) at HeathenHolidayCards@gmail.com.
Please include the following in your email:
Whether you are selling your cards or just sharing (both are encouraged!)
If you are selling, where can we buy it?
If we post your card, what should we refer to you as? First and last name? First only? Cool nickname? Twitter handle?
I sincerely look forward to seeing all of your cards!
*rough estimatePhotography by Magnus Marding, courtesy of Ett Hem Stockholm.
It’s no secret that, along with thousands of other designers and design aficionados, I have a huge crush on the brains and the talents of Ilse Crawford. Be that as it may, I’ve actually never blogged about any projects by this revered British designer, considered to be of the pioneers of “human centric” design. This is such a huge oversight, so today I’ve set out to right this wrong.
Photography by Magnus Marding, courtesy of Ett Hem Stockholm.
I first became aware of Ett Hem hotel in Stockholm almost a year ago, however it wasn’t until just the other day that I was compelled to post my own little tribute to this wonderful interior. Ett Hem (“a home” in Swedish) is a 12 room boutique hotel situated in a former diplomat’s townhouse dating back to 1910. The original building was designed by architect Fredrik Dahlberg, and it was lovingly refurbished last year, ensuring the sprit of the original house was preserved, while crafting a contemporary hotel that feels like a home.
Photography by Magnus Marding, courtesy of Ett Hem Stockholm.
“The guest house is designed to be a home of comfortable, simple luxury. A house with open fires, a well-stocked library, a welcoming courtyard, modern yet resonating with the spirit of its past.” – Studio Ilse
Photography by Uxío Da Vila for Architecture Digest España.
Ett Hem Stockholm was born out of a successful collaboration based on respect and trust between the owner, Jeanette Mix, Stockholm architect Anders Landstrom – responsible for the extensive refurbishment, and Studio Ilse – in charge of brand identity and interior concept.
The result is nothing short of spectacular. Everywhere I look in these images, my senses are instantly saturated in beauty and style. It is clear this hotel is all about the highest levels of luxury and design pedigree, but at the same time it feels utterly unpretentious, comfortable and inclusive. Just like “a home” should.
Photography by Uxío Da Vila for Architecture Digest España.
If you are like me and simply cannot get enough of this exquisite hotel, you can check out the below video for an interview with Crawford and more beautiful imagery.
Ett Hem Stockholm | Sköldungagatan 2 | 114 27 Stockholm, Sweden | map
[Photography by Magnus Marding for Ett Hem, and Uxío Da Vila for Architecture Digest España.]I have a thing for the color green. You're about to be green with envy because I had the best santa of all time this exchange.
Warning: The following is a wall of text. But you should read it anyway because it's a great ride.
So a little bit about me...I enjoy making art, drinking copious amounts of tea, and am running my first half marathon this spring. With that said, I came home to a 6-pound cardboard box covered in a colorful Reddit mascot. Overjoyed I carefully cut through the tape to find a bunch of smaller boxes beautifully wrapped in jolly shades of green and meticulously tied in sparkly, pretty green ribbon. Words cannot begin to describe my excitement. I almost forgot to take un-boxing pictures because I wanted to see what was inside ASAP.
I decided to open from top item to bottom. The first was a package of drawing pencils with green coating and packaging along with a gorgeous green pencil case to fit them all. Let me just take a moment to describe this. So inside the pencil case are elastic bands sewn into the casing. They keep the utensils snug and organized so you know where exactly each one is located. To close the case there's this zipper with a button on the end. I love this part--the button actually snaps to the end to keep the case closed and the zipper from flopping around! It's such a small detail but wow, I absolutely adore it.
Okay, okay. The next one was this cute, small sturdy marbled green box--which is incidentally the most adorable thing ever. I don't know why, but I appreciate nice boxes. You can fit all sorts of trinkets inside. So inside this particular box was a smaller red box. Nested in that was a felt pouch with a stunning silver necklace complete with sneaker pendant and green bead accent. No one knows this, but I've been wanting to get a symbolic running accessory for a while now so this necklace really meant something to me. All the hours, sweat, occassional injury/set backs, and the progression from each week as I work towards pushing my body to a goal that seems bigger than myself is captured in this one necklace. That might sound silly but I'm sentimental like that.
Next up is a green tin canister of organic loose leaf oolong tea. Aside from water and soy milk, tea is my most consumed beverage. I have this really bad habit of sticking to my usual brands so I'm grateful to have something new to try. But wait, there's more! I also received a gunpowder green tea from Twinings to try. No lie, I'm pretty excited about this. What's absolutely amazing is that the next package was a pair of tadpole tea infusers for my loose leaf tea. I love them! I had to laugh when I first saw them because they made me think of spermatozoa--which is related to what I worked with in my research.
I pick up the long marbled green box next. After untying the ribbon I'm absolutely flabbergasted. There's a SanDisk mp3 player and a wireless bluetooth headset. The headset is so light and fits so well. Music motivates me through my miles but after a while the sweat pours everywhere and the earbuds start falling out because your body's all disgusting. SO. I'm especially ecstatic for these earbuds/headset. I've been using the mp3 player for my baseline training runs where the clip keeps the device on my person and it's small and light enough that it doesn't pull my pants down (thank goodness).
At the bottom of the box is a sketchbook with a dark olive green cover. OMG, the pages. You need to feel them to understand how lovely they are--so weighted and primed for graphite drawings. (I also have a strong appreciation for paper products.) After sorting through the mess I made I found that I had missed a package of charcoal in a green box. MAKING ART FOR DAYS!
In closing, if you're not yet convinced that my santa is the greatest person ever, then I don't know what to tell you because this is a real fact. Not one of those alternative ones. Seriously though, thank you. My santa went above and beyond with this exchange. Subsequently I had one of the best days in a while. This was all incredibly thoughtful and generous. And you can be assured that they'll all be put to good use. (Even the ribbons that I'm keeping for crafting.) Thank you so so much.The Bavarians' sporting director does not anticipate any winter departures as he aims to keep the team that has dominated the Bundesliga so far together
Matthias Sammer has insisted that Bayern Munich have no intention in selling any first-team players in the winter transfer window, and added that Mitchell Weiser is the only one who could be allowed to leave the club on a temporary basis.Players such as Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Rafinha have recently been linked with a move away from Bayern, but the club's sporting director is keen to keep their current squad together."We have our team for the second half of the season ready, and players like Rafinha and Tymo are part of the squad we count on," Sammer told TZ."Mitchell Weiser is the only one where we could consider a transfer if all the conditions are right. Obviously, only on a temporary basis, though. He's still a youth player and a loan move could benefit him."The 18-year-old joined Bayern from Koln in the summer transfer window, but has yet to make his Bundesliga debut for the Bavarians.is the fast-food restaurant where both Beavis and Butt-head work at.The McDonald's Arches are turned upside down, to create the logo. The duo cook burgers, fries, chicken, and other food items.
Beavis and Butt-head cause nothing but havoc here. They have even failed to perform easy tasks, like taking orders. Burger World has been closed several times because of their antics; this includes a health code violation because they threw food into the ceiling fan, damaging the drive-thru speaker, and rearranging letters. They have also changed the cooking oil in the fryer with motor oil from a Jiffy Lube, fried just about every kind of small creature there is, stolen money from the register, and slowed service so badly that everybody left.
The Burger World Manager has kept them employed despite all this. He puts up with their goofing off, and never fires them. It's possible that because of what Beavis and Butthead do, Burger World is a horrible place to work.
In the episodes that have them working at Burger World, it should be noted that besides the duo and the manager, there is nobody else employed there. It could be the above-mentioned appearance, or because of the safety issues they have been known to cause.
The reasons Beavis and Butthead are not fired because the two ruin the reputation of Burger World, no one wants to work there because of the two, and Beavis and Butthead are the only employees working there and the manager is |
★ (2006), Uptight ★ (2006), Cosplayers ★ (2014), Blubber ★ (2015), Love and Rockets ★ (2016)
Squishy Comics
Jim ★ (1987), Jim ★ (1993), Grit Bath ★ (1993), The Biologic Show ★ (1994), Pressed Tongue ★ (1994), Jim Special #1: Frank’s Real Pa ★ (1995), Frank ★ (1996), Weasel ★ (1999)
Underground
Shadowland ★ (1989), The Natural Inquirer (1989), Amazons ★ (1990), The Fauna Rebellion (1990), Avenue D ★ (1991), Adventures on the Fringe (1992), The Boulevard of Broken Dreams ★ (1993), The Mishkin File ★ (1993), Waldo World ★ (1994), Guttersnipe Comics ★ (1994), Self-Loathing Comics ★ (1995), Art & Beauty Magazine (1996), Villa of the Mysteries ★ (1996), Mystic Funnies ★ (2001), Stuff of Dreams ★ (2002), Belly Button Comix ★ (2002), The Mystery of Woolverine Woo-Bait ★ (2004)
Autobio
Real Life ★ (1990), Real Stuff ★ (1990) (the post I wrote about this one apparently never got posted and is lost), The Dead Muse ★ (1990), It’s Only a Matter of Life and Death ★ (1990), Walking Wounded ★ (1990), Colin Upton’s Other Big Thing ★ (1991), Little Italy ★ (1991), Bleeding Heart ★ (1991), Jizz ★ (1991), True Confusions ★ (1991), The Cheque, Mate ★ (1992), Collier’s ★ (1992), Suburban Voodoo Comics (1992), In the Days of the Ace Rock’N’Roll Club ★ (1993), (You and Your) Big Mouth (1993), Wild Life ★ (1994), Life Under Sanctions ★ (1994), Psychonaut ★ (1996)
Humour
Neat Stuff ★ (1985), Lloyd Llewellyn ★ (1986), Good Girls ★ (1987), Lloyd Llewellyn Special ★ (1988), Blite (1989), The Eye of Mongombo ★ (1989), Pedestrian Vulgarity (1990), Har Har Comics ★ (1990), Lust of the Nazi Weasel Women ★ (1990), Art D’Ecco ★ (1990), Leather Underwear ★ (1990), Tales from the Outer Boroughs (1991), Test Dirt ★ (1991), Cultural Jet Lag (1991), I Before E (1991), Knuckles the Malevolent Nun (1991), Loose Teeth (1991), Check-Up (1991), Completely Bad Boys (1992), Zoot! ★ (1992), Griffith Observatory ★ (1993), Idiotland (1993), Bad Comics ★ (1994), Martini Baton! ★ (1994), Damnation! (1994), Whotnot ★ (1994), Spotlight on the Genius That Is Joe Sacco ★ (1994), Prick Comix ★ (1995), Bummer (1995), Sleepy: The Early Daze (1996), Primitive Cretin (1996), The Nimrod ★ (1998), Spicecapades (1999), Steven Comix #2: Steven at Sea (1999), Steven Presents Dumpy (1999), Goody Good Comics ★ (2000), Monkey Jank (2000), Angry Youth Comix ★ (2001), Trucker Fags in Denial ★ (2004), Tales Designed to Thrizzle ★ (2005), Runaway Comics ★ (2006)
Parodies
WildB.R.A.T.S.: Bad Redundant Art Teams (1992), Verbatim (1993), Filibusting Comics ★ (1995)
“Funny” animal
Hugo ★ (1982), Hugo ★ (1984), The Adventures of Captain Jack ★ (1986), Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special ★ (1986), Myron Moose Funnies (1987), Dog Boy (1987), Usagi Yojimbo ★ (1987), Christmas with Superswine (1989), Grootlore (1989), Stinz ★ (1989), Usagi Yojimbo Color Special ★ (1989), Fission Chicken ★ (1990), A*K*Q*J ★ (1991), Aesop’s Fables (1991), Grootlore (1991), Omaha the Cat Dancer (1994), Poot ★ (1997), Fuzz & Pluck in Splitsville ★ (2001)
Anthologies
Prime Cuts ★ (1986), Critters ★ (1986), Honk! ★ (1986), Anything Goes! (1986), Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy ★ (1987), Bad News ★ (1988), Critters Special ★ (1988), Itchy Planet ★ (1988), Graphic Story Monthly ★ (1989), Fox Comics Special ★ (1989), Fox Comics ★ (1989), Real Girl ★ (1990), Different Beat Comics ★ (1994), Girltalk ★ (1995), Zero Zero ★ (1995), Storylines: An Anthology of Emerging Cartoonists ★ (2003), Blood Orange ★ (2004), Bête Noire: The International Comic Art Quarterly ★ (2005)
Documentary
Palestine ★ (1993)
Drama
Playgrounds (1991), S.O.S. (1992), The Cereal Killings (1992), Holy Cross (1993), Frederick & Eloise: A Love Story ★ (1993), Black Dogs ★ (1993), An Accidental Death (1993), Alex (1994), Insomnia (1994),
European and South American
Sinner ★ (1987), Perramus: Escape from the Past ★ (1991), Grenuord ★ (2005), DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood (2014),
Oldee Tymee Comics
Frank Frazetta’s Thun’da Tales (1987), Frank Frazetta’s Untamed Love (1987), Steve Ditko’s Strange Avenging Tales (1997), Mabel Normand and Her Funny Friends (2003), Fatty Arbuckle and His Funny Friends (2004)
Adventures
The Flames of Gyro (1979), Gil Kane’s Savage (1982), Don Rosa’s Comics and Stories (1983), Journey ★ (1985), The Doomsday Squad (1986), The Miracle Squad (1986), Journey: Wardrums ★ (1987), Evil Eye ★ (1998)
Comics Aren’t Just For Adults Any More
Kaktus Valley ★ (1990), Measles ★ (1998)
Science Fiction
Dalgoda ★ (1984), Flesh and Bones ★ (1986), Threat (1986), The Wandering Stars ★ (1987), Keif Llama — Xeno-Tech ★ (1988), Neil and Buzz in Space and Time (1989)
Fantasy
Dinosaur Rex ★ (1987), Tatto Man Special (1991), Coventry (1996)
Literary Adaptations
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories (1988), Kafka: The Execution ★ (1989), A Couple of Winos ★ (1991)
Philosophy
Stickboy (1988), Doofer: Pathway to McEarth ★ (1992), Schizo ★ (1995)
I Just Don’t Know
Crucial Fiction (1992), Sap Tunes (1992), Duplex Planet Illustrated (1993), A Vast Knowledge of General Subjects (1994)
What The Fuck
Teaser and the Blacksmith (1989), Butt Biscuit (1992)
Yes! I’ve read them all this autumn! All 1063! And now I’m going to just read books for a couple of years.Barely seven months after Xiaomi made its official debut in Russia, Counterpoint research has revealed that the Chinese tech company is now the fifth largest smartphone brand in Russia. The Mi brand achieved this feat in the third quarter (Q3) 2017 according to the latest research finding by Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service.
In a statement made available to the press, Counterpoint’s Associate Director, Tarun Pathak disclosed that Xiaomi grew by 325 percent YoY and was the fastest growing smartphone brand in Russia in both online as well as offline sales. Counterpoint also revealed that smartphone shipments in Russia grew by 7 percent annually and 38 percent sequentially during Q3 2017. The growth of the handset market in Russia during the third quarter is fingered to have been driven by aggressive marketing campaigns by new Chinese brands and subsequent price cuts from all the leading retail chains as a response to the high consumer spending precipitated by the new academic year and a ‘back-to-school’ season.
Xiaomi and Apple emerged as the leading smartphone brands in online sales during the quarter. Online sales channel also saw an increase from 12% to 15% YoY in Russia. Overall, Samsung led the smartphone push with market shares of 20 percent and 29 percent respectively during Q3 2017. Other global brands, including Samsung, raked in almost 58 percent of the smartphone market, closely followed by Chinese brands with 32 percent market share. Xiaomi with a growth of 325 percent, Bright and Quick (177 percent) and Huawei (140 percent) were the fastest growing Chinese brands YoY. Local Russian brands also grew in the quarter as well.
Read Also: Xiaomi Opens World’s First 24/7 Mi Store In Russia, Introduces Mi Mix 2
No doubt, results such as this and the strong outing in India would spur Xiaomi to venture more and more into other regions where fans are anxiously waiting to get their products directly.
(via)Trump disseminated highly classified information that the US had received from an intelligence sharing source to the Russian foreign minister and Russian ambassador and, by doing so, jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on ISIS.
For anyone else, such a disclosure would be illegal but because Trump has the authority to declassify top secret information, he likely won’t be prosecuted even though he failed to go through any formal channels. But still, the information was not Trump’s to share.
And, later, in a meeting with the Russian foreign minister, Trump bragged about his knowledge of threats of espionage that the US learned through a key partner. More alarmingly, he revealed the city in which the intelligence partner detected the threat. The location of the city is problematic because Russia could use that information to identify the intelligence partner and its capabilities.
Let me make sure that I understand. Trump leaks classified information directly to our enemies, yet Trump sees fit to call Comey a “leaker?” The memo that Comey “leaked” simply said that that Comey believed Trump to have requested him to drop the investigation of former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn. All Comey did was give non-classified information to a news outlet.
There is a big difference between a leak of sensitive national security information and a leak of a non-classified nature alleging inappropriate behavior of the President–if the latter can even be considered a leak. Comey might more appropriately be called a whistleblower. While Trump may well be the worst leak since Edward Snowden.
So, tell me, who is the real “leaker” in this situation?
AdvertisementsVANCOUVER – In the weeks and months following the devastating March 2011 Japanese tsunami, governments along the West Coast of this continent began preparing for a wave of debris that was expected to wash up along their shores after a long journey across the Pacific.
More than two years later, while there has been a noticeable increase in debris along British Columbia beaches, officials now say the volume has been less than anticipated — and they’re taking that as an optimistic sign the worst predictions of debris-littered beaches might not materialize.
“I don’t think we can say definitely that we won’t, but the feeling now is that we’re hopeful we’re not going to see the kind of volume that the initial numbers would have predicted,” said Jim Standen of B.C.’s Environment Ministry during a briefing at the Japanese consulate in Vancouver Tuesday.
Still, the province is preparing to distribute $1 million in funding from the Japanese government, announced earlier, to help with cleanup operations in B.C.
A powerful earthquake off the east coast of Japan triggered a massive tsunami that killed thousands of people and washed away an estimated five-million tonnes of debris into the ocean.
Much of that debris was expected to sink or become trapped in a swirling collection of ocean currents often referred to as the “great Pacific garbage patch,” but experts believed as much as 1.5-million tonnes could potentially reach North America.
Even when debris is located, it is difficult to confirm whether it is linked to the tsunami.
Debris routinely washes up on B.C.’s beaches, whether it comes from Canada, ships sailing off the coast or other continents. The amount of debris carried into the ocean by the tsunami represents just one-sixth of the debris that enters the Pacific each year, according to the Vancouver Aquarium’s Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
Standen said the increase in debris believed to be associated with the tsunami is arriving in the order experts predicted — objects that float high on the water such as Styrofoam arrived first, followed by an increase of wooden debris.
“If you go by that, we are consistent with the model; we’re just seeing volumes that are less, which is a positive thing,” said Standen.
Standen said the provincial government has spent between $200,000 and $300,000 to respond to the tsunami debris, while the federal government puts its own number at about $400,000.
That is in addition to a $1-million grant from the Japanese government, which will fund a program run by the B.C. government that allows local governments, First Nations and non-governmental organizations to apply for funding for their own cleanup projects. The province announced earlier this week that it would set up a program to distribute the money over the next two years.
Paul Kluckner of Environment Canada said coastal municipalities already have budgets to deal with ocean debris, and he said local governments will continue to take the lead when it comes to cleanup work, regardless of whether the debris is from the tsunami or elsewhere.
He said the funding from the Japanese government will be used if a municipality or First Nation is inundated with more debris than they can afford to remove, or for large debris that would be expensive to deal with, such as a 21-metre section of dock that washed up in Oregon last year.
The tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant on the Japanese coast, but Kluckner said pieces of debris that have been tested had no detectable radiation. He said the debris was washed away before the nuclear crisis even began.
Environment officials in Canada and the United States are also keeping an eye out for potential invasive species that may have hitched a ride on tsunami debris, but Kluckner said most shellfish and barnacles discovered on potential tsunami debris on B.C. shores haven’t been of concern.
He said there are two or three cases in which potential invasive species have been found, but he said experts are still testing the organisms to determine whether they could pose a problem.
The tsunami also raised the possibility of human remains washing up on North American shores, but Kluckner said there have not been any reports of that happening.A newly published study out of the University of New South Wales concludes that men and women perceive men with facial hair to be more attractive and better father-material than clean-shaven ones. WHO'S THE DISAPPOINTMENT NOW, MOTHER?
Above: R.T. Gonzalez in his natural habitat, with and without a beard
Study participants also tended to rate bearded men as more masculine, healthy, and more likely to make good parents. Write researchers Barnaby Dixson and Robert Brooks in their recently published article, which appears in the latest issue of Evolution and Human Behavior:
We quantified men's and women's judgments of attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities for photographs of men who were clean-shaven, lightly or heavily stubbled and fully bearded. We also tested the effect of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use on women's ratings. Women judged faces with heavy stubble as most attractive and heavy beards, light stubble and clean-shaven faces as similarly less attractive. In contrast, men rated full beards and heavy stubble as most attractive, followed closely by clean-shaven and light stubble as least attractive. Men and women rated full beards highest for parenting ability and healthiness. Masculinity ratings increased linearly as facial hair increased, and this effect was more pronounced in women in the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle, although attractiveness ratings did not differ according to fertility. Our findings confirm that beardedness affects judgments of male socio-sexual attributes and suggest that an intermediate level of beardedness is most attractive while full-bearded men may be perceived as better fathers who could protect and invest in offspring.
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Above: an example of the stimuli used in the study, courtesy Brooks and Dixson
Those incapable of growing beards – and this author's mother – would probably be quick to point out the study's limited sample size (the study surveyed 350 women and 200 men), its heteronormative bias (all participants surveyed self-identified as straight), the limitations of its socioeconomic scope (read: its W.E.I.R.D.-ness) and the inherently subjective nature of it all. We're not saying those criticisms are unfounded – we're just saying I like my beard and haters can hate all they want because this study says I'm marriage material so there.
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Check out the full report over at Evolution and Human Behavior.I LOVE this article by Miri about why men should not tell random women on the streets that she is “hot” or otherwise comment on her appearance. Here are a few key quotes but I recommend reading and sharing the whole article!
“It seems that men are finally starting to realize that many women do not like street harassment (or, in the parlance of the uninitiated, “unsolicited compliments about a stranger’s appearance”). This is really great and a sign that activists are doing a good job.
However, predictably, I’ve also seen a surge of men desperately trying to find loopholes so that they can still, yes, give women their irrelevant and unasked-for opinion on their appearance. Hence all the “But what if I say it this way? But what if I say it that way? But what if I make it REALLY CLEAR that I’m NOT TRYING TO BE CREEPY? But why can’t I just give a girl a compliment for crying out loud?
…
“Guys, if you find yourself wanting to compliment a random woman you do not know and who is not asking for your opinion, ask yourself this: why does your opinion on her appearance matter?
Why do you absolutely need to express that opinion, even knowing that it might make her uncomfortable?
Why is it her responsibility to deal with that potential discomfort or “get over it,” not your responsibility to keep your opinions to yourself unless they are relevant or solicited?
And, most importantly–if complimenting people matters so much to you, why not compliment a female friend who knows and trusts you? Hell, why not compliment another man?”He's a captain for our team. He's not only a playmaker for our defense but he's a leader for our team.
UCLA (1-1) at BYU (1-1)
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. MDT, LaVell Edwards Stadium
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM
PROVO — When BYU takes on UCLA and its highly touted quarterback, Josh Rosen, Saturday night in its home-opener, it will be without star senior safety Kai Nacua — at least for the first half.
In the third quarter of BYU’s 20-19 loss at Utah last Saturday night, the Cougars lost two defensive backs on back-to-back plays due to targeting calls. Nacua, who recorded two interceptions against the Utes, and freshman cornerback Austin McChesney, were both ejected. According to NCAA rules, both will be forced to sit out in the first half against the Bruins this week.
BYU attempted to appeal the calls, but coach Kalani Sitake said Monday that he learned that “the appeal was basically Saturday night. The rule is that if there’s no replay available, then they would review it. In this one, there was a replay official available and they made that decision and it was set in concrete Saturday night. That’s just the way the protocol is.”
The call against Nacua was an especially controversial one, a decision coach Sitake vehemently disagreed with on the field Saturday, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Monday, he said he still felt the same way about the play as he did after watching it over and over again on Utah’s “super big-screen” at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Nacua has three interceptions this season and is tied for No. 1 in the country in that category.
So how does BYU fill that void in its secondary?
Matt Hadley, Eric Takenaka, Zayne Anderson and Tanner Jacobson are all vying for playing time at that safety spot, Sitake said.
“There’s a bunch of guys there. We’ll see how UCLA comes after us, knowing that we’ll be without No. 12 (Nacua) in the backfield,” Sitake added. “But they should probably test the new guy and see what happens.”
Though Nacua can’t play in the first half, his presence will still be felt.
“He’s practicing with us. He’ll be with us at the game. He just won’t be out there in the first half. He’ll still lead us from the sideline,” Sitake said. “So it’s not like he’s not present. He just can’t be out there making plays. Someone will fill in, like someone did in the second half (at Utah). We’re looking for someone to step up and take advantage of the opportunity.”
Linebacker Fred Warner said Nacua will be missed on the field in the first half but he’s confident that the defense will respond.
“He’s a captain for our team. He’s not only a playmaker for our defense but he’s a leader for our team,” Warner explained. “That will be tough having him out for the first half. But that also pulls us together as a defense knowing that we have to play for him and take care of business on our side of the ball.”
While McChesney is unavailable at cornerback for the first half against UCLA, the Cougars were without freshman starter Troy Warner against Utah.
Warner is nursing an injury suffered in the season-opening win over Arizona and it is not known if Warner will return this week. Dayan Lake, Isaiah Armstrong and Chris Wilcox could see playing time at corner against UCLA, Sitake said.
The secondary is expected to be tested by Rosen, who ranks No. 17 in the country in passing, averaging 305 yards per game.
“He has a arm. He can definitely throw the ball downfield,” said linebacker Francis Bernard. “He’s a great quarterback, probably one of the best we’ll play against.”An oil and gas industry group is scaling back its drilling activity forecast for 2012, in part because there aren't enough workers who have the know-how necessary to drill big, complicated wells.
"There are rigs and equipment racked because the companies can't crew them with skilled workers," said Mark Salkeld, president and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.
PSAC said Monday it expects 13,350 wells to be drilled in Canada this year, an 11 per cent decrease from its November forecast.
The group decided to rethink its 2012 forecast when the actual well count for 2011 came in 783 wells lower than what it had called for as recently as November.
One reason for the miss, Salkeld said, is a big shift taking place in the industry toward unconventional oil and gas drilling.
Instead of drilling a vertical well a few hundred metres into the earth — as has traditionally been the case — companies are now drilling far-reaching horizontal wells thousands of metres underground to tap into prolific, but tough to access, reservoirs.
"We may be drilling fewer wells, but the wells themselves are taking longer to drill. They're more complex," said Salkeld, who said PSAC intends to take those changing dynamics into account in future industry forecasts.
Drilling those types of wells takes a certain skillset that's better acquired in the field than in a classroom — and that makes finding capable workers difficult, Salkeld added.
"You don't just get somebody off the street to directional drill."
Gas prices dismal
The Petroleum Human Resources Council estimates some 39,000 workers will be needed to replace those who are expected to retire before 2020 — and that's just to maintain the status quo.
Factoring in a more bullish outlook for natural gas and oil prices, the council said the industry could need as many as 130,000 new hires by the end of the decade.
"Those numbers are just mind-boggling," said Salkeld.
He said industry is working with schools and communities to attract more workers, and with governments to make it easier to tap into labour pools outside of Alberta.
Aside from the labour crunch, low natural gas prices and a warmer-than-usual winter also caused PSAC to revise its outlook.
Alberta natural gas prices are expected to average a dismal $3.25 per 1,000 cubic feet this year, which makes it tough to break even in many reservoirs.
Winter is typically the busiest time of year for oil and gas drillers, since the ground is frozen solid and heavy equipment can move around easily. Balmy weather has made conditions too muddy and soft for drillers to work in some places.T-Mobile USA is still several months away from officially launching its new LTE network, but it’s actively testing the new technology in the wild. A GigaOM reader came across the network in New York City and mapped out a three-by-five-block nugget of 4G coverage in Astoria, Queens, which you can see on the Sensorly.com website.
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The reader, Milan Milanovi?, said that T-Mobile appears to be still deep in testing so the network is nowhere near ready for the kind of soft launch we saw for its HSPA+ network in the PCS-1900 MHz last year. Before T-Mobile officially launched that network, customers all over the country were connecting to it, and T-Mobile actively encouraged iPhone(s aapl) owners in San Francisco to take the reconfigured HSPA+ service for a spin during Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference.
Milanovi? said that the Astoria cells are actually invisible to most phones even if they support LTE at the proper band. He had to force his way onto the network by setting his Nexus 4 (which unofficially supports LTE in T-Mo’s 4G airwaves) to LTE-only mode and manually scan for a network connection. Milanovi? encountered a 5 MHz-by-5 MHz link in the 1700 MHz/2100 MHz frequencies, but he was allocated only half of the 37 Mbps of bandwidth that the network could theoretically support.
The network was also awfully shy once discovered. Whenever Milanovi? got a connection, the network would wait between five and 20 minutes to boot him off. Clearly T-Mobile isn’t quite at the point where it’s encouraging customers to try out its new 4G systems.
T-Mobile has already completed construction of its LTE sites in Las Vegas and Kansas City, and we’ve even started hearing reports of LTE sightings out of KC. This is the first activity we’ve heard of in NYC, though. For the most part, the new network has remained underground.
LTE test screenshots courtesy of Milan Milanovi?Islam and male circumcision
Muslims are still the largest single religious group to circumcise boys. In Islam circumcision is also known as tahara, meaning purification.
Circumcision is not mentioned in the Qur'an but it is highlighted in the Sunnah (the Prophet Muhammad's recorded words and actions). In the Sunnah, Muhammad stated that circumcision was a "law for men."
The main reason given for the ritual is cleanliness. It is essential that every Muslim washes before praying. It is important that no urine is left on the body.
Muslims believe the removal of the foreksin makes it easier to keep the penis clean because urine can't get trapped there.
Supporters of circumcision also argue that excrements may collect under the foreskin which may lead to fatal diseases such as cancer.
Some Muslims see circumcision as a preventive measure against infection and diseases.
Belonging
For the majority of Muslims, circumcision is seen as an introduction to the Islamic faith and a sign of belonging.
In Islam there is no fixed age for circumcision. The age at which it is performed varies depending on family, region and country.
The preferred age is often seven although some Muslims are circumcised as early as the seventh day after birth and as late as puberty.
There is no equivalent of a Jewish'mohel' in Islam. Circumcisions are usually carried out in a clinic or hospital. The circumciser is not required to be a Muslim but he must be medically trained.
In some Islamic countries circumcision is performed after Muslim boys have recited the whole of the Qur'an from start to finish.
In Malaysia, for example, the operation is a puberty rite that separates the boy from childhood and introduces him to adulthood.
An essential practice
Circumcision is not compulsory in Islam but it is an important ritual aimed at improving cleanliness. It is strongly encouraged but not enforced.
The ritual dates back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad. According to tradition Muhammad was born without a foreskin (aposthetic). Some Muslims who practise circumcision see it as a way of being like him.
Circumcision was also practised by past prophets.
Dr Bashir Quereshi, author of Transcultural Medicine, explains: "Every Muslim is expected to follow the way and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, all Muslims - devouts, liberals or seculars - observe this ritual. Muslim are obliged to follow not only Allah's message in the Holy Qur'an but also what the Prophet said or did, as proof of their dedication to Islam."
Traditionally, adult converts to Islam were encouraged to undergo the operation but this practice is not universally endorsed, particularly if the procedure poses a health risk.Lincoln police and Saline County Sheriff’s deputies were investigating near a home in Wilber Sunday night in connection with the disappearance of Sydney Loofe, 24, of Lincoln.
Loofe last had contact with friends and family on November 15th. Police say she sent a Snapchat about being excited for a date.
Loofe was reported missing the next day. Police say her phone was last pinged in Wilber before it was powered off.
Wilber residents tell 10/11 Now that police had been investigating throughout the City much of the day, but the police presence was heaviest around a home near the 600 block of W. 7th Street, near the high school in Wilber Sunday night.
Police would not give any detail on their investigation, other than to say it was in connection with the missing person.
Meanwhile, Loofe’s family and friends gathered in her hometown of Neligh to hold a vigil for Sydney, in hopes she is found safe.
Loofe works at Menards in Lincoln, and has failed to show up to work for a few days.
Police said this is very abnormal behavior for the 24-year-old, and added the concern is she hasn’t checked in with anyone since being reported missing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Lincoln Police immediately.The Edmonton Eskimos announced Wednesday a five-year field naming rights partnership with The Brick.
The field at Commonwealth Stadium will now be named The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium during Eskimos games and events.
The team is calling the deal its largest corporate partnership, but the organization hasn’t released exact financial terms.
“The Brick’s commitment to families and the overall community is always apparent and it led to this wonderful relationship,” Len Rhodes, President & CEO of the Edmonton Eskimos, said.
“This historic partnership allows us to make a major stride in catering to programs that appeal to parents and their children.”
The deal includes some changes to the experience for young fans during games.
The new Brickley’s Knothole Corner family area will now include interactive children’s games, stroller check, face painters, an information booth, a dedicated family merchandise store, family friendly inflatable games and game-specific entertainment during all Eskimos home games.
“We continue to grow our relationship with the Edmonton Eskimos and our role in our home community. Brick Field and Brickley’s Knothole Corner will bring a new, exciting family-focused experience to Edmonton Eskimo games and events,” Sheldon Pietrzykowski, with The Brick, said.
There will also be a clubhouse indoor suite which will host families from the Stollery Children’s Hospital and community at every game.
The Eskimos play their final pre-season game at Commonwealth Stadium Saturday afternoon against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.Is Japanese useful outside Japan?
Japanese can help you both professionally and personally even outside of Japan.
There are thousands of bilingual Japanese job opportunities right now in the USA waiting for you when you level up in Japanese.
What you’ll learn in this article:
– There are dozens of Japanese recruiting firms in the US seeking Japanese bilinguals like you (or who you could become) for high paying job placements in companies near you.
– The mega Japanese bilingual job fairs in the US and Japan that you can attend to get first picks of top careers in companies who need Japanese speakers. Just knowing who is attending will give you an advantage.
– The vast number of Japanese subsidiaries (child companies) and their numerous branches nationwide in the US.
– What companies need from a Japanese bilingual. Hint: You need to know more than just language skills.
– Why you shouldn’t listen to the critics. Japanese is an irreplaceable skill and most critics you find online in particular don’t know it well enough to see its value.
– Why comparing Japanese and Mandarin Chinese skills is like comparing sushi and dim sum.
– Why Japanese is a low-supply high-demand skill that is in a completely different league than other languages like Spanish in the US.
– Japanese is a long term investment with high yield returns.
Why should you listen to me about learning Japanese?
I know, because learning Japanese has helped me tremendously in my career despite being told otherwise all over the internet and especially from Japanese people.
I’ve worked as a Japanese translator and interpreter. I’ve worked as a bilingual sales rep. Japanese has been a factor in every position I’ve been in since I graduated university. I’ve been invited to dozens of interviews with companies in the US just because I have Japanese on my resume.
I’ve seen post after post on internet forums and blogs saying, “Japanese is a waste of time” or “Learning Japanese is not essential even if you live there.” I’ve seen other blogs selling some Japanese language service screaming at you that you must learn Japanese now and here are 5 really vague reasons (e.g., it’s good for your career, you’ll make more friends).
I thought it was time I weigh in on the issue with something so few others on the internet offer, real-world experience. This is an opinion piece based off of my own experience learning Japanese and using it in my career. I do not expect everyone to agree with what I say here.
I won’t be providing graphs, charts or big data to defend my opinions. I will provide you with real-world experience to answer the question: Should I learn Japanese? Is Japanese useful?
I will not write about the personal aspect of learning Japanese here. First, let me tell you how learning Japanese will put more rice on your table.
Nihongo: The name of your new career insurance policy
I knew that Japanese would be useful someday, but to be honest I thought it would be too hard to learn to read and write, so I didn’t even bother until I went to university.
I don’t know why or how. Once I got going something just clicked. From the moment I started studying Japanese a Western Michigan University, I found myself waking up early every morning to review my Genki textbook. I would start having make-believe conversations with myself.
*There must be a million more proficient ways to learn Japanese than to use Genki or the alternative, Minna No Nihongo. But life gave me the Japan Times textbook, so I was genki!
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If I could start over and learn Japanese from scratch again?
I would go with an audio focused course with lots of speaking practice. Reading and writing is cool, and very useful, but the first skills you learn as a baby are listening, then speaking, then reading and finally writing, right? Take an audio course like this one from JapanesePod101 and you’ll have a massive head-start on people who are memorising word lists from a textbook.
JapanesePod101.com – Learn Japanese with Free Daily Podcasts
For more advanced language learners who want to use the best techniques to get fluent in Japanese fast, take a look at this article where we talk about Glossika, possibly the best language learning audio course out there.
Anyway, I pretty soon found out about our campus Japan club, a club for Japanophiles and Japanese people to exchange culture and good times.
Not too long later, I found myself half a world away from Japan speaking in Japanese for hours on end. Not only would I speak with my professors, but through the club I met countless Japanese students and visitors.
A lot of the visitors couldn’t speak English or simply were too shy to. Surrounding yourself with people who speak less English than you do Japanese is one of the most effective ways I know to quickly become more confident and more fluent.
[tweetthis]I thought Japanese was too hard to read and write, so I didn’t try.[/tweetthis]
You shine where bilinguals are in short supply
Fast forward to my first year abroad in Japan. I was a recipient of the JASSO full-ride one-year scholarship.
Nearly all my Japanese friends told me to go somewhere more famous like Keio.
My advising professor said to me, “Martin, do you want to go somewhere for the name or do you want to learn the most Japanese you can?”
I took his advice and I decided to go to Daito Bunka University instead. There, I knew I would be the least likely to find fluent English speakers and lots of other foreigners.
The big fish in a small pond effect
As a big fish in a small pond, I had loads of opportunities I may not have had anywhere else.
From week one, I was asked by the 国際交流センター kokus |
UK's shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, said the move to send UK officers was backed by the UN resolution and Labour supported the government's decision.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption William Hague: "This is not British ground combat forces going in... this is fully in-line with the UN resolution"
Former Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell warned against becoming bogged down in Libya, in similar fashion to what happened to the US in Vietnam.
He said: "Sending advisers for a limited purpose is probably within the terms of [United Nations] Resolution 1973, but it must not be seen as a first instalment of further military deployment."
Labour MP David Winnick, who backed last week's demands to recall Parliament from the Easter recess so MPs could debate the Libya situation, criticised the deployment of British officers.
"However much one despises the brutality of the Gaddafi clan which rules Libya, the fact remains that there is a danger of mission creep," he said.
Meanwhile, British military chiefs have been giving details of the latest action by the RAF to enforce the no-fly zone.
Maj Gen John Lorimer said Tornado and Typhoon aircraft had attacked rocket launcher vehicles and light artillery observed firing on Misrata, and a second pair of RAF planes destroyed a gun and tank on a transporter.
Tomahawk cruise missiles were also fired by the nuclear-powered submarine HMS Triumph.
Brig Gen Mark Van Uhm, chief of Allied operations, said almost 2,800 sorties had been flown over Libya, destroying more than a third of Col Gaddafi's military assets.
He said the situation on the ground remained fluid and was changing daily.CRIMINAL gangs threaten to throw the city into disorder.
Drugs and violence are kept at bay by brave police, stretched to the limit.
The frightened population need a hero, but the one man who could come to the rescue must overcome a troubled past.
This isn't Gotham City - it's Melbourne.
MORE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNET: Essendon saga in the style of a facebook fight
VICTORIAN GLORY: 50 experiences for your bucket list
Ken Lay fights the scourge of organised crime as a plot to endanger the Victorian public comes to a head.
Read on to find out which unlikely saviour is called to the rescue...
ON A MOBILE DEVICE? READ THE COMIC HERE
MORE MELBOURNE: 10 charts only this city can understand
GoT: Melbourne's Game of Thrones house sigils revealed
CUTE OR CREEPY: Kids drawings come to life
QUIZ: Are you a Melbourne train line master?
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RETRO: The TV shows so awesome they could never survive the 90s
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mitchell.toy@news.com.auPosted October 25, 2011 in Diary | No Comments so far
Back in 1999 I was living in Whitechapel, near a couple called Mick and Kerry who spent a year or so having a passionate love affair.
We all knew this because their affair was being conducted in full view of the public. On several walls near my flat, they’d been having the written-language equivalent of fantastic sex for all to see.
The graffiti started appearing in March 1999, appearing first on the wall pictured above and then spreading slowly onto a disused old doorway across the street. These spray-painted messages of love became quite wild and transcendental at one point; this next one sees both Kerry and Mick touching the infinite.
But being extremely versatile communicators they weren’t limited strictly to the grandiose; they knew how to be succinct as well.
By the summer there was quite a lot of Mick and Kerry graffiti. Who were Mick and Kerry? Where did they live? What kind of a strange relationship did they have, that their intimate pledges of love were spilling out in front of an intrigued if bemused public?
The messages stopped appearing in early autumn 1999. I imagined several possible reasons for this.
Firstly, I honestly couldn’t think of anywhere else they could spread their messages to. They’d taken up almost all of the available free space, and it wouldn’t have been in the spirit of things to expand to another street.
Secondly, the graffiti could have been a by-product of the honeymoon phase of their affair. Maybe their relationship was at a more mature stage with dinner parties starting to replace amorous late-night graffiti.
Thirdly, their red spraycan might have finally run dry.
As time went by, it seemed that we’d heard the last from Mick and Kerry, that their story would remain an enigmatic mystery. But several months later a new message appeared – from a devastated Mick.
Our local love story had reached a tragic conclusion, made all the more poignant by Mick’s last lament being scratched on to a door with a piece of metal.
And that was that for Mick and Kerry. None of the questions I had about them would ever be answered, but there’s one thing I did know for sure; somewhere, in a flat near mine, was a failed graffiti artist with a broken heart. And somewhere else – maybe very far away by this time – was a mad girl called Kerry with a red spraycan.Jens Rushing, like so many people, took to Facebook to rant about something. Rushing, a paramedic, wrote an impassioned post about fast food workers winning a $15 an hour wage two years ago that immediately went viral. But instead of getting angry that his skilled job pays him the same amount, he stood in solidarity with the underpaid workers and had this to say to everyone complaining about the wage increase: “That's exactly what the bosses want! They want us fighting over who has the bigger pile of crumbs so we don't realize they made off with almost the whole damn cake.”
Although originally published a while ago, the post is still being shared daily by thousands of people. Check out the full message below:
Fast food workers in NY just won a $15/hr wage.
I'm a paramedic. My job requires a broad set of skills: interpersonal, medical, and technical skills, as well as the crucial skill of performing under pressure. I often make decisions on my own, in seconds, under chaotic circumstances, that impact people's health and lives. I make $15/hr.
And these burger flippers think they deserve as much as me?
Good for them.
Look, if any job is going to take up someone's life, it deserves a living wage. If a job exists and you have to hire someone to do it, they deserve a living wage. End of story. There's a lot of talk going around my workplace along the lines of, “These guys with no education and no skills think they deserve as much as us? Fuck those guys.” And elsewhere on FB: “I'm a licensed electrician, I make $13/hr, fuck these burger flippers.”
And that's exactly what the bosses want! They want us fighting over who has the bigger pile of crumbs so we don't realize they made off with almost the whole damn cake. Why are you angry about fast food workers making two bucks more an hour when your CEO makes four hundred TIMES what you do? It's in the bosses' interests to keep your anger directed downward, at the poor people who are just trying to get by, like you, rather than at the rich assholes who consume almost everything we produce and give next to nothing for it.
My company, as they're so fond of telling us in boosterist emails, cleared 1.3 billion dollars last year. They expect guys supporting families on 26-27k/year to applaud that. And that's to say nothing of the techs and janitors and cashiers and bed pushers who make even less than us, but they are as absolutely crucial to making a hospital work as the fucking CEO or the neurosurgeons. Can they pay us more? Absolutely. But why would they? No one's making them.
The workers in NY *made* them. They fought for and won a living wage. So how incredibly petty and counterproductive is it to fuss that their pile of crumbs is bigger than ours? Put that energy elsewhere. Organize. Fight. Win.
The original post, which has been shared over 48,000 times, can be found here.Yeah, yeah, there’s an app for everything. But rarely does an app encourage you to buy less.
“We want to encourage people to live within or below their means,” explains Micah Davis. He’s a software designer at OvenBits studio in Dallas. They work with lots of nonprofits and, he explains, “we get more requests to help than we can handle…so we said, 'let’s create a whole platform that can be used to help nonprofits.'”
Instead is that platform, now in beta testing. Davis hopes it helps to change your behavior for the better, and in the process, build a healthy microphilanthropy habit.
“Instead of eating at the Cheesecake Factory, how about eating at Chipotle and giving the difference?” Davis suggests. “Or, instead of going to the movies, use Redbox, and give the difference.”
His app facilitates your habit shift and drives dollars to charity in the process. When you download it, you enter your credit card info or sign in through Facebook to choose from a list of 100 or so charities. The default donation is $5, but you can pick more or less. The idea is to make one-button giving fun and easy, so when your coworker pops by your desk to say “time for a Starbucks break?" you can pass, then punch in a $5 donation to the Acumen Fund or the Cross Timbers Community Church of Argyle, TX.
Nonprofits have long been asking people to forgo a cup of coffee or a newspaper subscription and donate the difference—think NPR pledge drives—and now technology allows for a facilitator right as you stare the desert menu in the face or consider the impulse to order another Manhattan.
Microdonations through phones are shaking up the fundraising world. But so far, they're mostly for disasters. After the earthquake in Haiti, the Red Cross and other groups received $43 million in text message donations, mostly in increments of $5 or $10 dollars. Of those donors, 80 percent didn’t give in any other way. We don’t have the data yet to know if they would have given at all or way more online or over the phone, or if a cell phone and easy donating options created a whole new source of philanthropy, but we do know that Millennials respond better to requests to donate over the phone than older, typically more generous age groups.
Several experiments in building habitual donations have sprung up: The Mutual, still in startup mode, rewards small a monthly donation with discounts to shops and restaurants. The One Percent Foundation—which recently won a GOOD Maker challenge—is a giving circle designed for younger donors that asks you to pledge to donate 1 percent of your income. Philanthroper uses a daily deal model, but instead of sales it gives you an opportunity to donate $1 to a charity each day that you might not have heard about.
“Twenty percent of people who give just once on Philanthroper will give 10 or more times,” founder Mark Wilson says. “So this idea of making giving a habit actually plays out in practice.”
Among its 1,200 beta testers, Instead’s most popular use has been giving up or scaling back on meals and coffee. The average donation is $5 a month so far. By the time the app comes out of beta testing June 1, there will be added features to encourage donation.
“People want to set up these social challenges and goals with a little social gamification involved,” Davis says. For example: Could you, or your group of friends, brown bag lunch once a week all July and give the savings to charity?
Instead is a nonprofit, with an all-volunteer, part-time staff including Davis and other designers from OvenBits. They take a 5 percent fee of each donation after the credit card or bank processing fee—the same as Kickstarter and similar sites. Instead maps out where the 5 percent goes right on the website in proper new nonprofit transparency style. Naturally, the site and the app also tracks how much aggregate good you and other users are doing.
“Albeit they are small, one-off [actions],” Davis says, but “they could really add up to some big collective good.”
Photo courtesy of Instead.The Lewis Chessmen Unmasked exhibition in Edinburgh brings together the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland’s collections of the Lewis Chessmen – a set of medieval gaming pieces, originating most likely from Trondheim in the 12th or 13th century, which were discovered on the Hebridean island of Lewis sometime between 1780 and 1831.
Individually hand-carved from walrus ivory, and numbering 93 pieces in total – 82 of which are held by the British Museum, the remaining 11 by the National Museum of Scotland – the Lewis Chessmen are world famous for their mysterious origins, unique design and curious, almost comical expressions, which range from moody kings to a frightened-looking warder biting down on his shield. They even made a cameo in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
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Lewis Chessmen Unmasked curator Dr David Caldwell revealed ten fascinating facts about the artefacts, covering everything from the story behind their enchanting expressions to a new theory on when and where on Lewis they were found, why it’s unlikely that a handful of missing Chessmen will ever be discovered, and why the 82 pieces owned by the British Museum will most likely never be repatriated.
Click here or on the image to launchThis is a list of the wettest tropical cyclones, listing all tropical cyclones known to have dropped at least 1,270 millimetres (50 in) of precipitation on a single location. Data is most complete for Australia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, Yap, Chuuk, and the United States, with fragmentary data available for other countries. The French region of Réunion holds several world records for tropical cyclone and worldwide rainfall due to rough topography of the island and its proximity to the Indian Ocean.[1]
Overall Wettest [ edit ]
Typhoon Morakot approaching Taiwan on August 7, 2009. Due to its rugged topography, Taiwan sees extreme rain from tropical cyclones, particularly in its central mountain range.
The heavy rains from Tropical Storm Talas triggered numerous landslides, such as this one in Kihō, across the mountainous terrain of Japan.
Flooding in Texas on August 31, 2017 from Hurricane Harvey. Harvey stalled over the state of Texas for two days due to high pressure ridges on both sides, resulting in massive flooding.
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
^ May have had a greater amount of precipitation. ^ May have had a greater amount of precipitation. ^ May have had a greater amount of precipitation.Any iPhone users out there when have been around long enough to have bought an early iPhone 4 unit will remember the unexpected cellular signal loss they may have experienced. The antenna was on the outside of the phone, and Apple’s engineers didn’t foresee this problem: holding the phone by its antennas might mess with cellular reception. But then late Apple cofounder and CEO Steve Jobs famously explained that if you experienced signal issues while using the iPhone 4, you were probably holding it wrong.
Now, a different Apple executive is telling us we’ve been doing something else wrong when it comes to the iPhone.
DON’T MISS: This is how I make my iPhone look so much better than yours
For some reason, Apple’s senior vice president Phil Schiller decided to fix the Internet this week, telling us that there’s no such thing as “iPhones” or “iPad Pros.” There’s no plural for these devices.
It turns out that I’ve never had two iPhones. Not because I sold off the older model when buying a new release, but because I’ve been doing it wrong. It turns out you can’t have two or more iPhones, iPad Pros or Macs.
But according to Apple’s Phil Schiller, you can have two “iPhones devices,” “iPad Pro tablets” or “Mac computers.” You can also apparently have “two iPhone” or “three Macintosh.”
Now that the Internet knows what the correct plural of iPhone is, Schiller should also pay a visit to Tim Cook and Luca Maestri’s offices. It turns out they said “iPhones” and “iPads” during the company’s earnings call earlier this week.It's shocking how similar the statistics are for the Oregon Ducks six games into the season when compared to the same point in 2014.
On paper, it's difficult to tell the two teams apart:
The 2015 Ducks have up 5.84 yards per play as opposed to 5.78 yards per play through six games in 2014.
The secondary, which has received much criticism for the big plays it has given up, has allowed 37 plays of 20-plus yards. A year ago, the more veteran secondary had allowed 32 plays of 20-plus yards at this point.
Last season after six games Oregon had tallied 18 sacks. This season they've accounted for 17.
Oregon's offense is averaging 6.7 yards per play this season as opposed 7.6 yards per yard a season ago (a drop of.9 yards per play isn't terrible considering it lost the Heisman winner).
Through six games a year ago -- even with said Heisman winner -- the Ducks had recorded 12 three-and-outs. They have the same number so far this year.
One of the bigger offensive differences this season comes in the rate at which Oregon has moved the chains and the rate at which the Ducks have scored.
One of the biggest differences between last season's Oregon team and this version is in their turnover margin. Scott Olmos/USA TODAY Sports
The Ducks' third down percentage has dropped from 49.3 percentage (through six games in 2014) to 35.7 percentage in 2015. A season ago at this point Oregon was scoring one touchdown for every 12 plays. This season it is scoring one touchdown for every 15 plays.
That's certainly not good, but it doesn't explain the seriousness of the struggles.
Realistically, there's not one statistic that's going to explain away all of Oregon's problems. But there is one that does explain a lot of them and shows -- quite drastically -- the difference between the two teams: the turnover margin.
This is a category that Oregon has grown accustomed to winning by huge margins. By the end of last season the Ducks had accounted for 23 fewer turnovers (best margin nationally) than they had forced their opponents into. And they weren't just good at turning over their opponents, they were good at making the most out of these opportunities.
In 2014, the Ducks scored 164 points of turnovers while their opponents scored just 13 off the Ducks' mistakes.
For obvious reasons, many coaches point to this statistic as one of the biggest indicators between winning and losing. Right now, it's a good explanation as to why the Ducks are 3-3.
Through six games the Ducks are winning the turnover battle right row at plus-2 (meaning, they've had two fewer turnovers than their opponents). A year ago, after six games the Ducks were at plus-9.
In 2014 Oregon had scored 65 points off those turnovers and hadn't allowed opponents to score off their turnovers, giving them a huge boost during those first six games.
This season, the Ducks have scored 52 points off opponent turnovers, but they've also allowed opponents to score 42 points off their own, giving them just a +10 point margin in turnover points scored.
This season Oregon has turned the ball over twice in the red zone, while its opponents haven't at all. A year ago at this time, the Ducks hadn't turned the ball over at all in the red zone while opponents had twice.
That's a huge swing, one that's very pronounced on paper and one that severely separates last season's team from this season's teamIt was one of the fastest civil settlements in the history of corporate malfeasance, coming together in six months instead of the years usually required for such complex negotiations. But the path to Volkswagen’s $15 billion deal last month with American officials and car owners over the company’s diesel deception was fraught with pitfalls, including clashing egos and cultures, arguments over mathematical formulas and frayed nerves from late nights and lost weekends.
The negotiations, which began in January, threatened to unravel in March. Fixing half a million cars to comply with clean air rules looked increasingly impossible. And Volkswagen was balking at any plan to buy back and scrap every car, which the company said it believed would be exorbitantly expensive.
Looking to negotiate the differences, a group of Volkswagen executives and lawyers, led by Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz, a VW board member, headed to Washington to meet with officials at the Justice Department, according to three people briefed on the discussions. The company proposed fixing the cars as best it could, while reducing emissions in other ways, like installing cleaner engines in government trucks, buses and tugboats.
Government officials pushed back, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the continuing legal action. The officials would agree to a partial fix, but Volkswagen would have to offer to buy back the cars, even if every owner took that option.Any Republican has a difficult pathway to the presidency. On the electoral map, expanding blue blobs in coastal and big-city America swamp the conservative geographical sea of red. Big-electoral-vote states such as California, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey are utterly lost before the campaign even begins. The media have devolved into a weird Ministry of Truth. News seems defined now as what information is necessary to release to arrive at correct views.
In recent elections, centrists, like John McCain and Mitt Romney–once found useful by the media when running against more-conservative Republicans–were reinvented as caricatures of Potterville scoundrels right out of a Frank Capra movie.
When the media got through with a good man like McCain, he was left an adulterous, confused septuagenarian, unsure of how many mansions he owned, and a likely closeted bigot. Another gentleman like Romney was reduced to a comic-book Ri¢hie Ri¢h, who owned an elevator, never talked to his garbage man, hazed innocents in prep school, and tortured his dog on the roof of his car. {snip}
{snip}
In such a hysterical landscape, it was possible that no traditional Republican in 2016 was likely to win, even against a flawed candidate like Hillary Clinton, who emerged wounded from a bruising primary win over aged socialist Bernie Sanders.
Then came along the Trump, the seducer of the Right when the Republican establishment was busy early on coronating Jeb Bush. After the cuckolded front-runners imploded, we all assumed that Trump’s successful primary victories–oddly predicated on avoidance of a ground game, internal polling, ad campaigns, sophisticated fundraising, and a sea of consultants and handlers–were hardly applicable to Clinton, Inc. She surely would bury him under a sea of cash, consultants, and sheer manpower.
That Trump was an amateur, a cad, his own worst enemy, cynically leveraging a new business or brand, and at any time could say anything was supposedly confirmation of Hillary’s inevitable victory. Her winning paradigm was seen as simply anti-Trump rather than pro-Hillary: light campaigning to conserve her disguised fragile health, while giving full media attention to allow Trump to elucidate his fully obnoxious self. Her campaign was to be a series of self-important selfies, each more flattering to the beholder but otherwise of no interest to her reluctant supporters.
For insurance, Clinton would enlist the bipartisan highbrow Washington establishment to close ranks, with their habitual tsk-tsking of Trump in a nuanced historical context–“Hitler,” “Stalin,” “Mussolini,” “brown shirt,” etc.
{snip}
Yet for all Hillary’s hundreds of millions of corporate dollars and legions of Clinton Foundation strategists, she could never quite shake Trump, who at 70 seemed more like a frenzied 55. Trump at his worst was never put away by Hillary at her best, and he has stayed within six to eight points for most of his awful August and is now nipping her heels as October nears.
{snip}
Trump’s hare-and-tortoise strategy, his mishmash politics, reinventions, mastery of free publicity, and El Jefe celebrity had always offered him an outside chance of winning. But he is most aided by the daily news cycle that cannot be quite contorted to favor Hillary Clinton. {snip}
{snip}
That the establishment was repulsed by his carroty look, his past scheming, his Queens-accented bombast, and his nationalist policies only made him seem more authentic to his supporters, old and possibly new as well. The more Trump grew unnaturally calmer, he became somewhat presentable, and the more he did, the more a flummoxed Hillary returned to her natural shrillness–and likewise became less viable.
By late September, Trump had slowly mastered the electoral formula, in part due to his new campaign staff–ridiculed as amateurs by the handler establishment but who were versed in pop culture that may have made establishment politics this year obsolete. In good Obama (the erstwhile opponent of gay marriage and big deficits) and Clinton (the former free trader and closed-borders advocate) style, Trump became a version of the comic-book character The Flash: He left his critics far behind to shoot at empty silhouettes while he zoomed miles away to pause in his new incarnation.
{snip}
The only missing tessera in Trump’s mosaic is the Republican establishment, or rather the 10 percent or so of them whose opposition might resonate enough to cost Trump 1–2 percent in one or two key states and spell his defeat. Some NeverTrump critics would prefer a Trump electoral disaster that still could redeem their warnings that he would destroy the Republican party; barring that, increasingly many would at least settle to be disliked, but controversial, spoilers in a 1–2 percent loss to Hillary rather than irrelevant in a Trump win.
To be fair, NeverTrump’s logic is that Trump’s past indiscretions and lack of ethics, his present opportunistic populist rather than conservative message, and the Sarah Palin nature of some of his supporters (whom I think Hillary clumsily referenced as the “deplorables” and whom Colin Powell huffed off as “poor white folks”) make him either too reckless to be commander-in-chief or too liberal to be endorsed by conservatives–or too gauche to admit supporting in reasoned circles.
Perhaps.
But the proper question is a reductionist “compared to what?” NeverTrumpers assume that the latest insincerely packaged Trump is less conservative than the latest incarnation of an insincere Clinton on matters of border enforcement, military spending, tax and regulation reform, abortion, school choice, and cabinet and Supreme Court appointments. That is simply not a sustainable proposition.
{snip}
Trump’s ball-and-chain flail, such as it can be fathomed, is in large part overdue. The old Wall Street Journal adherence to open borders was not so conservative–at least not for those on the front lines of illegal immigration and without the means to navigate around the concrete ramifications of the open-borders ideologies of apartheid elites. {snip}
{snip}
In sum, if Trump’s D-11 bulldozer blade did not exist, it would have to be invented. He is Obama’s nemesis, Hillary’s worst nightmare, and a vampire’s mirror of the Republican establishment. Before November’s election, his next outburst or reinvention will once again sorely embarrass his supporters, but perhaps not to the degree that Clinton’s erudite callousness should repel her own.
In farming, I learned there is no good harvest, only each year one that’s 51 percent preferable to the alternative, which in 2016 is a likely 16-year Obama-Clinton hailstorm.
It may be discomforting for some conservatives to vote for the Republican party’s duly nominated candidate, but as this Manichean two-person race ends, it is now becoming suicidal not to.
Original Article
Share ThisDemocratic leaders in D.C. weren’t the only legislators frustrated by Republican party efforts to block health care reform last week. After watching his party promise to stonewall any Democratic reform efforts, Maine state Rep. Jim Campbell decided it was time to drop the (R) from his title.
From Campbell’s statement announcing his decision to leave the GOP and become an Independent (h/t Ben Smith):
I have been very frustrated with the Republican Party in Maine, and nationally, for their failure to address the health care crisis in a meaningful way. Nobody has all the answers, but the Republican Party has none when it comes to health care reform.
Campbell says he’s a public option fan, and Politico described him as a “liberal Republican,” whose votes on issues like gay marriage have often broke with the GOP’s national platform. In his statement, Campbell said the party switch “has been a long time coming” for a man who feels increasingly alienated from the GOP, but he makes it clear the obstructionist tactics his party used in the national health care debate were the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The same can’t be said of the two GOP senators Maine sent to D.C., Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. Both of them briefly flirted with joining Democratic-led heath care reform efforts before choosing to join the GOP line of attack against them over the weekend.If there was one job I'd love to do other than writing games it'd be writing compilers. This probably explains my obsession with the subject of reflection; a topic I've been hammering away at for almost 10 years now. Having written a few compilers in the past, it became glaringly obvious to me that reflection would be quite simple to add to C++ -- if you're willing to place some limits on it -- and that the language has suffered from its absence.
Adding reflection to C++ via a library or other means can be a simple task, a very hard task, or a down-right impossible task. You can't reflect all aspects of your C++ program and it's highly unlikely that you will ever want to.
This is the start of a series of tutorials on reflection from the point of view of a game programmer. As a first post it is very high-level with the hope that it will provide you with some key reasons why you might want to add reflective features to your game engine.
Subsequent posts will provide in-depth case studies of methods I've developed in the past that are either out there in shipped games, buried in code bases never to be seen again or the result of frenzied late night coding sessions:
I'll cover a very simple method of reflection that can be very powerful, developed in my spare time as Reflectabit, with a similar implementation written for Splinter Cell: Conviction. The main selling points of the implementation are the ease with which you can replicate anything over a network connection and the extra bonus of being able to live-edit your C++ code while the game is running.
This will be followed by an approach that required the development of an IDL compiler and some crazy template programming for performing binding to arbitrary programming languages. Even though it worked on a PSP, it wasn't the ideal method of achieving a solution for that platform and a subset of its implementation could prove a good match for others out there.
Another spare time project of mine I'll cover is something I informally call Reflectalot. It works by scanning a PDB file and is surprisingly thorough at providing you with most of the information you need, albeit not really cross-platform (PC & Xbox 360 only). One of its cunning little features is its ability to provide you with a constant-time typeof operator.
operator. Finally I'll cover my latest development, clReflect, that uses the clang C++ frontend to build a reflection database. This to me is as close to ideal as I'm going to get for C++ on Windows, however it can be taken to its logical conclusion on other platforms such as MacOS or Linux where the LLVM backend is more stable. Please checkout its webpage because I'd really love some help developing it further!
What is Reflection?
A reflection API is a very basic, powerful tool that every game studio should have at their disposal. It normally contains some or all of the following features:
A database of types and their inheritance relationship with each other.
A means of creating objects of a specific type by name.
A list of data member descriptions for each type, with name/type/offset tuples.
A database of enumeration types and their associated key/value pairs.
A database of functions/methods with their return types and parameter lists.
A means of calling functions/methods by name at runtime with an arbtrarily constructed parameter list.
A database of properties represented as Get/Set method pairs that externally look like a named value.
A database of attributes that can be attached to any of the above, describing how they should be used.
Each language has varying levels of support for reflection, while C++ has RTTI. You can do various things with RTTI but it's an incredibly limited system that only gives you:
The ability to discover an object's type at runtime through the typeid operator.
operator. A typeid operator that can also be applied to types themselves.
operator that can also be applied to types themselves. A type's name, its hash code and some comparison functions.
Runtime downcasting and similar operations through dynamic_cast.
This is not nearly enough! RTTI also has varying levels of support between compilers and type names are implementation specific.
So why would you want reflection? Perhaps it's best to list a few things that it can enable:
Serialisation of any game type.
Transparent implementations of various backend data formats with one point of serialisation for any given format.
Versionable serialisation of any data.
Inspect game state of any object at runtime for debugging.
Dependency tracking with the pointer graph (ever wanted to know what objects are dependent on another before deleting?).
Reloadable resource (mesh, texture, script, etc) reference updating.
Automatically populate and describe user interfaces for editing tools.
Binding to arbitrary programming languages (Lua, C#, Python, etc.) through minimal translation layers.
Network communication/replication through serialisation and RPC.
Memory mapping of data formats with post-load pointer patching.
Live C++ code editing.
Garbage collection or defragmentable memory heaps (useful on systems where the GPU uses physical addressing).
You can of course build individual systems for each of these but they all share the same need to register type data and access it offline or at runtime. Using reflection for these systems can either make everything easier to understand and maintain or obfuscate intent and lead to a brittle code base. As such, a clean and simple reflection API is absolutely vital if you intend to adopt one.
Generating a reflection database can be done in any number of different ways with C++, including:
Using macros to simultaneously annotate your code and generate registration calls.
Using templates and meta-programming techniques to achieve the same goal.
Using a hybrid of the above or even doing it non-intrusively. Collectively these are runtime databases with no offline representation.
Using an IDL/DDL compiler to generate cpp/h files containing C++ equivalents and registration code. This can also generate an offline representation of your database that can be used in tools.
Using an existing language that already has reflection to describe your data/interfaces to achieve the same as the previous method (C# is a good candidate for this).
Performing a pre/post process on your C++ code using a custom parser that picks up interesting information.
Inspecting debug information emitted by the compiler.
There are many tradeoffs with each technique and covering each is beyond the scope of these posts. However, the use-cases should be broad enough to show how varied implementations can be.
Basic C++ Reflection API
To introduce the above concepts we'll need a quick API we can talk about:
struct Name { int hash; string text; }; struct Primitive { Name name; }; struct Type : public Primitive { int size; }; struct EnumConstant : public Primitive { int value; } struct Enum : public Type { EnumConstant constants[]; }; struct Field : public Primitive { Type type; int offset; }; struct Function : public Primitive { Field return_parameter; Field parameters[]; }; struct Class : public Type { Field fields[]; Function functions[]; }; struct Namespace : public Primitive { Enum enums[]; Class classes[]; Function functions[]; };
The base type for any entry in the reflection database is a Primitive and will be used below to describe any such entry.
Serialisation
The cross-over between serialisation and reflection APIs is quite large and subtle. When you have game objects that you want to load and save from disk, a natural response is to develop a dedicated serialisation API that reads and writes data from within your game types. Reflection can be considered a generalisation of such a serialisation API by presenting a runtime description of all your types and their memory layout. This allows you to write serialisation code separate from your types that can be adapted to suit multiple file formats.
Let's start with a very basic set of game types:
struct Vector { float x, y, z; }; struct PhysicsComponent { Vector position; Vector velocity; Vector acceleration; }; struct GameObject : public Object { PhysicsComponent physics; };
The reflection database can tell you:
Vector has 3 floating point data members at offsets 0, 4 and 8.
has 3 floating point data members at offsets 0, 4 and 8. PhysicsComponent has 3 data members of type Vector at offsets 0, 12 and 24.
has 3 data members of type at offsets 0, 12 and 24. GameObject has one PhysicsComponent at offset 0.
Object is a type introduced by the reflection API that all objects must inherit from if they intend to be the root of any serialisation requests. In the code above Vector and PhysicsComponent do not inherit from Object, representing any of your lightweight game types. This means that you can only serialise objects of type GameObject - however, as long as the reflection database contains a description of the Vector/PhysicsObject types, they can be serialised as part of any objects that contain them. This should become apparent when we introduce what Object actually looks like:
struct Object { Type* type; };
So far that's all we need. Object simply stores a pointer to the reflection database's description of whatever type that object is. Some psuedo-code for a save function would be:
void SaveObject(Object* object) { // Types that inherit from Object already know their type so can call // the overloaded SaveObject directly SaveObject(object, object->type); } void SaveObject |
and the Alt-Right nationalist position,is directly opposed to the revisionist interpretation, as the document also refers to:To cite one phrase of a document in contradiction to the central theme of the entire document, which is that the People of the United Colonies are an English people, unique and distinct from foreigners, Indians, and the English people loyal to the King of Britain, is anattempt at deceit that relies entirely on the historical ignorance of the audience. To say that anyone can become an American because "all men are created equal" is alie. One might as readily cite it as evidence to claim it means anyone can become Chinese.Now, I was aware of this deception because I am half-American, born in Boston, descended in my paternal line from an American revolutionary who died at Valley Forge, and steeped in the history of the American revolution. My family even celebrated Independence Day 1976 in Lexington, Massachusetts. But what I did not know, not being Jewish, is that Jews have also been victimized by the same sort of revisionist Talmudry to which Americans have been subjected by their assimilationist co-religionists.In, John Red Eagle and I made the connection between Churchianity and the concept of Tikkun Olam, the Jewish mandate to "heal the world". But, as one of the Jewish readers here helpfully brings to our attention, it turns out that "heal the world" is just another assimilationist lie, no more historically legitimate than the anti-American lies already mentioned.It is in the interest of Americans and Jews alike, and in the interest of anyone who values either history or the truth, to continue to expose these "assimilationist liberals" for the liars that they are, and to reject their self-serving, ahistorical, revisionist falsehoods. This post also demonstrates why a broad-spectrum Alt-Right is more effective, and informed, than a narrow-gauge, white American-only Alt-Right.UPDATE: Lies have ALREADY appeared about this post on Twitter. They are truly People of the Lie.
Labels: #AltRight, history, ZionVia RAW STORY...
The Obama administration has asked the Department of Justice to dismiss a lawsuit brought by convicted terrorist Jose Padilla against torture memo author John Yoo, asserting that Yoo cannot be sued for legal opinions he offered in the course of advising then-President Bush on national security matters.
Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley finds ths decision inexplicable. "The president literally has gotten onto a plane this evening to go to Norway," he told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on Wednesday, "to accept the Nobel Prize, while his Justice Department is effectively gutting a major part of Nuremberg."
"The Obama administration is arguing not only that they shouldn't be prosecuted," Turley emphasized, "but it's now saying that you shouldn't even be able to sue them civilly.... It's an international disgrace."
Turley pointed out that several legal advisors to Germany's Ministry of Justice were convicted during the Nuremberg trials held after World War II for providing the legal advice that justified Nazi war crimes. Now the Obama administration, in its desire to uphold executive privilege at any cost, is willing to toss that principle aside.
...
"The Justice Department's prosecuted lawyers who give advice to mobsters," Turley concluded, "but apparently if you give advice to advance a war crime, that's just 'full and frank advice.'"The dust is still settling from yesterday’s special election in Georgia’s 6th congressional district to replace outgoing Rep. Tom Price, who was recently named President Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services. There’s no question both this race and the subsequent runoff on June 20 will serve as an early report card on the Trump administration to date.
To many in the White House, that hardly seems fair. After all, how much can a president do after 8 years of mess created by the Democrats? If this were a college course, we wouldn’t even be at the end of a semester. Yet here we are, and make no mistake, this will be an early sign of how voters think Trump is doing.
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The stakes are high, even if the candidates are struggling to find a vision and a message for voters. The Democrat, Jon Ossoff, is no Kennedy-in-grooming. But this isn’t about Jon Ossoff at all, and it’s certainly not about his credentials. This is pure smash-mouth politics – where national machines roll into these sleepy, Southern suburban counties to set up shop and guarantee this election is worth watching nationwide.
For the Republicans, the environment was target-rich, and emptied the state party of any hope of capturing the win on Tuesday. Each candidate struggled to stand out, and the fact that virtually no one dropped out tells you more about themselves than their opponents. For months, both state and national Democrats didn’t know who to target, and so a lot of money has been spent (wasted) in trying to pick a frontrunner in order to tear him/her down. Now, former Georgia secretary of state Karen Handel will carry the banner for the party. This is a runoff she can win, but the larger question is: what does it all signal for the president’s agenda?
Trump claims Dems "failing" in Georgia: "It is now Hollywood vs. Georgia" https://t.co/Q5qsSYME6s pic.twitter.com/jpJNpVyPTV — The Hill (@thehill) April 19, 2017
This dynamic was pretty standard for an off-year special election. No matter how wide a margin the sitting president won (or lost) the district, the race would still be pitted as a referendum on his progress to date. Math has always been my strong-suit, but this is not a deeply red GOP district. Yes, Tom Price was popular in the district, but Trump won the state with just 51.3 percent votes. And in the three main counties in the sixth district, he combined for just 30 percent voter support.
To prove the point, Ossoff nearly captured the seat; falling just short of the needed 50 percent to avoid a runoff. But let’s be fair – Ossoff built a major war chest of over $8 million and Handel struggled against an 18-person GOP field. Those odds would be tough even for Ronald Reagan.
Like many in Washington, I care more about what this race says nationally, if anything at all. If voters continue to feel the same frustration they did when they voted for Trump, that’s not a good sign – especially for a business-minded, transactional executive such as Trump. At the very least, they need to feel like he is trending in the right direction, and I’m not sure they can say that at this early stage, and certainly not with the recent election numbers.
Yet as I travel the country, I’m amazed at how resilient the Trump support is. Even if this administration’s policies are geared against the typical Trump voter in the short-term, data suggests they’re willing to give him the benefit of the doubt to see how that family fares in the long run. In politics, perception governs reality, and right now at least, the perception is “We have a guy in the White House who is looking out for us, even if he can’t get it all done in 100 days.”
Georgia Dem dismisses concerns he doesn't live in district where he's running for office https://t.co/TUUqcoCepe pic.twitter.com/lLAncNWZ8L — The Hill (@thehill) April 18, 2017
If Ossoff does win come summer, it will be for two reasons: voter turnout among the 18-25 age cohort who feel Ossoff represents their generation, and visceral reaction or general indifference toward ObamaCare. By that I mean, the voters in Georgia 6 will reconcile in their minds that no politician can fix the mess created by Obamacare, and they just want to move on. Any attempt to try and repeal the measure will have a negative impact, and that’s not worth it to them for Trump to keep trying.
While it’s not in his nature, the president would be wise to wake up on June 21 and determine if voters think he is making a successful shift from campaigning to governing. Granted, the presidential election was unlike any other; and Trump voters care more about change than anything else. But if there’s one area where Trump could score easy political points with voters who are second-guessing their choice on Election Day, it’s in seeing a president who can lead them through difficult times ahead.
North Korea, China, Russia, and Brexit are just a few examples where global leadership pays dividends in the homeland, especially when threats are as real as they are today. And even if the president won’t be watching for that, we certainly will.
Armstrong Williams served as an advisor and spokesman for Dr. Ben Carson's presidential campaign. He is Manager and Sole Owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the year. Listen to Mr. Williams on Sirius XM126 Urban View nightly 6:00-8:00pm EST. Follow him on Twitter @arightside.
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.Since his time as president came to an end on January 20, Barack Obama has gone kitesurfing while on vacation and grabbed a meal in New York City with his daughter Malia, but this week, Politico reported that, according to former attorney general Eric Holder, Obama will soon be making his way back into the realm of politics.
Holder told Politico that Obama was "ready to roll" and looking at helping the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which hopes to produce fairer maps in the 2021 redistricting process to aid with issues like gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is when a party redraws the lines of a district to give it an advantage over the other party. Because many current districts were drawn by Republican-majority state legislatures, the maps tend to favor Republican candidates. Democrats are currently in the minority in both the House and the Senate, so Obama and other Democrats are looking ahead to the midterm elections in 2018 when they hope to pick up seats and potentially take the majority.
Holder also told Politico, “This is really a battle for our democracy. The notion that people are denied their ability to cast a meaningful vote...is inconsistent with who we say we are, inconsistent with what we say our democracy is about.”
Related: 10 Times Barack Obama Was the Breakup Inspiration We Needed
Check this out:(AP) BAKU, Azerbaijan - Russia's foreign minister warned other nations again Wednesday not to arm the Syrian opposition, saying it would only escalate hostilities.
Speaking on a trip to Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Syrian opposition wouldn't be able to overwhelm government forces even if it was supplied with weapons from abroad. He warned that a foreign military intervention would lead to even more disastrous consequences for Syria, where President Bashar Assad's forces have violently cracked down on a yearlong uprising in which more than 9,000 people have died.
"Even if they arm the Syrian opposition to the teeth, it won't be able to defeat the Syrian army," Lavrov said. "The carnage will go on for many years."
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two Sunni-ruled nations, have backed the idea of arming the opposition against Assad's Shiite-ruled government, but the West remains opposed. Western nations moved instead to create a fund for the rebels at a meeting in Istanbul.
Russia, along with China, has twice shielded Assad from United Nations sanctions over his bloody crackdown on dissent. But Moscow also has strongly supported U.N. envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan, which gives an April 10 deadline for Syrian troops to pull out of towns and cities.
Clashes as Syrian government claims troop pullout
Syrian forces, rebels fight ahead of deadline
Lavrov reaffirmed that Assad needs to take the first step to end bloodshed, but all international players need to back Annan's proposals.
He criticized Sunday's meeting of the "Friends of the Syrian People" in Istanbul, saying it sent signals to the opposition that would undermine Annan's plan.
"All that would undermine efforts to end violence," he said. "They want to solve the Syrian problem with the opposition only, but it's impossible to settle the situation like that. There must be a dialogue of all the parties involved."
Russia's Foreign Ministry said that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem will hold talks with Lavrov in Moscow next Tuesday, and representatives of the Syrian opposition will visit the Russian capital on April 17-18.
While Moscow has shown signs of increasing impatience with its old ally, criticizing Assad for being too slow at reforms, it also has criticized the West and Arab Gulf states for backing the opposition. It has strongly opposed U.N. sanctions against Assad, saying that the global body shouldn't be turned into an instrument for regime change.
Russia has vowed to block any U.N. resolution that could pave the way for a replay of what happened in Libya, where NATO action helped oust longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Lavrov said NATO nations had abused a U.N. resolution that cleared the way for a military action in Libya, killing civilians and "leaving something that can't be called a state in the end."While pacing back and forth along the length of the castle's finest guest room, Princess Celestia paused in mid-stride, her attention caught by the full moon. Its pale, steady light, shining in through the open window, was quickly overpowered by the flickering yellow light cast by the candles over the mantel. The candles were burned nearly down to the brass; the moonlight would still be there in the morning.
The castle had been outfitted with electrical lighting years ago—Twilight herself had instigated the change—but candlelight seemed more friendly, more restful, if a little overly portentous. It was mid-summer, but the breeze flowing in was deliciously cool. The sun had not burned quite so hot that day, and Luna was no doubt now standing on top of the south tower, horn to the sky, expending considerable energy to keep the night air at a constant comfortable temperature in defiance of a thousand years of meteorological precedent. They wanted everything to be perfect that night. Perfection was all they had to offer, useless as it was.
Celestia had not stopped to admire her sister's moon in quite some time. It still made butterflies leap in her stomach every time she looked at it and didn't see Luna's image there. But after a thousand years during which every glimpse of the moon was an icy dagger in her heart, she had unconsciously learned to avoid places and times when it was visible, except those horrible moments at dusk and dawn when it had been her duty to attend to it. Now that Luna was back, Celestia was usually fast asleep by now, and rarely saw the moon at its zenith—only on special occasions, like Nightmare Night, or Hearth's Warming Eve, or tonight.
"I think I see what you mean, Twilight," she said softly. "It's hard, for me of all ponies, to look at the moon and see it. See it for itself. But it is beautiful. It's beautiful in the same quiet way Luna is beautiful. Thank you for pointing that out to me."
The purple unicorn in the guest bed continued snoring in quiet, uneven gasps that were painful to listen to. Celestia stepped over to the bed, and the doctor scuttled back from his post to make room for her. She looked across the bed and met the eyes of old Granny Applejack, standing there silently. Rainbow Dash was asleep on her feet, snoring more loudly than Twilight. The last of the original Elements of Harmony had both been keeping watch since yesterday—no, the day before yesterday, now—with only infrequent naps. Celestia leaned in close, until she could feel the tingle of magic emanating from the sleeping unicorn, weak but still there.
"How much longer, doctor?"
The old earth pony looked down at Twilight as he spoke. "One day, maybe two."
How odd, Celestia thought. He didn't look at me. Ponies always look at me when they speak. Always. Is that what being mortal feels like? Like being part of the background?
The doctor was wrong. She had only asked him so that he could feel useful. Celestia could sense precisely her old friend's life-energy. It would not last that long, but it would last at least until morning. Certainly enough time to write one more letter.
She touched her nose softly to Twilight's, which was now gray with age, and then did what she had never dared before—licked the old unicorn's nose and face, like she would have her own foal. The doctor turned away in embarrassment. If Applejack found it strange, she didn't say.
The Queen chose her for this assignment, she had said, because of Celestia's strong motherly instincts. What a cock-up that had turned out to be. Mother of Equestria, her ponies called her, a title that thrilled and stung her.
Celestia went to the enormous mahogany desk she had had installed years ago specially for Twilight's visits. She put away Twilight's modern ballpoint pens, unscrewed the lid from the ink jar, poured a puddle of thick black ink into the inkwell, pulled out her best quill pen and a fresh sheet of her heaviest parchment, dipped the nib in the ink, and began to write.
Dear Queen Titania,
Once again, I find myself watching a dear friend's life burning low, like a candle about to gutter and flicker out. I have never told you this, but I don't think you understand the impropriety of asking me to turn my friends' final moments into reports for you. I take some comfort in knowing that this pony, at least, would be delighted at the prospect of being immortalized (as they say) as a lesson. I would tell her, but she would probably try to struggle out of bed to assist in writing it.
I also take comfort in knowing this will be the last of these loathsome reports I shall write you.
The quill trembled slightly as she wrote these words. The Queen was not accustomed to being addressed so bluntly, especially by one so young as herself. But if she could not throw some plain words at Her Majesty, she could hardly hope to have the courage for the greater defiance she had decided upon. And Celestia was not a pony to waver in her decisions.
The effects of mortality are easy enough to predict from evolutionary psychology. Mortality causes ponies to value the here-and-now above the future, and the dominance of individual over group selection increases the love they show their offspring at the expense of the kindness they show to strangers.
Twilight would have liked that part. Just another little bit of knowledge she would have savored, another little pleasure Celestia could have given her. How much could she could have taught Twilight in one lifetime, if she'd taken her role as teacher more seriously? But her real purpose in taking on the little unicorn hadn't been to teach. She knew that now.
But I did not need to travel light-years and take the form of a pony to tell you that. How do I feel about mortality? Horrified. There's the raw horror of holding someone's hoof at the moment the light goes out. Their head flops to the side, their jaw drops open, and you're suddenly left holding a mocking effigy of your old friend. I have never come to terms with it as they have, like an immigrant who has spent decades in a foreign country, yet never learned the language.
Almost as bad is the horror of watching them twist themselves so as to live with it. Imagine living in a village below a mountain with an ancient dragon who comes down every night and feasts on a villager or two. This has gone on for so long that the villagers have grown used to it. They tell each other that dragons are natural, that those who run or fight or curse the dragon are cowards and fools who cannot die with dignity. They speak of being reunited with their loved ones in the dragon's belly. They write songs and poems about the dragon's beauty, and leave flowers outside its cave to thank it for helping them to appreciate life.
I listen to the obscene excuses they make for death and nod, as if it were wisdom. Who am I to take away their soft lies and give them nothing in return?
Her pen ran dry, and she set it to rest in the second, empty well. Twilight did not expect another life after death, but had made the princess promise to let anypony who found comfort in that idea say what they liked at her funeral. Celestia looked toward Applejack, so solemn and still, and probably the pony Twilight had had in mind. Well, it wouldn't matter now anyway. She dipped the nib again.
I'm giving the wrong impression. Mortality isn't just about death. How does one live in the shadow of death? By not thinking about the future. This is what makes mortals both a joy and a frustration.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: Mortals throw the best parties. I've already written you about my friend who would throw a party at the drop of a hat.
Celestia had never explained how literally true that had been. She remembered standing against one wall in Twilight's library, next to a bookcase, getting slightly dizzy from watching brightly-colored ponies with high blood sugar run and fly about the little room. It was like being trapped inside one of those clear plastic globes with the little colored balls that popped when a foal pushed it across the floor. She'd been trying to teach Twilight to mingle, but Pinkie's parties were not like those in Canterlot. Twilight had gone to bed at midnight like a responsible pony, but Celestia was determined to get this mingling thing down. "Pinkie," she asked when the earth pony finally paused for a few moments between bounces. "Tell me again the purpose of this party?"
"Sure thing, Princess! It's for Jorge!"
"And Jorge is..."
"Oh! You haven't been introduced! Princess Celestia, meet Jorge! Jorge, meet the Princess!" Pinkie thrust her head toward the princess. It was covered with a gaudy, wide-brimmed straw hat, with diamonds woven into the brim and rope tassels all around the edges. "Isn't he splendouriferous? I saw him in the marketplace and I knew right away a hat like that meant only one thing: it meant party! I mean, a lot of things mean party, like 'party' for instance, but Jorge means party! Oh, I forgot you can't see the italics. I'd let you wear him, only you've got that big sharp horn on your head, and I don't think Jorge would like that at all!"
"Probably not," Celestia said. "Pity."
Pinkie bounced off, the hat flopping madly, to introduce Jorge to the other guests. Celestia decided to approach whomever was moving the slowest. This turned out to be Spike, lying on a pillow in one corner with a half-finished pint of ice cream in one claw.
"Spike," Celestia chided. "A whole tub of ice cream? Surely Twilight has explained to you that a dragon's endocrine system is very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature, such as those induced by a large bolus of ice cream."
"Yes she has," Spike had said, "and I have an answer for that."
"You do?"
Spike had burped green flames, and then said something that seemed to sum up the attitude of every pony there. "That's future Spike's problem."
Celestia smiled at the memory. Present Spike was fast asleep, in a cave far away. Future Spike would have quite a few problems when he awoke. She hoped Luna would be able to help him. She'd gone through something similar. Celestia resumed writing.
She lived in the moment, in a way that we immortals can achieve only by either centuries of meditation, or by attending one of her parties. That willful short-sightedness, so much harder for us than for them, is the secret to, as she would say, "getting down." I regret that I cannot adequately explain this crucial concept in a letter.
The downside is obvious. I remember a farmer who called my conservation measures foolish, because the aquifer he drew his water from would never run dry. "Not ever?" I asked him. "Not ever," he said. "Not even in fifty years?" I asked. He snorted and said, "Well, sure, maybe in fifty years."
That was nearly two hundred years ago. In the past hundred, his farm has grown nothing taller or greener than a tumbleweed. I remember a mare who was sensitive to disturbances of any sort, and was constantly nervous because she lived in a noisy, smelly part of the city, but never moved, because it was too much bother. She lived that way for forty years. Ponies who hated their work would stay at it day after day, year after year, rather than take a few weeks to look for something better. That was why I instituted cutie marks. Mortals are like apples, and will thoughtlessly grow wherever they fall unless you give them a good kick.
Celestia shook her head and smiled. Now she was making apple metaphors.
Living with them is like living in that story about the land where children never grow up. I realize this is partly my fault. I protect them from harm, from each other, and from unpleasant truths. They are content to leave the great mysteries alone as long as they imagine I know the answers. I need only look enigmatic and keep my mouth shut.
And this is the part where I can hear you say, in your kind but knowing voice, that I'm the one who hasn't grown up, because I still want everything to be flowers and rainbows, instead of setting my charges on the path of struggle and growth.
"Princess?" Applejack called softly. "I think she's comin' 'round."
Celestia wiped the nib of the pen on a rag, set it in the dry well again, and trotted back over to the bedside. Twilight's eyes were open, just barely. They opened a little more when the princess leaned over the bed, although they still gazed straight up at the ceiling. "Princess?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
The unicorn just smiled a little.
"Are you... afraid, Twilight?"
"No."
Celestia blinked, then leaned in closer, as if studying the unicorn for clues. She had an expression rarely seen on her face, of wide-eyed wonder. "Why not?" she asked in a whisper.
Twilight said nothing and kept staring straight ahead, until Celestia thought she might have fallen back asleep. Then she finally said, "Me... not being. Doesn't seem possible. Consciousness. The greatest mystery. A miracle." She shifted on the sheets to look Celestia in the eye. "Why would the world take back its miracles?"
Celestia had an answer, but it was long, technical, inappropriate for deathbed conversations, and the unicorn lying on the bed had helped develop it. So she asked, "Have you found faith, now, Twilight?"
Twilight's lips pulled back into a grin. "Say... a willing suspension of disbelief."
Celestia sighed. "Twilight. I have something very important to tell you."
Twilight's ears perked up.
"The world will go on without you. The world will go on without me. Nopony is that important. You must never forget that."
Across the bed, Applejack, who had been listening with a frown, finally spoke up. "Princess," she said, "you're outta line."
Celestia chuckled. "Out of place, my dear Applejack." She turned back to Twilight. "You think far too highly of me. Whatever reason you had, whatever solace you found in that, you must stop now and see there is no one here except five old ponies."
Twilight nodded seriously. Celestia had never known this sort of lesson to take when given in words, but it was the best she could do now. And just the fact that Celestia would still take the time to give her a lesson seemed to comfort Twilight. The unicorn's eyes slowly shut, and she resumed her uneven, raspy breathing.
"I'm afraid, Twilight," Celestia said.
She leaned over and kissed Twilight on the forehead. Then she returned to the desk, dipped the nib of the pen in the ink, and continued where she had left off.
I know that. I know the thousand years of unbroken peace under my rule is an embarrassment to you, just as it would chagrin an art professor if her student turned in painting after sentimental painting of birds and flowers in a sunny field.
Let me tell you about my friend who is dying tonight.
Her name is Twilight Sparkle. I've mentioned her often in my past several reports. I have formed exactly the sort of deep connection with her that you warned me against. I do not regret it.
She was born with a drive to understand everything, to find what needed doing, and to do it. She would leap into harness for the sheer joy of pulling the plow and getting the work done. She reminded me of you.
I told her to be more selfish, to enjoy life, take a mate, have foals. All the things my duties prevent me from doing myself. She has instead served me—served everypony—selflessly, all her life. For years I've dreaded these last moments, when she would realize that it wasn't worth it, that she had had one short life to live and had wasted it in service to me.
Nothing like that happened. She wasn't bitter. She only wanted to make sure everything was wrapped up before she was gone. That's when I realized you had the wrong pony.
I know you will not grant them immortality. You say they must earn it for themselves. I even understand why, a little. I've read of the disasters in the past. I know my ponies have a lot of growing to do first, and that I must let them "fall down and skin their knees," as you put it. But when the knees to be skinned are entire cities, I lose my resolve. I love my little ponies. And so peace reigns in Equestria, and I prolong their suffering, and my own.
I know you're right—we could build a paradise here, and a better kind of pony, or even other creatures yet undreamed of. The equations don't lie. But I never really saw the appeal.
Then Luna came quietly into the room. Celestia dropped the pen, leapt up, and almost flew across the room to embrace her. "Lulu," she said hoarsely, leaning against her shoulder, "my dear, dear little sister."
Luna's eyes widened and her ears flicked nervously. But she stood firm and returned the embrace. "Oh, Tia. It'll be... I mean, I know this is very hard for you."
Celestia pulled back, and looked steadily at her sister through teary eyes. "Luna," she said, in a calmer voice, "I do love you. You must believe that."
"Why... I believe you, Tia."
"Not just now! You must believe it later. And always. No matter what happens."
Luna laughed nervously. "Now, Tia. You're overwrought. You're not making sense. Just... sit down and finish that letter I saw you writing. I'll be here."
"Yes," Celestia said, frowning in determination. "Yes." She stood staring at Luna for several more seconds before recovering her dignity and returning to the desk and retrieving the pen from the floor where it had fallen. She tried, with little success, to blot out the stain the pen had made when she dropped it on leaping up to meet Luna.
Just this once, I'm going to do the right thing. Not because I've learned to follow the equations, but, as always, because it's what I want to do. I hope it will finally make you a little bit proud of me. And I hope you will be gentle with Twilight, because she has had only a foolish and overly fond teacher who has not taught her the cold ways of the equations.
I'm not writing to report Twilight's death. I'm writing to report my own. I'm very much alive now, and may still be when you read this—but there is no use writing back to anyone but Luna and Twilight.
You may think I've gone native. That I've bought into their lies that "death gives life meaning and purpose." No; I can never unlearn what I have learned. We are the ones who have purpose and meaning. We understand; we plan; we direct the courses of worlds. They have only a few years of blooming, buzzing confusion, and no more purpose than a leaf drifting on a stream. And I have come to realize that I envy them that.
I never wanted to have a purpose. I wanted to have a life.
She thought again of Jigsaw, the travelling musician and storyteller who had always resisted her attempts to tie him down with a court appointment, yet always seemed to show up when she most needed the cheer of his impish grin-and-wink. Such a handsome stallion. The truth was it was so long ago that all she could remember was that he was brown with a white star on his forehead, but in her mind it was a handsome brown and white. Such a lively one. Such a strange one. He loved his music, but no more than he loved many things. It was his excuse to travel Equestria and beyond, meeting everyone, figuring them out, fitting them into some giant puzzle in his head.
How she had wanted him!
She was supposed to be all-powerful and fearsome. But if just once he'd broken through the invisible barrier that surrounded her, taken one step closer than was proper, looked her insolently in the eye, and curled his upper lip at her—if he'd nudged her shoulder and bit her flank—she would have been completely helpless. She wouldn't have been able to resist him then, even if he'd grabbed her from behind by both flanks and mounted her in the middle of the throne room in front of the royal guard and the council of nobleponies.
Celestia felt her face flush, but it was dark in the room, and the others were far away, so she allowed herself to think about it for a few seconds more.
Then it could have been her, for once, in the birthing stable, with the doctors in attendance, and Jigsaw looking on in pride and wonder as she brought his foal into the world, and nudged it until it took its first steps. Celestia imagined a little skewbald filly suckling at her teat, huddling under her wing when the pegasus ponies piled the clouds up into great thunderheads and rolled them across Equestria. Then she would be a real mother, not an honorary one. Someone who had given life to another. Not a foal-thief disguised as a teacher.
She had already come up with a name for the filly: Amaranth. Amaranth had been a filly in Celestia's daydreams for five hundred years now. Of course, it couldn't be. Two immortals was company; three was a powderkeg waiting for a match.
Celestia widened her nostrils angrily. How could Twilight not want that?
She closed her eyes in shame. Twilight was still dying, and here she was being angry at her. This was supposed to be about Equestria, not about her living vicariously through Twilight. What Twilight wanted was her business. If she'd wanted something different, she wouldn't have been Twilight. Celestia was still healthy, and here she was already furious with Twilight for throwing away the sacrifice she was about to make for her. And yet, if Twilight had wanted what Celestia wanted, there would have been no logical reason for making it.
No logical reason.
She continued with the letter:
I could not lie on my death-bed today and ask whether I had served you well. I do not know what will happen when I transfer my power to Twilight, but if I die tonight, I will die cursing you.
I'm terrified of dying. I've seen it happen so many times. There's no such thing as a good death. But I can't be what you want me to be. I don't want to lead anypony towards a glorious future. I can't ask ponies to suffer today to benefit a future they will never see. Perhaps I have gone native. But I think I was that way from the start.
If only one of us can be immortal, it should be Twilight. It will only take me a minute. She understands little now. But she desires a purpose, and has the strength of mind to follow her head rather than her heart. I can solve the equations, but Twilight can trust them. She will do whatever is necessary to lead these ponies to a brighter future. She has true love, which seeks the best for the object of its affections, where I have only sentimentality. I am sure you will find her a better student than I ever was.
For a little while longer, your faithful student,
Princess Celestia
Then she took out a smaller piece of paper, and wrote on it,
My dearest sister,
If you find this letter, please read it, and transmit its contents to our Queen. Show it to Twilight when you judge the time is right. And please forgive me.
All my love, forever,
Tia
She lay the two letters side-by-side in the center of the desk, not stacking them as the ink was not yet dry. Then she wiped the nib clean on the rag, replaced the pen in the drawer, and walked slowly towards the other ponies, to ask for a minute alone with her faithful student.
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which made sodomy (and it’s slightly unclear what else) punishable by life in prison. Though that law was never very actively enforced, its militancy is reflective of the strength and tenor of the Ugandan movement towards an almost belligerent form of Protestantism.
Humanism hasn’t been thriving in this burnt-over atmosphere. Still, it’s a belief system with plenty of supporters around the world and it was, in a sense, the shibboleth that brought Hank Pellissier, the founder of the nonprofit Brighter Brains Institute, to Musubaho’s door. Pellissier, who endeavors to promote cognitive and mental health, wanted to involve BBI in a project in Africa. When he heard about Musubaho, he was fascinated. The two men talked and BBI began fundraising a clinic, scholarships, and the supplies for after school activities. Eventually, he flew to Uganda, and met with Musubaho. He said that he wanted to do more than help Musubaho’s schools. He wanted to help him start an atheist orphanage.
A group of British missionaries in 1897.
“I said there’s never been an atheist orphanage and all the orphanages here are either Christian or so self-righteous about the orphans,” Pellissier recalls. Pellissier’s friend, Transhumanist Party 2016 Presidential Candidate Zoltan Istvan, agreed to help launch the project and remains on the board. In fact, the orphanage’s peculiar name is a product of mashing Biba Kavas, Zoltan Itsvan, and Hank Pellissier together.
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Within 29 hours of shaking hands with Istvan, the atheist orphanage had raised $5,835, enough to start building a home for 15 to 20 orphans. This was in February 2015, and since then donations have been steadily flowing in: $1,000 for a new classroom, $500 for solar panels, $1,200 for a new kitchen. Private donations allowed them to open the Andrea Vogt Health Clinic, named for a German banker, a year later. The clinic distributes AFRIpads and free condoms.
“It’s all just a lot of crowdfunding,” says Pellissier. “People come to me and say, ‘You got to write grants!’ But I like the democratic model of this. We just try to get money from everybody, and I send everyone a thank you note.”
He also credits the online networking savvy of Musubaho and Christine de Brabander, BiZoHa Project Manager and Secretary of the Board at BBI, for how successful BiZoHa has been so far in accumulating funds. Pellissier estimates that they have probably raised about $45,000 so far, mostly as a result of Brabander’s posts on the subreddit /r/atheism.
Karen Zelevinsky, a donor to BiZoHa and a recent addition to the Board of Directors at BBI, came across information on BiZoHa when looking at the Facebook page for the “Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists, and Non-Religious” who were involved in supporting the micro-lending site, Kiva. She was impressed by the transparency and communication BiZoHa displayed and, along with her family, donated funds to support the building of classrooms and general projects that were necessary to make the school more self-sufficient — like buying the tractor necessary for farming.
“Science and reason are essential to improving life, especially in areas of the world like Uganda where, unfortunately, superstition is still rampant,” Zelevinsky says to Inverse. “A school like BiZoHa will educate the kids, and ultimately the whole community, on humanist principles of respect, tolerance, logic, and democracy. The motto of the school is ‘With Science, We Can Progress’ and I think that does a wonderful job of capturing the essence of why the school exists.”
Construction of the "Dr. Bruce Chou Classroom" in June 2015.
BiZoHa’s science curriculum is not specifically unusual — they teach in accordance with the Ugandan Ministry of Education curriculum which is taught at most schools in the region — but the materials are presented differently. Musubaho stresses that the curriculum that they teach is founded on evidence-based learning, rather than speculation formed by religious principles. Also, the teachers don’t quit — a problem throughout the country — and girls can attend school while having their periods. Also, and not unimportantly, no one is at the mercy of government funding. The Yoweri Museveni administration has invested in education intermittently over the last several decades, creating a boom and bust academic cycle. While the Ugandan 2015/2016 budget allocates 11.1 percent of the total budget to education, it also emphasizes that, “while it is deserving to spend more resources on social services such as education and health, it is also prudent to increase funds to key infrastructure investment, such as roads and electricity.” This game plan for economic growth is a significantly different model than the one proposed by the Ugandan National Council for Science and Technology, which, in its 2012 report argued that the strategic investment for Uganda is an investment in science education.
“Science education is also challenged by infrastructure inadequacies, few and poorly motivated teachers, and an examination focused curriculum that is devoid of innovation,” reads the federal report. “Poor performances in science right from primary level has a negative impact on attitudes towards science… leading to preference by a greater majority of students for courses in Social Sciences and Humanities.”
What BiZoHa will be able to accomplish when it comes to spreading scientific thought is now, at best, speculation. But it seems to be on the path towards accomplishing what’s being argued for here — education that serves as a building block for economic infrastructure through STEM initiatives. Other Ugandan schools, with an inherent bias towards education interpreted through a religious lens, are failing. This would be important anywhere, but it’s more significant in Uganda, where the majority of the population is under the age of 18. Students aren’t just the future of the country. They are its present.
In a way, BiZoHa is more similar to religious schools of the colonial era than it would like to admit. When reflecting on the history of religious education, Bruner notes that it’s one thing for someone to have a Christian education and the label of a Christian, and another to actually feel those religious aspirations in your bones.
“The history and tradition of religion in Uganda seems to have a kind of pragmatic element, and you might find a similar disposition with schools — like this is the school closest to us and we’ll use it because we want the best for our children,” he says. “For missionaries, however, the idea of being religious has always been linked to morality. You needed religion in order to sustain a sort of moral sensibility. Being religious would give a sense of personhood and stand contrast to being superstitious.”
At BiZoHa, the fight is against a more broadly defined, less racist notion of superstition. And Pellissier says this is a practical goal because religion wastes time. As he puts it, “There’s a huge belief in prayer and it doesn’t, of course, work.”
Pellissier’s hard stance against religion is somewhat muted on the ground at BiZoHa — while the school is based on humanist principles and students are guided towards these principles rather than religion, there is no enforcement of belief. During school holidays, children can return to relatives and caretakers, many of whom remain religious. As ever, there is that tricky line between helping and colonizing, between dispelling harmful myths and indoctrinating children.
For Musubaho, who has been accused of being “satanic, evil, and dangerous to society,” it’s all about being practical and honest.
“The religious conservatives continue to wonder how one can live without a belief in a god,” he says. “I am not shy when telling them who I am as a person, and I am always proud to call myself a non-believer. This has given me a platform to tell them that you don’t have to believe in a god or gods to be a good person.”Note: The White House has denied the report that Obama has chosen the chapel at Camp David as his church. This, however, does not change the the core issue raised in this post -- the problem of military chaplains and chaplain endorsed organizations that seek to use the U.S. military as the vehicle to transform the nation and the world for Christ, or the fact that Obama appears to be doing nothing to curtail this, so I am not changing anything in this post, written prior to the White House's denial.
One thing we do here at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is to do a quick check on any military chaplain whose name shows up in the news for anything other than a routine reason. So, with the news this morning that President Obama had selected the chapel at Camp David as his church, we did our usual thing of checking to see if any big red flags popped up regarding the chapel's pastor, Lt. Carey Cash. Within minutes, we found Lt. Cash quoted as saying, "First we get the military, then we get the nation," a statement that, needless to say, we considered a big, giant red flag.
Cash made this statement via video in 2005 to the congregation of Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The event was an Independence Day weekend service at which Campus Crusade for Christ's (CCC) Military Ministry Executive Director Bob Dees delivered the sermon, a sermon during which Dees made statements such as:
"I'm here today to testify that we have found the weapons of mass destruction. It is Satan's artillery," and, "...the reality is, too many of our troops are prisoners of war still. Prisoners of war to the master of deceit, these troops do not yet know liberty in Jesus Christ."
During the service, Lt. Cash came up on a video screen, reiterating Dees's CCC talking points, and making the statement, "First we get the military, then we get the nation," a statement that echoes CCC's mission:
"Evangelize and Disciple All Enlisted Members of the US Military. Utilize Ministry at each basic training center and beyond. Transform our culture through the US Military."
According to Dees:
"We must pursue our particular means for transforming the nation -- through the military. And the military may well be the most influential way to affect that spiritual superstructure. Militaries exercise, generally speaking, the most intensive and purposeful indoctrination program of citizens..."
According to CCC's Military Ministry, in a statement referring to their "gateway" strategy of preying on new recruits and cadets while they are worn down by the rigors of training:
"Young recruits are under great pressure as they enter the military at their initial training gateways. The demands of drill instructors push recruits and new cadets to the edge. This is why they are most open to the 'good news.' We target specific locations, like Lackland AFB and Fort Jackson, where large numbers of military members transition early in their career. These sites are excellent locations to pursue our strategic goals."
CCC's goal, which appears again and again in their literature and videos is to transform the U.S. military into "government paid missionaries for Christ," and, with the organization's already prodigious presence at our military's basic training installations, military service academies, and ROTC campuses, they are well on their way to achieving this goal.
As commander in chief, President Obama, rather than giving his tacit endorsement to a chaplain who subscribes to the goals of CCC's Military Ministry by choosing to attend his services, should be ridding the military of such chaplains and organizations.After years of warning that President Obama's targeted killing program flirted with lawlessness, the United Nations has announced it's investigating the centerpiece of the U.S.'s shadow wars worldwide.
The inquiry will be led by Ben Emmerson, the U.N.'s special rapporteur for human rights and counterterrorism. It'll focus on most of the places that the U.S.'s armed drones and elite special-operations forces operate: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; as well as in the Palestinian territories, indicating that Israel's targeted attacks on Hamas will be a subject as well.
Emmerson's focus will be on an "applicable legal framework" for targeted killing, with a special emphasis on drones – something that the lethal technology employed by the U.S. has outpaced, to the chagrin of many legal experts. Afghanistan is the only declared and internationally recognized conflict zone in which the United States operates, and while the U.S. maintains its strikes outside Afghanistan are legal, that legal premise rests on a 2001 act of Congress that many other nations don't recognize. U.S. strikes have surged in Pakistan so far this year.
What's more, the U.N. promises "a critical examination of the factual evidence concerning civilian casualties." That holds out the chance of creating, for the first time, an internationally established standard for the number of noncombatants who have died in drone strikes and commando raids, the subject of fierce dispute and little official acknowledgement.
Emmerson told a press conference in London that he's going to focus on 25 test cases, seemingly of drone strikes, primarily. (Drone strikes and targeted killings are distinct U.S. efforts – targeted killing often employs drones, but drone efforts go beyond the lethal strikes – that often get conflated.) The Guardian previously reported that Emmerson has expressed concern about so-called "double-tap" strikes, in which U.S. drones attack the debris of earlier strikes when people, including rescue workers, gather to investigate.
Drone critics are cheering the inquiry, which follows years of international-law experts warning the U.S. was dancing on the precipice of lawlessness. "Virtually no other country agrees with the U.S.'s claimed authority to secretly declare people enemies of the state and kill them and civilian bystanders far from any recognized battlefield," said Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union. "To date, there has been an abysmal lack of transparency and no accountability for the U.S. government's ever-expanding targeted killing program."
There is so far no indication of the level of cooperation Emmerson will seek from the United States, let alone how much the Obama administration will provide. Emmerson's report is due in the fall.
Typically, inconvenient United Nations pronunciations are ignored inside the U.S. – when they're not insulted outright by a U.N.-wary political class. Yet dozens of nations are experimenting with drone technology, including U.S. adversaries like Iran, prompting fears of an unmanned, robotic arms race. That's probably not the biggest U.S. concern, given the overwhelming U.S. robotic advantage, especially in on-deck drone tech like the Navy's forthcoming carrier-based armed drone. But even if the U.S. doesn't like his work, Emmerson might represent the first wave of an international legal framework governing a technology that doesn't right now clearly follow one – which might also give legitimacy to at least some robotic or targeted killing efforts.Spoiler warning: Braindead, Carrie, The Fifth Child, Frankenstein, Grace, The Innocents, The Orphanage, Prometheus, Psycho, Rosemary’s Baby, Splice, We Need To Talk About Kevin
Content warning: childbirth, rape, incest, gore
Introduction
I’ve always found pregnancy scary—in fact, “unintended pregnancy” is my most frequent nightmare theme. Therefore, it is not surprising that I find horror films featuring pregnancy, motherhood, and evil babies especially terrifying. Naturally, my fascination is more often shared by women than men; I remember wincing alone all the way through the Prometheus Caesarian scene the way my male friends squirmed through Teeth.
From 70s classics like The Exorcist, Alien, and Carrie to recent films such as We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Orphanage, and Grace, motherhood runs like a rich vein through the horror canon. Many of these films are written or directed by women (which is uncommon, especially in horror) and many of them have been controversial and divisive. As I explore this fascinating and unnerving sub-genre, I will be asking from a feminist perspective why motherhood provides such a fertile ground for horror fiction, and why it resonates so powerfully with (in particular female) audiences. Every monster has a mother, but is there a monster in every mother?
Mother or host, foetus or parasite?
In a parent-child relationship, we usually assume the parent to be powerful and the child vulnerable—a power dynamic that can be inverted in pregnancy. Pregnancy (especially when abortion is not available) carries a fundamental degree of helplessness, for you must submit wholly to an unknown and uncontrollable being that lives not only inside you, but also lives off you. In The Fifth Child, Doris Lessing’s short novel about a happy family destroyed by the arrival of the strange fifth child Ben, the mother Harriet is tortured by the foetus from the beginning of the pregnancy: “Sometimes she believed hooves were cutting her tender inside flesh, sometimes claws.” Before long she begins to think of Ben as “the enemy,” and thus begins their lifelong adversarial relationship.
When the foetus is malignant, a relationship that should be nurturing can easily turn parasitic. In Rosemary’s Baby, Rosemary suffers severe abdominal pains throughout her early pregnancy, only for the pains to abruptly stop just as she is about to visit a doctor to get help. Her demonic foetus holds all the power—it deliberately pushes her to her limit, but stops for self-preservation. Much of pregnancy horror relies on the fact that the host is vulnerable: She cannot harm the foetus without harming herself. Think of the tense Caesarian scene in Prometheus (spiritual sequel to the famous “chestburster” scene in Alien).
The uncomfortable passivity of pregnancy is also described in Lionel Shriver’s novel We Need To Talk About Kevin. While carrying her troublesome, and eventually murderous child Kevin, the narrator Eva feels that “I had demoted myself from driver to vehicle, from householder to house.” This helplessness extends well beyond childbirth, as motherhood requires absolute commitment to a human of unknown temperament, who, when it is placed in our arms, has no concept of morality. Eva muses how doctors can test foetuses for Down’s syndrome, but “not test for malice, for spiteful indifference, or for congenital meanness. If they could, I wonder how many fish we might throw back.” Thus the evil child trope plays on our very real fear of not knowing what kind of being we are bringing into the world.
Blood and milk
Warning: This section mentions poo! Deal with it.
Pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood are undeniably messy and sometimes even gory, so they are ripe sources of horror. Body fluids play an essential part in the mother-child relationship, from the nutrients shared through the umbilical cord, to the blood shed during childbirth, to the breast milk fed to the infant, to the urine and excrement cleaned up by the mother. These exchanges should signify caring, but in the perverted mother-child relationship, they are tools of warfare, where the body is the battleground.
ouch.
In Grace, Madeline gives birth to a baby that attracts flies, smells strange, and rejects breast milk, instead biting her mother’s breasts to drink her blood. The all-encompassing sacrifice of motherhood is played out as the baby’s demands eventually lead Madeline to murder in order to feed her baby. The symbolic use of blood and milk is used to draw Madeline and her baby as opposites, and to illustrate the transfer of power from mother to child. Madeline the mother is vegan and drinks soy milk; Grace the baby is a cannibal. Madeline becomes anaemic; Grace is strengthened by blood. Madeline is filled with milk the baby will not drink; Grace is filled with her mother’s stolen blood.
Blood is also an important motif in Carrie, as the mother and daughter fight over menstrual blood, pig’s blood, and finally each other’s blood when they kill each other.
Lynne Ramsey’s excellent 2011 film We Need To Talk About Kevin repeatedly shows Kevin playing menacingly with his food, drawing visual parallels between jam and blood, lychees and eyeballs, eggshells and fingernails. This not only foreshadows the violence that Kevin will commit, but also transforms the sustenance supplied by his mother into a weapon. From the beginning, body fluids play a vital strategic role in Kevin’s battle with his mother. He deliberately refuses to potty train in order to force his mother to continue to clean up his excrement; it is this act of malice that finally causes Eva to throw her son, breaking his arm. This act of violence is the first successful communication between Eva and the silent sullen Kevin, who begins to use the toilet immediately after the incident.
Kevin eats a lychee.
When the maternal contract is broken and nurturing turns to warfare, the mother and the child resort to their most primitive resource—their bodies—in the fight.
I can’t see this ending badly!
Woman’s burden alone
In Prometheus, when Dr. Elizabeth Shaw realises that she has been sneakily impregnated by an alien, she rushes to the ship’s automated surgery machine and demands a Caesarian, only to find that the machine caters to male patients only.
Fuck you medpod!
This sly joke perfectly demonstrates the isolating nature of pregnancy in a world run by men that manipulates and dismisses, rather than helps, pregnant women.
Isolation is key to motherhood horror, as the other characters in the story (husbands and fathers in particular) are often absent. In The Orphanage, Laura’s husband abandons her when he can no longer deal with her superstitious beliefs regarding their son’s disappearance and the ghosts of orphans past. Only in his absence does she successfully communicate with the ghosts and find her son. In The Innocents, a lonely governess becomes convinced that the two creepy children in her care are possessed by malevolent ghosts. With no one but the children and an elderly housekeeper to temper her suspicions, her increasing paranoia ends in tragedy.
Even when the mother is not physically alone, she is psychologically isolated as she carries the burden of childrearing, which others often won’t acknowledge is a burden at all. In The Fifth Child, Harriet searches in vain for anyone—her husband, her family, a doctor—to recognise the monstrosity of Ben and the misery of her predicament: “What she wanted, she decided, was that at last someone would use the right words, share the burden.” Instead, she constantly has what she calls “the other conversation” with adults who skirt around the issue, insisting that Ben is normal and that Harriet should try harder.
In many cultures, a mother’s love is seen as a sacred, unquestionable certainty—in fact, the idea of not loving your child is deeply taboo. In difficult mother-child relationships, this taboo provides a further isolating effect, as mothers cannot speak what they feel without risk of censure. In We Need To Talk About Kevin, Eva finds herself unmoved by Kevin’s birth, and forces herself to feign joy. When she tries to communicate her unhappiness to her husband, he shuts down the conversation, saying “Never, ever tell me that you regret our own kid.” Having so far enjoyed a marriage of openness and honesty, Eva is left feeling disconnected from her husband for the first time: “Since when was there anything that one of us was never, ever to say?”
The terror of having to raise an untameable child lies primarily in the unsolvable moral dilemma of the situation. Should the mother, convinced that all children are born good, continue to care for the child in the hope that love cures all? Or should she commit the ultimate crime of motherhood: to abandon or even kill her child? Doris Lessing sums up the dilemma at the heart of The Fifth Child:
We don’t like things that are complicated, that perhaps there isn’t a solution to. And there’s no solution to the problem of this book; there’s no right way to behave. Maybe people get upset by that. I don’t think we like dilemmas. We like to think we can solve everything, but we can’t always. Doris Lessing
In motherhood horror, other people, especially men, turn away from the dilemma and refuse to see it, and yet still blame the mother for whichever path she chooses. In The Fifth Child, Harriet’s husband David at first dismisses her concerns about Ben’s behaviour, but once Ben’s violence can no longer be ignored, David insists that Ben must be sent away to a cold and cruel institution. When Harriet, unable to leave her child suffering, rescues Ben from the institution, David condemns Harriet for ruining the family. Caught in the double-bind between wifely loyalty and motherly duty, Harriet cannot win whatever she chooses; she is branded as “irresponsible” precisely for taking responsibility for her son.
As these women suffer alone with the impossible task of raising a monster, society treats them as criminals rather than victims.
This pattern is visible in real life too. In December 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother, then travelled to Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed twenty children and six teachers.
Depending on whom you ask, there were twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight victims in Newtown. It’s twenty-six if you count only those who were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School; twenty-seven if you include Nancy Lanza; twenty-eight if you judge Adam’s suicide a loss. There are twenty-six stars on the local firehouse roof. On the anniversary of the shootings, President Obama referred to “six dedicated school workers and twenty beautiful children” who had been killed, and the governor of Connecticut asked churches to ring their bells twenty-six times. Some churches in Newtown had previously commemorated the victims by ringing twenty-eight times, but a popular narrative had taken hold in which Nancy—a gun enthusiast who had taught Adam to shoot—was an accessory to the crime, rather than its victim. Andrew Solomon, The New Yorker
Lanza’s mother, who lived with and cared for her difficult and troubled son, received much more criticism in the press than did Lanza’s father, who had not seen his son for two years at the time of the killings. This pattern of judgment is mirrored in We Need To Talk About Kevin, in which Eva is utterly ostracised by society following Kevin’s school massacre, even though she has lost her husband and daughter. As it is considered the mother’s job to socialise the child, we assume that any savagery exhibited by the child must be the fault of the mother; it is taboo to wonder whether the child could be incurably vicious. Eva is treated as a criminal, but her only crime was not being a “natural” mother. Does her punishment fit the crime?
“Family values”
As explored above, in these stories the mother often finds herself chastised rather than helped by the people around her, a dynamic that occurs again and again under the euphemism of “family values.” She is repeatedly told what to do for the good of the baby, for the good of the family, and supposedly for the good of herself, all against her own better judgement. In Rosemary’s Baby, Rosemary’s husband makes a secret pact with the wealthy Satanists-next-door (the Castevets), agreeing to let the Devil rape and impregnate Rosemary in return for his career advancement. (What a catch!)
Never trust a man who doesn’t like your pixiecut.
The meddling Castevets strongarm Rosemary into drinking a strange herbal drink and visiting their Satanist doctor of choice, much to Rosemary’s physical detriment as she suffers an extremely painful pregnancy.
Even without the Satanic overtones, this is a familiar real-life scenario, as pregnant women around the world commonly face abuse, manipulation, and a denial of their most basic rights, both from authorities and those closest to them. Every year, 15 million girls under the age of 18 are forced (usually by their own families) to marry, often to much older men, leading to rape, forced pregnancy, and poor health because they are physically too young for pregnancy. 2.6 billion women worldwide live in countries where marital rape is not a criminal offence. More than 25% of the world’s people live in countries where abortion is generally prohibited, and many more have no access to abortion due to cultural or religious reasons. It is well-known that pro-life advocates often use the phrase “family values” in their arguments (for example former Governor of Texas Rick Perry), but incredibly, the phrase “family values” was used by the Indian government in 2012 as a reason not to criminalise marital rape, and by the Yemeni government in 2009 as a reason not to introduce a minimum marriage age.
The real-world exploitation and trade of women, their bodies, and their babies is mirrored in motherhood horror fiction. Just as Rosemary’s husband sells his wife’s body for material gain, David the android covertly impregnates Shaw in order to find out the origin of humanity in Prometheus. In The Omen, a priest convinces a father to replace his stillborn baby with a mysterious orphan Damien, without informing his wife. (Spoiler: it doesn’t end well). In Splice, a scientist is raped and impregnated by her own experiment, and is bribed by her employers to keep the baby so that they may profit scientifically. It doesn’t matter whether it is husbands, doctors, priests, scientists, or cult leaders doing the manipulation: all are patriarchal institutions run by men that fail to help the woman in the story.
Among this onslaught of male hostility is an unusual villain in the form of the scheming older woman, such as Madeline’s controlling mother-in-law in Grace, or Mrs. Castevet in Rosemary’s Baby. These characters both manipulate a vulnerable younger woman in order to steal her baby. Mrs. Castevet’s garish clothes and heavy make-up contrast with Rosemary’s fresh-faced look and childish style, emphasising the fertility, innocence, and youth of one, and the “barren” corruption of the other. The old crone archetype is able to wield power in the patriarchy precisely because she is no longer fertile; in this context, by losing her fertility she loses the capacity to be exploited.
Rosemary and Mrs Castevet
Even when reproductive rights are not at stake, women in motherhood horror find themselves ensnared by “family values” in more subtle ways: In We Need To Talk About Kevin, Eva’s husband insists they must move to the suburbs to fulfill his cosy fantasy of American childhood and in particular, wholesome father-son bonding: “He needs a yard… where we can toss a baseball, fill a pool.” Eva would much rather stay in the city, but she is flatly told by her husband that the family must move for his benefit, and for Kevin’s: “There are two of us, and one of you.” Just as in real life, “family values” conveniently benefit everyone except women.
Sex, sex, sex
It’s normal for parents to find it difficult to adjust to their child’s sexual development. It becomes a lot harder when your child is a demon. Sexuality adds a whole new layer of threat in the relationship between the mother and the monster-child, who often uses age-inappropriate sexuality as a shock tactic. Take for example Linda Blair’s foul-mouthed turn as the possessed child Regan in The Exorcist, or the precociously flirtatious, and maybe-possessed child Miles in The Innocents:
In We Need To Talk About Kevin, Kevin uses sex as a form of domestic terrorism against his mother. Just look at this absolutely terrifying clip, in which an ordinary awkward mother-son moment (walking in on the son masturbating) is transformed into an intensely disturbing encounter through the use of eye contact. (The gif makes it look like she comes back for more, but that’s not what happens.)
The mother’s fear of sexual violence from her offspring is not without basis; in many cases she has already suffered sexual violence—which the demon child implicitly threatens to repeat. Several of the baby-monsters in motherhood horror are conceived by rape: The devil rapes Rosemary to produce Rosemary’s baby, Margaret’s husband rapes her to produce Carrie, and in Prometheus Shaw’s alien offspring rapes the Engineer to produce the original alien in the Alien franchise.
Adding to the terror of the monster’s sexuality is the fear that it may breed and produce more monsters, creating a never-ending cycle of sexual violence. Doctor Frankenstein refuses to fulfil the Creature’s demand for a wife, for fear that they will reproduce. This decision leads to a much worse outcome: The Creature kills (and in some versions, rapes) Frankenstein’s fiancée Elizabeth. In Splice, the experimental human-animal hybrid Dren transforms from a relatively gentle female to a violent male that rapes and impregnates its creator, resulting in a new hybrid. The Alien franchise is full of violent reproduction, as the primary breeding method of the titular alien is forced impregnation that destroys the host.
Dren takes on a male form.
The alien emerges from the Engineer.
The cyclic nature of abuse can be more complex. It is a well-known tragedy that abused children are more likely to become abusive parents. In Carrie, the religious fanatic Margaret shames her daughter Carrie for her first period, believing all female sexuality is sinful. Margaret’s misogynistic abuse of Carrie is a direct result of the patriarchal abuse she herself received, both from extremist Christians and from her own husband.
Margaret shames Carrie for her first period.
It goes without saying that the terror of sexual violence tends to strike female viewers more strongly, but the victims in motherhood horror fiction are not always female—for example, several men (including the male-looking Engineer) fall victim to the alien’s reproductive game in the Alien franchise. In fact, the motherhood horror genre can easily be expanded to the broader genre of what-have-I-created-horror, which includes stories with male creators such as Frankenstein and Little Shop Of Horrors (a dark comedy-musical about a man who eventually turns to murder to satisfy his carnivorous pet plant and achieve fame. Spoiler: it doesn’t end well). What is notable is that male creators such as Doctor Frankenstein tend to be driven by their egos, whereas female creators are more often driven by the love-hate relationship with their offspring.
They start off cute…
…but it quickly gets out of hand.
Interestingly, while same-sex pairs (mothers and daughters, fathers and sons) are more often nemeses, different-sex pairs (mothers and sons, fathers and daughters) are more often of the icky semi-incestuous, or tragic attachment-gone-too-far type. In particular, the unhealthy relationship between an emotionally stunted manchild and his domineering elderly mother is a frequent source of both horror and comedy. This is best shown in one of my all-time favourite films: Braindead, Peter Jackson’s 1992 zombie comedy about a young man so devoted to his controlling mother that he tries to look after her even after she becomes a zombie. (The film also holds the record for most fake blood used in one production!) In a disgusting and hilarious finale, Lionel’s mother turns into a giant naked female grotesque (complete with string of pearls) that literally swallows him back into her womb. Lionel defies his mother for the first time in his life, bursting out of her abdomen, to be symbolically and very literally reborn.
All the effects in Braindead are non-CGI. This actually happened!
As if the incestuous overtones were not enough, many of these stories (such as Frankenstein,Splice and We Need To Talk About Kevin) also involve Oedipal-type plots in which the child-monster kills the spouse of its creator. By effectively replacing the spouse, the monster becomes ever-more miserably entwined with the creator.
Mummy monster?
To all the mothers of demon children who are reading this: I get it. It’s hard to raise little Devil Junior. But have you considered that perhaps you are the monster?
There’s a lot of ambiguity in motherhood horror. The question of whether the child is abnormal or the woman is crazy hangs over many of these stories. In The Orphanage and The Innocents, the ambiguity is supernatural—we are unsure whether the ghosts are in the woman’s imagination. In We Need To Talk About Kevin, the ambiguity is psychological—we are unsure whether Kevin’s behaviour is ordinary childish naughtiness or true malignance (until it is far too late).
It’s interesting to note how this ambiguity is interpreted by different viewers. I came away from We Need To Talk About Kevin believing Kevin was innately evil; shortly after, I was incredulous to hear a male critic say that Kevin’s sociopathy was primarily due to his mother’s coldness. The debate draws on weighty and unresolvable questions such as nature vs nurture, original sin, and whether all children are born innocent.
Whether it’s purely monstrous mothers such as Vera in Braindead and Margaret in Carrie, or essentially good women who end up doing terrible things such as Madeline in Grace and Harriet in The Fifth Child, there is a suggestion throughout the genre that motherhood turns even ordinary women into monsters. The causes of this monstrosity are varied. Some, such as Madeline in Grace, commit their crimes in a desperate attempt to provide for their offspring. Others, such as Eva in We Need To Talk About Kevin and Harriet in The Fifth Child, are pushed by the oppressive demands of motherhood until they lash out. Others, such as Miss Giddens in The Innocents and Laura in The Orphanage, are driven mad by the mental stultification of spending too much time alone with children. Others have an unhealthily possessive and controlling relationship with their children, such as Mrs. Bates in Psycho and Vera in Braindead. Some mothers seem to be trying to live vicariously through their children, such as Mother Gothel in Tangled and Erica in Black Swan. Notably, all these monster-mothers have their roots in the everyday, commonplace difficulties of motherhood.
The dual monstrosity of both mother and child is reciprocal: through the maternal bond, the monstrosity of one rubs off on the other. For example, Mrs. Bates in Psycho is literally a monster of her son’s making, as their identities have become fused.
eek! eek! eek! eek!
Even as enemies, the strength of the maternal bond ensures that mothers and children cannot disentangle. Rosemary decides not to kill her demonic baby, Eva sticks by Kevin even after his terrible crime, and Harriet finds herself unable to abandon her fifth child. As a result, these mothers are morally implicated; they become accessories to their children’s monstrosity.
This love/hate relationship makes mothers and children excellent nemeses. Like all the best enemies—The Doctor and The |
same day, Kevin Feige, who is Marvel’s President and is pretty much in charge of what movies they make, responded to a reporting asking if he is bothered by the backlash against Marvel’s reluctance to make a woman-starring movie. ScreenCrush asked if he was afraid of facing backlash like J.J. Abrams did after the Star Wars cast was announced as being mostly male, and Feige responded by saying, “I don’t think J.J. Abrams or the Star Wars people — I have no idea — but my guess is that they were not swayed by any backlash. We’re not going to be swayed by the backlash. We’re going to keep bringing the movies out the way we envision it and the way we believe in it — and that includes diversity in all of the active films.” So, basically, they just see the calls for more representation as bothersome whining.
To be fair, Marvel could announce a female-led in the next few days (or even next few hours) at Comic-Con. But they haven’t yet, and they’ve already scheduled movies through 2019, which would be over a decade of Marvel Cinematic films with no movies centered on women. Instead, they keep on saying that they’re happy with the schedule they have and what movies they have planned. Similarly, DC is announcing a number of new movies as a follow up to their Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice film and leading up to their Justice League movie. Now, according to a leaked schedule (which, honestly, may be totally made up), DC plans on finally releasing a Wonder Woman movie in 2017, but not until they’ve already released Batman v Superman, Shazam, Sandman and Justice League.
It’s completely bizarre that it’s taking so long for either DC or Marvel (or perhaps we should be blaming Warner Bros and Disney) to make a movie about a female superhero. When women make up 46% of comic book readers and 52% of moviegoers, you would think that catering to us would be a natural step. There’s still a chance that either Marvel or DC will announce something at Comic Con, which is currently in progress, but if they do, it’s still much later than they should have. Thankfully, we still have independent comic book titles like Painkiller Jane to make the leap from the page to the screen to hold us over until that happens.HIBBING — A 54-year-old Hibbing man was killed after a Grand Rapids man apparently knocked on his door at random and stabbed him 15 times, saying he did it because Jesus asked him to, according to charges filed Thursday.
A criminal complaint identifies the victim of the early Tuesday morning homicide as Joel Dean Gangness.
Authorities said Gangness was found dead inside his apartment at the old Star Motel building, 3901 First Ave., shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday. An autopsy determined that he had been stabbed multiple times.
Benjamin David Lundquist, 32, was arraigned Thursday morning in St. Louis County District Court in Hibbing on a charge of intentional second-degree murder.
Authorities said he admitted to stabbing Gangness in the back 15 times and hitting him over the head with a DVD player.
District Judge David Ackerson granted the St. Louis County attorney’s office’s request to set Lundquist’s bail at $1 million.
The judge also indicated that a mental health evaluation likely will be ordered at some point.
Police were called to the residence on Tuesday when it was reported that Gangness, a carrier for the Hibbing Daily Tribune, had not made his newspaper deliveries that morning. A co-worker and his family had been unable to get a hold of him.
Authorities said Gangness was found deceased on the floor with a number of injuries, including apparent stab wounds. Blood was found in a number of locations. Related Articles Questions raised about federal probe, lawsuit stemming from Ramsey County jailer assault
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Investigators spoke with other tenants of the building, including a neighbor who said a white male with tattoos on both sides of his neck showed up at his apartment at approximately 10 a.m. The male reportedly said, “Oops, wrong door,” and left, according to the complaint.
Another tenant reported seeing a “strange male” wandering around the parking lot that night and showed investigators several footprints in the snow.
Investigators said they visited the Lucky Seven gas station next door and learned that the night staff had become suspicious of a man who had been in and near the store for several hours that night. Surveillance video showed the man wandering around the store, exiting and re-entering before making a purchase, according to the complaint.
Police learned that a credit card used in the purchase was registered to Lundquist and that he also stopped at the Hibbing Walmart at approximately 2 a.m., the charges state. The man shown in surveillance video from both stores appeared to match the description given by the tenants, investigators said.
Law enforcement went to Lundquist’s Grand Rapids apartment, where they found footprints matching those outside the Hibbing apartment building, according to the charges. A notice was issued to area agencies, and Lundquist was taken into custody outside a convenience store in Nashwauk.
Investigators said he appeared to have dried blood on his blue jeans, which he claimed to be his own.
Lundquist agreed to a formal interview at Hibbing Police Department headquarters and initially stated that he had not been to Hibbing in months, according to the complaint. When shown a picture of Gangness, he denied knowing him.
When Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents showed the defendant images from the surveillance videos, Lundquist allegedly admitted that he had been dropped off at the Lucky Seven gas station. He stated that he went into the store and waited, then walked to Walmart and eventually Keewatin, according to the complaint.
After initially denying that he visited the apartment building, investigators said Lundquist stated, “I did it.” He allegedly went on to say that there was a fight and that he stabbed a male, whom he did not know, because “Jesus directed him to do it.”
He said he chose door No. 12 because “everything came to 12,” according to the charges. Lundquist stated that he “at first didn’t think he would kill him,” but then “lost it” and hit him with the DVD player. He said Gangness tried to run toward the door and that he grabbed a knife and stabbed him 15 times, according to the complaint.
Gangness allegedly admitted to stealing a bobblehead and box cutter, which police said were recovered during his arrest. He also said he took a cellphone, which he later discarded, according to the charges.
Lundquist made a brief court appearance on the charge Thursday. He calmly recited his name, address and birthdate, but did not otherwise speak.A prosecutor plans to charge a western Wisconsin police chief with a misdemeanor for allegedly registering a tea party leader on gay dating, pornography and federal health care websites.
Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger told The Associated Press he plans to charge Town of Campbell Police Chief Tim Kelemen with misdemeanor unlawful use of a computerized communication system Thursday afternoon.
Kelemen would face up to $1,000 in fines and 90 days in jail if convicted, but would still be able to stay on as police chief. Only those with felony convictions or misdemeanor convictions related to domestic violence are precluded from being police officers, according to the state Department of Justice.
Kelemen leads a five-officer department in the burg of about 4,000 people just outside La Crosse. He’s been at odds with the La Crosse Tea Party since last fall, when the conservative group began staging protests on a town overpass that stretches across Interstate 90.
Concerned the protests were distracting drivers, Kelemen convinced the town board to pass an ordinance in October banning signs, banners and flags on the bridge, which angered tea party supporters. Kelemen and his attorney, Jim Birnbaum, say tea party leader Greg Luce retaliated by urging supporters across the country to bombard the police department with harassing phone calls and threats.
Then, Luce started receiving calls and emails from gay dating, porn and health care websites, according to police reports and court documents. La Crosse investigators tracked some of the activity to a computer at Kelemen’s home and the Campbell town hall, according to an incident report.
An investigator from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, which took over the case, interviewed Kelemen in May.
The chief initially said he knew nothing about the websites but later acknowledged he signed Luce up for them to get back at him for harassing his department. He said he felt helpless because he reported the harassment to DOJ but that agency declined to help him beyond offering to bolster the department’s computer fire walls.
Croninger said he chose to charge Kelemen with illegal use of a computer system rather than identity theft or misconduct in office because he didn’t feel comfortable he could prove those charges beyond a reasonable doubt. He felt Kelemen wasn’t acting in his official capacity when he signed Luce up for the sites.
“There’s not really any factual dispute about what took place. It’s just how those facts fit the statutes,” Croninger said. “This is more of a harassing situation than to harm someone’s reputation. That is the distinction I see.”
The chief is due to appear in court Thursday afternoon. Croninger said he’s been discussing a plea deal with Birnbaum and expects the case will be resolved during the appearance. Birnbaum declined to comment until after the court appearance.
Luce has filed a civil lawsuit in federal court, alleging Kelemen stole his identity and that the overpass ordinance violates his free-speech rights. That case is still pending.Practically every dissociative trauma survivor that I have spoken to has said to me that at some point in time or another, they have felt hated, truly hated.
What’s worse, they didn’t feel hated by strangers — they felt hated by their loved ones.
These trauma survivors felt hated by their mothers, their fathers, their siblings, their spouses, their children, their friends.
They felt hatred from the very people they cared the most about.
What effect does feeling hated have on someone?
How does this experience change someone’s life?
It’s a natural human response to want to feel liked, loved, cherished, treasured. Children very much want to be the in the spotlight for their parents, the apples of their eyes. They each want to feel special, and to be treated like they are the most important person on earth. This is normal for children. It is part of a natural, normal, healthy development.
What happens if a child does not experience a positive sense of self in early childhood?
What happens if that child feels hated instead of loved?
What if the only time the child feels loved, accepted, appreciated, wanted is during times of sexual abuse?
What happens when abusive parents treat their children in such consistently abusive and neglectful ways that the children are left with feelings of self-hatred instead of self-love and self-acceptance?
What are some of the effects of being hated?
Inherent sense of badness and worthlessness
Long-term self-hatred and self-loathing
Loneliness and Isolation
Sadness, emotional pain, emotional scars
Self-injury, self-destruction, and suicidal behaviors
Children that are treated with hatred internalize that hatred. Children find it difficult, if not impossible, to blame their parents for their hateful behavior. Instead, children will blame themselves. Children decide it must be their own badness, their own poor behaviors, and their own inadequacies that forced their parents to not love them.
With each violent assault, abusive parents spoke hatred to their children. Even if the words “I hate you” were never said, it was understood clearly enough by the children. In order for their loved ones to purposefully cause so much hurt and harm to them, their parents must have hated them. It is not hard for children to figure out that people causing physical injuries and emotional wounds are acting in hateful ways.
Children will feel that hatred to the very core of their being.
Children tend to internalize that hatred as if they deserved it. They decide that they must be bad, they must be worthless, they must “need to be punished”, they must “need to be abused” because of their badness. Children cannot blame their parents — so they blame themselves.
The more the children are treated with hatred, the more the children hate themselves.
They may learn to hate the parents / abusers eventually, but their first response was learning to hate and despise themselves.
This self-hatred isn’t something they just grow out of or leave behind the way they might leave the actual abuse.
Self-hatred can continue to affect them for all the years of their life. It is a fundamental part of self-injury behaviors. Without intense self-hatred, survivors would not be nearly so prone to cutting, burning, overdosing, or any other number of self-destructive and suicidal behaviors.
It’s not uncommon for trauma survivors to carve or burn “I hate myself” messages into their body, sometimes scarring it for life. I dare say, most survivors that commit suicide were able to do so because of their incredibly deep sense of self-hatred and self-loathing.
People that truly hate themselves don’t want to live with themselves.
It’s equally difficult for people that hate themselves to be in long-term positive relationships. Trauma survivors often find it easier to love someone else more than themselves, but part of being in a positive loving relationship is comfortably accepting the reciprocal love-caring-compassion-support from others.
People that inherently hate themselves find it very difficult to believe that they could be loved / lovable. This belief will ultimately (and repeatedly) be noticeable. It will cause problems in those relationships, and it will absolutely undermine the strength of those relationships.
The emotional pain connected to feeling hated digs very deep within the core of the person. It is hard to battle on an intellectual level, and it penetrates into the deepest layers of the person’s being.
The emotional wounding caused from feeling hatred is one of the most difficult traumas to heal. Layer upon layer of years of blame, guilt, shame make the self-hatred feel locked into place.
It’s just soooo hard to feel differently.
But part of healing from trauma involves healing from that self-hatred.
Survivors may not be able to change the behaviors and actions of their perpetrator parents or any other abusers that have acted criminally towards them, but survivors can learn to separate themselves from such hateful people. It will take working with all the parts of the internal system, but then again, remember that healing for all the inside parts is important.
Learn to separate who did what, and what belongs to whom.
The person that committed the hateful acts is the creator of the hate. That negativity belongs to them. Hateful people can project their own feelings of hate onto anyone around them. As survivors become old enough to think through the emotional process of their abuse, they can begin to build emotional protection around those kinds of hateful attacks.
Let the hate belong to the ones that sent it.
Don’t take it in, don’t claim it as yours, and don’t let it apply to yourself.
Picture a strong emotional, spiritual shield around you, and let that protect you from the barbs of the haters. Hold tight to your own feelings of kindness, compassion, caring, gentleness, and know that your own ability to love and to connect are coming from a different place than hatred.
Recognize that your ability to genuinely care for your loved ones is proof in itself that you are not to be hated or considered worthless. Your ability to feel genuine kindness, gentleness, patience, and compassion prove that you are a good person, completely different and separate from the haters.
The haters will always be haters. Unless they work on their own deep-seated self-hatred, they will always project hatred onto others.
But you don’t have to accept yourself as a rightful target of their hatred. You don’t have to be one of them. You don’t have to shove hatred in the face of everyone else, and you don’t have to internalize it within yourself.
You can be different from that.
Let the hatred belong to the ones that it came from. Give it back to the abusers and let them own it for themselves. Don’t contain that for them. You don’t have to accept their hatred as yours when it came from them.
Spend your time in life doing things that you enjoy and let you genuinely feel better about yourself. Connect with the people and animals that you care about, and build bigger boundaries and stronger separations from the people that treat you with hatred.
Give positive time and pleasant experiences to the people around you, and let your own behaviors define who you are.
Be a good person, and let the very fact that you are choosing good, positive behaviors define to you that you are not that hated person you once felt you were.
If you want to be a good person, you can be. You are not who your haters say that you are. Let their nasty ways belong to them. You can be someone very different from them.
You can be as good of a person as you want to be.
No one else gets to define you.
The final word on who you are belong to you, and only you.
I wish you the best in your healing journey.
Warmly,
Kathy
Copyright © 2008-2017 Kathy Broady MSW and Discussing DissociationSCP-2947
Item #: SCP-2947
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: All instances of SCP-2947 are to be kept in individual containers with foam padding made to fit each instance, to ensure that transportation cannot result in the accidental spinning of the instances. As far as you know.Currently, there are no plans to create new instances of SCP-2947.
Aoki Events may be initiated by two or more personnel within Site-29's High Impact Test Chamber. Proper testing procedure calls for two personnel to activate the SCP-2947 instances by spinning them counter-clockwise, and proceeding to evacuate through the blast doors in a timely manner.
Description: SCP-2947-1 is a three-pronged aluminum 'fidget spinner' toy, patterned with stripes in black and a red-yellow gradient. The cap for the axle of SCP-2947-1 has stylized text in Katakana script, reading "Fidget WinnersTM"; no such entity has been found in any extant trademark database.
When spun in a direction the user perceives as counter-clockwise, SCP-2947-1 will become capable of levitation. Breaking physical contact with SCP-2947-1 will result in it orienting itself horizontally, and continue rotating at its original speed. During this time, it will produce SCP-2947-A1, a semi-solid, stylized holographic construct resembling a Smilodon fatalis with a mane of blue flames and striping in a pattern similar to the coloring on SCP-2947-1 itself. Contact with skin will cause SCP-2947-1 to cease motion and fall to the floor.
When spun in a direction the user perceives as clockwise, SCP-2947-1 will again suspend itself in mid-air, but along a vertical axis. During this time, information is projected onto SCP-2947 in a manner similar to a statistics screen in a Japanese Role-Playing Video Game, displaying information such as SCP-2947-1's weight, maximum speed, and a statistic which simply reads "Fighting Spirit", which is listed as "Burning Smilodon".
Furthermore, any item that can be classified as a 'fidget spinner' toy that makes direct contact with SCP-2947-1 is transmogrified into an instance of SCP-2947. These additional instances possess anomalous properties identical to SCP-2947, but have variations on the statistics display based on design, composition, weight, etc. However, new SCP-2947 instances do not carry the same transformative properties as SCP-2947-1.
Most instances of SCP-2947 to date also have a unique "Fighting Spirit". If at least two SCP-2947 instances are spun counter-clockwise, an Aoki Event will occur.
Aoki Events are characterized by two or more SCP-2947-A instances engaging in combat with one another. During this event, SCP-2947 instances will proceed towards the highest point in the area (up to 20m in outdoor areas) and attempt to collide with each other. These collisions are represented by physical combat that takes place between SCP-2947-A instances. SCP-2947 instances are unaffected by normal gravity for the duration of Aoki events. The apparent win condition of an Aoki event is knocking all other SCP-2947 instances to the ground and immobilizing them. Following the conclusion of an Aoki event, SCP-2947 instances will return to their base state.
Discovery: SCP-2947 was discovered following its confiscation from a student at █████ Middle School in Bangor, Maine. It was placed in a bin of confiscated objects, along with several other fidget spinners previously confiscated, transfiguring all it made contact with into SCP-2947 instances.
At the end of the 2016-2017 school year, when all confiscated materials were returned, at least three individuals independently spun their SCP-2947 instance counter-clockwise, resulting in a large Aoki event. Due to the semi-solid nature of the entities, and the force of the attacks (mainly in form of large pockets of high air pressure), over $200,000 in damage was done to the building. A transcript of security camera footage documenting the Aoki Event is available below; for the purposes of clarity, all SCP-2947-A instances are referred to by the designations given to them on their statistics board.
2:39:15 PM: Kyle Ballard, age 13, is seen spinning SCP-2947-1, before inadvertently letting go as another unidentified student collides with their shoulder. It hovers in midair, unnoticed by Ballard, as he proceeds to berate the student who collided with him. 2:39:27 PM: In the cafeteria, another student, Michelle Fletcher, puts down their SCP-2947 instance after spinning it counter-clockwise. It proceeds to hover in midair, before an instance of SCP-2947-A ("Congo Cerebus") resembling a three-headed gorilla appears underneath, and grows to reach the ceiling (approx. 10m high). The table it was laid on buckles under its weight, and Fletcher and several other students run out of the room. 2:39:31 PM: Ballard's SCP-2947 instance flies around him in a figure-8 pattern, before it manifests its own SCP-2947-A instance ("Burning Smilodon"), a Smilodon fatalis with a mane made of blue fire. It roars, before proceeding to run in the direction of the cafeteria. 2:40:02 PM: Dr. Craig Ward, Ballard's homeroom teacher and original confiscator of SCP-2947, idly spins a two-pronged fidget spinner, before abruptly sneezing and having it fall out of their hand. It hovers in mid-air, and an SCP-2947-A instance ("Queen Aranae") in the form of a twenty-limbed spider-like creature appears, running from the room with the SCP-2947 instance in tow. 2:41:00 PM: Queen Aranae runs down the chemistry hallway at high speeds; the air pressure wave created by its running shatters the fume hoods within labs 1 and 3, and leaves a large crack in the hood of lab 2. A fourth SCP-2947-A instance ("Centurion Remus") in the form of a Roman centurion with the head of a large wolf appears and engages in combat with Queen Aranae, resulting in damage to several rows of lockers. The origin of Centurion Remus is unclear; SCP-2947-4, when recovered, was found to have been soaked in water that was identified to be from the toilet of the men's restroom. 2:41:09 PM: Several tables in the cafeteria are buckled and broken by the arrival of Burning Smilodon, which grows to match the size of Congo Cerebus. Burning Smilodon pounces on Congo Cerebus, causing both SCP-2947 instances to come into view of the cameras. They proceed to collide repeatedly, shooting sparks from the collisions. 2:43:05 PM: After several minutes of battling, the sparking from the two battling SCP-2947 instances ignites leftover cooking oil in one of the warming trays for cafeteria food, causing a fire to break out. At this point, the fire alarm is triggered, and evacuation starts. 2:45:29 PM: Burning Smilodon subdues Congo Cerebus. Burning Smilodon roars, causing several lights overhead to spark and shatter. Both instances fall to the ground, inert, as a cafeteria worker sprays the oil fire with a fire extinguisher. 3:00:29 PM: Queen Aranae and Centurion Remus's battle spills out into the parking lot of the school, where all school personnel have evacuated. Centurion is seen impaling Queen Aranae on the school's flagpole, which causes it to buckle in half, before both instances are rendered inert. One SCP-2947 instance lands on the head of an instructor, causing them to fall unconscious. 3:10:02: Foundation containment personnel arrive on-scene and begin reviewing video logs.
Addendum: "Evolution" of SCP-2947-A Instances: During the fifteenth test of combat between SCP-2947-A1 and SCP-2947-A4, the Burning Smilodon entity underwent a change in appearance following its victory. SCP-2947-A1 now has longer fangs, a larger mane, and an overall larger body structure compared to the original appearance.
Furthermore, testing of SCP-2947-A1 now shows that it has had a significant increase in the maximum speed at which it can be rotated, and weighs less than it did upon containment; these changes are reflected in the statistics screen, as is the change of SCP-2947-A1, which is now referred to as "Coronal Machairodont." SCP-2947-A1 has been observed winning contests more consistently; it is unknown if other SCP-2947-A instances are capable of this evolution.Deputies pull man from car at gunpoint after GPS mixup
A misstep by a company that tracks stolen vehicles using GPS sent authorities chasing after the wrong truck Friday, causing a multi-county pursuit that briefly stopped traffic on Highway 101 in Santa Rosa where deputies held an innocent man at gunpoint, CHP officials said.
GuidePoint, a stolen vehicle recovery system firm headquartered in Michigan, apparently installed GPS tracking devices on a fleet of company vehicles and alerted authorities Friday afternoon that a gray Dodge Ram 3500 had been stolen, Officer Marcus Hawkins said.
The company activated GPS to track the gray Dodge, but because of an unknown mix-up, they instead began tracking a white Ford owned by the same company that was heading from Mendocino County south on Highway 101, Hawkins said.
Authorities began trying to spot the truck, aided by continued updates from GuidePoint on the GPS coordinates.
In Sonoma County, a phalanx of patrol deputies and officers from multiple agencies staged along the highway looking for the truck. Two helicopters aided the search from the air.
The GPS information led a team of sheriff’s deputies to pull over a white Ford truck near Hearn Avenue for a “high-risk felony stop,” a technique used to intercept vehicles with unknown and potentially dangerous suspects, Hawkins said.
The deputies stopped all southbound traffic and held the driver at gunpoint and quickly learned that the Ford had not been stolen, the CHP said. They sent the driver on his way.
Meanwhile, Petaluma police and CHP officers stopped a gray Dodge 3500 at the Lakeville Highway exit and quickly ruled out that truck as well.
The white Ford was stopped again as it headed south, this time by CHP officers who pulled the truck over at the gas station at Kastania Road south of Petaluma to attempt to sort out why the GPS was telling authorities that the Ford was the stolen vehicle, Hawkins said. Officers contacted the company that owns the trucks and the tracking firm and learned that they had been tracking the wrong vehicle, according to the CHP.
It was unclear whether the stolen vehicle was being tracked or whether it had been found.
You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.Recently our team has been tasked to write a very fast cache service. The goal was pretty clear but possible to achieve in many ways. Finally we decided to try something new and implement the service in Go. We have described how we did it and what values come from that.
Table of contents:
Requirements
According to the requirements, our service should:
use HTTP protocol to handle requests
handle 10k rps (5k for writes, 5k for reads)
cache entries for at least 10 minutes
have responses time (measured without time spent on the network) lower than 5ms – mean 10ms for 99.9th percentile 400ms for 99.999th percentile
handle POST requests containing JSON messages, where each message: contains an entry and its ID is not larger than 500 bytes
retrieve an entry and return int via a GET request immediately after the entry was added via a POST request (consistency)
In simple words our task was to write a fast dictionary with expiration and REST interface.
Why Go?
Most microservices at our company are written in Java or another JVM based language, some in Python. We also have a monolithic, legacy platform written in PHP but we do not touch it unless we have to. We already know those technologies but we are open to exploring a new one. Our task could be realized in any language, therefore we decided to write it in Go.
Go has been available for a while now, backed by a big company and a growing community of users. It is advertised as a compiled, concurrent, imperative, structured programming language. It also has managed memory, so it looks safer and easier to use than C/C++. We have quite good experience with tools written in Go and decided to use it here. We have one open source project in Go, now we wanted to know how Go handles big traffic. We believed the whole project would take less than 100 lines of code and be fast enough to meet our requirements just because of Go.
The Cache
To meet the requirements, the cache in itself needed to:
be very fast even with millions of entries
provide concurrent access
evict entries after a predetermined amount of time
Considering the first point we decided to give up external caches like Redis, Memcached or Couchbase mainly because of additional time needed on the network. Therefore we focused on in-memory caches. In Go there are already caches of this type, i.e. LRU groups cache, go-cache, ttlcache, freecache. Only freecache fulfilled our needs. Next subchapters reveal why we decided to roll our own anyway and describe how the characteristics mentioned above were achieved.
Concurrency
Our service would receive many requests concurrently, so we needed to provide concurrent access to the cache. The easy way to achieve that would be to put sync.RWMutex in front of the cache access function to ensure that only one goroutine could modify it at a time. However other goroutines which would also like to make modifications to it, would be blocked, making it a bottleneck. To eliminate this problem, shards could be applied. The idea behind shards is straightforward. Array of N shards is created, each shard contains its own instance of the cache with a lock. When an item with unique key needs to be cached a shard for it is chosen at first by the function hash(key) % N. After that cache lock is acquired and a write to the cache takes place. Item reads are analogue. When the number of shards is relatively high and the hash function returns properly distributed numbers for unique keys then the locks contention can be minimized almost to zero. This is the reason why we decided to use shards in the cache.
Eviction
The simplest way to evict elements from the cache is to use it together with FIFO queue. When an entry is added to the cache then two additional operations take place:
An entry containing a key and a creation timestamp is added at the end of the queue. The oldest element is read from the queue. Its creation timestamp is compared with current time. When it is later than eviction time, the element from the queue is removed together with its corresponding entry in the cache.
Eviction is performed during writes to the cache since the lock is already acquired.
Omitting Garbage Collector
In Go, if you have a map, garbage collector (GC) will touch every single item of that map during mark and scan phase. This can cause a huge impact on the application performance when the map is large enough (contains millions of objects).
We ran few tests on our service in which we fed the cache with millions of entries, and after that we started to send requests to some unrelated REST endpoint doing only static JSON serialization (it didn’t touch the cache at all). With an empty cache, this endpoint had maximum responsiveness latency of 10ms for 10k rps. When the cache was filled, it had more than a second latency for 99th percentile. Metrics indicated that there were over 40 mln objects in the heap and GC mark and scan phase took over four seconds. The test showed us that we needed to skip GC for cache entries if we wanted to meet our requirements related to response times. How could we do this? Well, there were three options.
GC is limited to heap, so the first one was to go off-heap. There is one project which could help with that, called offheap. It provides custom functions Malloc() and Free() to manage memory outside the heap. However, a cache which relied on those functions would need to be implemented.
The second way was to use freecache. Freecache implements map with zero GC overhead by reducing number of pointers. It keeps keys and values in ring buffer and uses index slice to lookup for an entry.
The third way to omit GC for cache entries was related to optimization presented in Go version 1.5 (issue-9477). This optimization states that if you use a map without pointers in keys and values, then GC will omit it’s content. It is a way to stay on heap and to omit GC for entries in the map. However, it is not the final solution because basically everything in Go is built on pointers: structs, slices, even fixed arrays. Only primitives like int or bool do not touch pointers. So what could we do with map[int]int? Since we already generated hashed key in order to select proper shard from the cache (described in Concurrency) we would reuse them as keys in our map[int]int. But what about values of type int? What information could we keep as int? We could keep offsets of entries. Another question is where those entries could be kept in order to omit GC again? A huge array of bytes could be allocated and entries could be serialized to bytes and kept in it. In this respect, a value from map[int]int could point to an offset where an entry has it’s beginning in the proposed array. And since FIFO queue was used to keep entries and control their eviction (described in Eviction), it could be rebuilt and based on a huge bytes array to which also values from that map would point.
In all presented scenarios, entry (de)serialization would be needed. Eventually, we decided to try the third solution, as we were curious if it was going to work and we already had most elements – hashed key (calculated in shard selection phase) and the entries queue.
BigCache
To meet requirements presented at the beginning of this chapter, we implemented our own cache and named it BigCache. The BigCache provides shards, eviction and it omits GC for cache entries. As a result it is very fast cache even for large number of entries.
Freecache is the only one of the available in-memory caches in Go which provides that kind of functionality. Bigcache is an alternative solution for it and reduces GC overhead differently, therefore we decided to share with it: bigcache. More information about comparison between freecache and bigcache can be found on github.
HTTP server
Memory profiler shows us that some objects are allocated during requests handling. We knew that HTTP handler would be a hot spot of our system. Our API is really simple. We only accept POST and GET to upload and download elements from cache. We effectively support only one URL template, so a full featured router was not needed. We extracted the ID from URL by cutting the first 7 letters and it works fine for us.
When we started development, Go 1.6 was in RC. Our first effort to reduce request handling time was to update to the latest RC version. In our case performance was nearly the same. We started searching for something more efficient and we found fasthttp. It is a library providing zero alloc HTTP server. According to documentation, it tends to be 10 times faster than standard HTTP handler in synthetic tests. During our tests it turned out it is only 1.5 times faster, but still it is better!
fasthttp achieves its performance by reducing work that is done by HTTP Go package. For example:
it limits request lifetime to the time when it is actually handled
headers are lazily parsed (we really do not need headers)
Unfortunately, fasthttp is not a real replacement for standard http. It doesn’t support routing or HTTP/2 and claim that could not support all HTTP edge cases. It’s good for small projects with simple API, so we would stick to default HTTP for normal (non hyper performance) projects.
JSON deserialization
While profiling our application, we found that the program spent a huge amount of time on JSON deserialization. Memory profiler also reported that a huge amount of data was processed by json.Marshal. It didn’t surprise us. With 10k rps, 350 bytes per request could be a significant payload for any application. Nevertheless, our goal was speed, so we investigated it.
We heard that Go JSON serializer wasn’t as fast as in other languages. Most benchmarks were done in 2013, so before 1.3 version. When we saw issue-5683 claiming Go was 3 times slower than Python and mailing list saying it was 5 times slower than Python simplejson, we started searching for a better solution.
JSON over HTTP is definitely not the best choice if you need speed. Unfortunately, all our services talk to each other in JSON, so incorporating a new protocol was out of scope for this task (but we are considering using avro, as we did for Kafka). We decided to stick with JSON. A quick search provided us with a solution called ffjson.
ffjson documentation claims it is |
was also found in good condition and was downloaded. The transcript/analysis will also be included in the final report. By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, May 9th 2012 10:31Z, last updated Wednesday, Aug 1st 2012 16:05Z
Rescue and Recovery teams are currently on their way to the crash site. First attempts to reach the crash site, including attempts to set rescuers down by helicopters, have failed so far (May 10th 17:45L) due to the extremely steep terrain rising at up to 85 degrees. About 450 rescue personnel are currently moving towards the crash site on the ground but did not reach the site before darkness. At this time (May 10th 17:45L/10:45Z) no rescuer has yet reached the site, the status of the occupants on board of the aircraft is still unknown. The rescue operation has been suspended for the night May 10 to 11th.
The coordinator of the rescue operation said, that the aircraft appeared relatively intact from the air however has received substantial damage after leaving a trail away from the crater down the slope, there was no sign of survivors from the air. Rescue teams are currently on the ground about 1km from the crash site, the terrain being difficult to reach the wreckage.
The Air Force said the aircraft impacted the edge of a cliff (top of the cliff at 6250 feet MSL) about 1.7 nm from Cijeruk. Approximate final position of the aircraft is S6.7102 E106.7447 (initially reported as S6.7045 E106.7373 but updated on May 11th taking the crash site from the western to the eastern cliff).
Indonesian Authorities reported the aircraft was enroute at 10,000 feet near Mount Salak when at about 15:30L (08:30Z) the crew requested and was cleared to descend to 6,000 feet. This proved to be the last radio transmission. Radar contact was lost when the aircraft was in a right hand turn descending through 6,200 feet between Mount Salak and Mount Gede at approximate position S6.72 E106.72. The aircraft was flying clockwise around Mount Salak at that time. A search operation has been initiated and is mounting, first search flights on May 9th did not yet found any trace of the aircraft. Search on the ground is under way, a first team has departed for Mount Salak in the evening, a second ground team is expected to depart on May 10th early morning, more than 600 ground personnel have been deployed by sunrise May 10th.
In the evening of May 10th Police reported a total of 1353 rescue personnel are currently working to reach the aircraft and evacuate the occupants of the aircraft, which has to happen on the ground with the use of ladders. Access to the crash site from the air is not possible. Four rescue teams have been formed, each of which needs about 7 hours to climb to the wreckage. The first team of 10 people has already reached the site and was near the wreckage, but has not yet entered the wreckage. A second team of 75 people is due to arrive any time, a third team of 225 people departed during the night to May 11th and a fourth team of 250 people is going to depart at 05:00L May 11th.
In the morning of May 11th a first team reached the top of the cliff and is now descending on ropes towards the crash site.
On May 11th early afternoon Indonesia's President and rescuers announced in a press conference that 12 bodies have been discovered.
The discovered 12 bodies were recovered and flown out on May 11th, the recovery was subsequently suspended for the night at nightfall.
On May 12th Indonesia's Transport Minister said the black boxes have not yet been recovered, the search for them is under way.
On May 12th the chief of the disaster victim identification team reported identification of the bodys recovered so far began, 16 body bags have arrived at the hospital so far, the bodies are not intact. DNA testing will be needed to identify the victims. Russia pledged to send a DNA expert team to Indonesia to assist identification. DNA samples have been taken from the families.
By May 13th 21 body bags had been delivered to the hospital, where identification is going to be performed. 3 of the body bags however contained belongings of occupants of the aircraft, 18 of the bags contained human remains.
By May 15th 27 bodies have been taken to the hospital for identification.
On May 16th the cockpit voice recorder was recovered and taken to Jakarta, where the recorder is being examined and opened. Russia and Indonesia agree that analysis of the data should take place in Indonesia, the necessary tools if necessary will be brought to Indonesia. The search for the flight data recorder is still underway.
On May 24th 2012 Indonesia's Ministry of Transport reported that the bodies of all 45 occupants of the aircraft have been identified, the remains are now being handed over to the relatives. Sukhoi is going to pay out compensation to the victims in accordance with Indonesia's regulations.
On May 24th Russia's Rosaviatsia (Civil Aviation Authority) released a report dated May 22nd stating that a descent from the mountaineous area's minimum safe altitude of 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet had been pre-arranged. The flight was continued at 6,000 feet until the aircraft impacted a slope rising up to 7254 feet MSL. The investigation is ongoing in all directions with a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) being a likely scenario. Rosaviatsia reported that CFIT accidents typically are the result of one or more of the following factors:
- Execution of flight below safe altitude as result of deliberate action of the crew or loss of situational awareness
- Lack of response by the crew to (GPWS/TAWS) alerts of terrain closure
- Clearance by ATC to descend in mountaineous terrain in absence of accurate position data
- Erroneous altitude indications due to incorrect pressure setting or system malfunction.
Sukhoi reported the aircraft registration RA-97004 (MSN 95004) was piloted by a very experienced crew that also flew the first prototype of the aircraft, the commander had more than 10,000 hours total. The crew did not report any anomaly and did not issue a distress call prior to the aircraft disappearing. The aircraft had already concluded another demonstration flight earlier the day. The accident aircraft had accumulated 800 flight hours in more than 500 cycles, there had been no serious technical problems since its first flight in 2009.
Sukhoi later added, that based on preliminary analysis of the cockpit voice recorder data a paper was signed by both Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee and Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) investigation the crash. The paper stated that no system malfunctions were detected prior to impact, the aircraft's Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) was operating and provided the crew with information about hazardeous ground proximity.
Indonesia's Ministry of Transport quoted the Director of Civil Aviation stating that the crew had requested to descend from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet. Contact with the aircraft was lost between 14:21L and 14:33L (07:21Z to 07:33Z). The aircraft was later located on Mount Salak. The aircraft type has not been grounded, flights can continue with the Superjet 100. The area around Borok was chosen for the demonstration flight because of lack of other flights in the area. Weather data from Indonesia's "Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika" (Institute for Meteorology, Climate and Geophysics) do not suggest the weather was below visual meteorologic conditions, however there is possibility of local cloud at Mount Salak that may have restricted the view of the crew. The occurrence is being investigated by Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC). The Transport Minister called for all sides to wait for the results of the investigation by the NTSC. The Minister also stated that the ministry will not block the purchase of a total of 42 Superjet 100s by two Indonesian Airlines.
On May 28th the Ministry of Transport stated that each of the demo flights was scheduled to take 30 minutes flying from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to Pelabuhan Ratu and back at 10,000 feet. The Ministry also released a time line of the flight stating, that the aircraft took off Halim Perdanakusuma Airport's runway 06 at 14:21L and climbed to 10,000 feet. The aircraft subsequently established on radial 200 of the HLM VOR (located on Halim Perdanakusuma Airport) and was handed off to Soekarno Hatta Airport's air traffic control at 14:24L. At 14:26L the crew requested and was cleared to descend to 6000 feet, at 14:28L the crew requested a right orbit in the training area Atang Sanjaya (about 3nm north of Bogor). At 14:52L ATC contacted Soekarno Hatta Airport after the aircraft was no longer visible on the radar screen, at 14:55L ATC reported to the ATS coordinator because of the loss of the target. An uncertainty phase followed, at 16:05L ATC contacted Search and Rescue, at 16:55L the alert phase (ALERFA) was invoked and at 18:22L distress phase (DESTRESFA) was invoked after the aircraft's fuel would have run out.
On May 31st Indonesia's NTSC and Russia's MAK presented the just recovered flight data recorder in a press conference.
On Jun 25th 2012 the NTSC released
Indonesia's Air Traffic Control, Jakarta Branch, reported, that communication between ATC and aircraft was done in English, there was no language problem hampering communication. The aircraft had been in the area of Bogor, approximate coordinates S6.55 E106.9, about 13nm north of the peak of Mount Salak and 7nm clear of mountaineous terrain in safe flat area, when the crew requested to descend from 10,000 to 6,000 feet and to perform a right orbit. As there was no reason to decline such a clearance the flight was cleared down and for the right orbit. This was the last transmissioon from the aircraft, the aircraft could not be reached afterwards. It is unclear how the aircraft got into the area of Mount Salak and crashed afterwards, ATC services hope the black boxes will explain how the aircraft got there. All data including flight plan, radar data and ATC recordings as well as transcripts of interviews with the air traffic controller have been handed to Indonesia's NTSC.
Mount Salak is 2,211 meters/7254 feet high, nearby Mount Gede is 2,958 meters/9,705 feet high.
At 14:30L and 15:30L the local weatherstation in Bogor reported visibility at 9000 meters (increasing to 10000 meters in the next reading at 16:30L), temperature at 31 degrees C, dew point at 25 degrees C, humidity 70% and winds arund 5 knots from northeast, no precipitation. In the morning the weatherstation had reported low visibility around about 2000 meters.
The chairman of Indonesia's NTSC (center) and Russian Investigator of MAK (left) present the burnt flight data recorder
(Photo: AP/Achmad Ibrahim):
The chairman of Indonesia's NTSC (left) receives the burnt cockpit voice recorder (Photo: AP/Jefri Tarigan):
A passenger's laptop shows the impact forces (Photo: Reuters/Duyeh Cidayu):
Looking down from the top of the cliff (Photo: AP):
Crash site from the bottom of the cliff (Photo: AFP/Adek Berry):
Crash site from the air (Photo: Lystseva Marina):
Lowest part of the crash site (Photo: APA/EPA/Subali Ahmad):
Video of the crash site off a search helicopter (Video: Sergey Doyla):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jP-Xfmdyzk
The aircraft in Jakarta on May 8th 2012:
Infrared MTSAT Satellite Image May 9th 09:00Z (Photo: MTSAT):
Infrared MTSAT Satellite Image May 9th 06:00Z (Photo: MTSAT):
Detail Map (Graphics: AVH/Google Earth):
Map (Graphics: AVH/Google Earth):
A Sukhoi Sukhoi Superjet 100-95, registration RA-97004 performing a demonstration flight from Jakarta Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to Jakarta Halim Perdanakusuma Airport (Indonesia) with 37 passengers, 6 crew and 2 Sukhoi officials, was enroute near Mount Salak and Bogor about 36nm south of Jakarta about 30 minutes into the flight when the radio contact with the aircraft was lost between 14:21L and 14:33L (07:21Z to 07:33Z). The aircraft did not turn up at Jakarta or any other airport in the area. The aircraft wreckage was found by a helicopter the following morning (May 10th) at about 09:15L (02:15Z) on the slopes of Mount Salak at an elevation of about 5300 feet MSL. On May 11th around 14:00L (07:00Z) rescuers reached the crash site and subsequently recovered all 45 bodies.Rescue and Recovery teams are currently on their way to the crash site. First attempts to reach the crash site, including attempts to set rescuers down by helicopters, have failed so far (May 10th 17:45L) due to the extremely steep terrain rising at up to 85 degrees. About 450 rescue personnel are currently moving towards the crash site on the ground but did not reach the site before darkness. At this time (May 10th 17:45L/10:45Z) no rescuer has yet reached the site, the status of the occupants on board of the aircraft is still unknown. The rescue operation has been suspended for the night May 10 to 11th.The coordinator of the rescue operation said, that the aircraft appeared relatively intact from the air however has received substantial damage after leaving a trail away from the crater down the slope, there was no sign of survivors from the air. Rescue teams are currently on the ground about 1km from the crash site, the terrain being difficult to reach the wreckage.The Air Force said the aircraft impacted the edge of a cliff (top of the cliff at 6250 feet MSL) about 1.7 nm from Cijeruk. Approximate final position of the aircraft is S6.7102 E106.7447 (initially reported as S6.7045 E106.7373 but updated on May 11th taking the crash site from the western to the eastern cliff).Indonesian Authorities reported the aircraft was enroute at 10,000 feet near Mount Salak when at about 15:30L (08:30Z) the crew requested and was cleared to descend to 6,000 feet. This proved to be the last radio transmission. Radar contact was lost when the aircraft was in a right hand turn descending through 6,200 feet between Mount Salak and Mount Gede at approximate position S6.72 E106.72. The aircraft was flying clockwise around Mount Salak at that time. A search operation has been initiated and is mounting, first search flights on May 9th did not yet found any trace of the aircraft. Search on the ground is under way, a first team has departed for Mount Salak in the evening, a second ground team is expected to depart on May 10th early morning, more than 600 ground personnel have been deployed by sunrise May 10th.In the evening of May 10th Police reported a total of 1353 rescue personnel are currently working to reach the aircraft and evacuate the occupants of the aircraft, which has to happen on the ground with the use of ladders. Access to the crash site from the air is not possible. Four rescue teams have been formed, each of which needs about 7 hours to climb to the wreckage. The first team of 10 people has already reached the site and was near the wreckage, but has not yet entered the wreckage. A second team of 75 people is due to arrive any time, a third team of 225 people departed during the night to May 11th and a fourth team of 250 people is going to depart at 05:00L May 11th.In the morning of May 11th a first team reached the top of the cliff and is now descending on ropes towards the crash site.On May 11th early afternoon Indonesia's President and rescuers announced in a press conference that 12 bodies have been discovered.The discovered 12 bodies were recovered and flown out on May 11th, the recovery was subsequently suspended for the night at nightfall.On May 12th Indonesia's Transport Minister said the black boxes have not yet been recovered, the search for them is under way.On May 12th the chief of the disaster victim identification team reported identification of the bodys recovered so far began, 16 body bags have arrived at the hospital so far, the bodies are not intact. DNA testing will be needed to identify the victims. Russia pledged to send a DNA expert team to Indonesia to assist identification. DNA samples have been taken from the families.By May 13th 21 body bags had been delivered to the hospital, where identification is going to be performed. 3 of the body bags however contained belongings of occupants of the aircraft, 18 of the bags contained human remains.By May 15th 27 bodies have been taken to the hospital for identification.On May 16th the cockpit voice recorder was recovered and taken to Jakarta, where the recorder is being examined and opened. Russia and Indonesia agree that analysis of the data should take place in Indonesia, the necessary tools if necessary will be brought to Indonesia. The search for the flight data recorder is still underway.On May 24th 2012 Indonesia's Ministry of Transport reported that the bodies of all 45 occupants of the aircraft have been identified, the remains are now being handed over to the relatives. Sukhoi is going to pay out compensation to the victims in accordance with Indonesia's regulations.On May 24th Russia's Rosaviatsia (Civil Aviation Authority) released a report dated May 22nd stating that a descent from the mountaineous area's minimum safe altitude of 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet had been pre-arranged. The flight was continued at 6,000 feet until the aircraft impacted a slope rising up to 7254 feet MSL. The investigation is ongoing in all directions with a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) being a likely scenario. Rosaviatsia reported that CFIT accidents typically are the result of one or more of the following factors:- Execution of flight below safe altitude as result of deliberate action of the crew or loss of situational awareness- Lack of response by the crew to (GPWS/TAWS) alerts of terrain closure- Clearance by ATC to descend in mountaineous terrain in absence of accurate position data- Erroneous altitude indications due to incorrect pressure setting or system malfunction.Sukhoi reported the aircraft registration RA-97004 (MSN 95004) was piloted by a very experienced crew that also flew the first prototype of the aircraft, the commander had more than 10,000 hours total. The crew did not report any anomaly and did not issue a distress call prior to the aircraft disappearing. The aircraft had already concluded another demonstration flight earlier the day. The accident aircraft had accumulated 800 flight hours in more than 500 cycles, there had been no serious technical problems since its first flight in 2009.Sukhoi later added, that based on preliminary analysis of the cockpit voice recorder data a paper was signed by both Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee and Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) investigation the crash. The paper stated that no system malfunctions were detected prior to impact, the aircraft's Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) was operating and provided the crew with information about hazardeous ground proximity.Indonesia's Ministry of Transport quoted the Director of Civil Aviation stating that the crew had requested to descend from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet. Contact with the aircraft was lost between 14:21L and 14:33L (07:21Z to 07:33Z). The aircraft was later located on Mount Salak. The aircraft type has not been grounded, flights can continue with the Superjet 100. The area around Borok was chosen for the demonstration flight because of lack of other flights in the area. Weather data from Indonesia's "Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika" (Institute for Meteorology, Climate and Geophysics) do not suggest the weather was below visual meteorologic conditions, however there is possibility of local cloud at Mount Salak that may have restricted the view of the crew. The occurrence is being investigated by Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC). The Transport Minister called for all sides to wait for the results of the investigation by the NTSC. The Minister also stated that the ministry will not block the purchase of a total of 42 Superjet 100s by two Indonesian Airlines.On May 28th the Ministry of Transport stated that each of the demo flights was scheduled to take 30 minutes flying from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to Pelabuhan Ratu and back at 10,000 feet. The Ministry also released a time line of the flight stating, that the aircraft took off Halim Perdanakusuma Airport's runway 06 at 14:21L and climbed to 10,000 feet. The aircraft subsequently established on radial 200 of the HLM VOR (located on Halim Perdanakusuma Airport) and was handed off to Soekarno Hatta Airport's air traffic control at 14:24L. At 14:26L the crew requested and was cleared to descend to 6000 feet, at 14:28L the crew requested a right orbit in the training area Atang Sanjaya (about 3nm north of Bogor). At 14:52L ATC contacted Soekarno Hatta Airport after the aircraft was no longer visible on the radar screen, at 14:55L ATC reported to the ATS coordinator because of the loss of the target. An uncertainty phase followed, at 16:05L ATC contacted Search and Rescue, at 16:55L the alert phase (ALERFA) was invoked and at 18:22L distress phase (DESTRESFA) was invoked after the aircraft's fuel would have run out.On May 31st Indonesia's NTSC and Russia's MAK presented the just recovered flight data recorder in a press conference.On Jun 25th 2012 the NTSC released immediate safety recommendations reporting the crash site is located at a near vertical wall at the eastern side of Mount Salak at coordinates S6.7094 E106.7353 at 6100 feet MSL. Following intensive search for 22 days a number of items were recovered including APU ECU, HF transceiver, HF power amplifier, HF emergency radio, ELT406, ACRA Control, RCP for MPS-31C, CVR, DME Unit, harddisk, Aeroflot FOM, parachute, collection of aeronavigation information, metal parts from fuselage and the FDR. The aircraft was certified by Russia however was not suitable for commercial operation (i.e. transportation of passengers by fare) and was not the property of a commercial operation airline. No copy of a passenger manifest and aircraft documentation could be found, passenger manifest and aircraft documents were carried only on the aircraft. Recommendations to ensure minimum safe altitude during demonstration flights as well as ensure copies of documentation available on the ground were issued to both Indonesia's Directorate of Civil Aviation and Sukhoi.Indonesia's Air Traffic Control, Jakarta Branch, reported, that communication between ATC and aircraft was done in English, there was no language problem hampering communication. The aircraft had been in the area of Bogor, approximate coordinates S6.55 E106.9, about 13nm north of the peak of Mount Salak and 7nm clear of mountaineous terrain in safe flat area, when the crew requested to descend from 10,000 to 6,000 feet and to perform a right orbit. As there was no reason to decline such a clearance the flight was cleared down and for the right orbit. This was the last transmissioon from the aircraft, the aircraft could not be reached afterwards. It is unclear how the aircraft got into the area of Mount Salak and crashed afterwards, ATC services hope the black boxes will explain how the aircraft got there. All data including flight plan, radar data and ATC recordings as well as transcripts of interviews with the air traffic controller have been handed to Indonesia's NTSC.Mount Salak is 2,211 meters/7254 feet high, nearby Mount Gede is 2,958 meters/9,705 feet high.At 14:30L and 15:30L the local weatherstation in Bogor reported visibility at 9000 meters (increasing to 10000 meters in the next reading at 16:30L), temperature at 31 degrees C, dew point at 25 degrees C, humidity 70% and winds arund 5 knots from northeast, no precipitation. In the morning the weatherstation had reported low visibility around about 2000 meters.The chairman of Indonesia's NTSC (center) and Russian Investigator of MAK (left) present the burnt flight data recorder(Photo: AP/Achmad Ibrahim):The chairman of Indonesia's NTSC (left) receives the burnt cockpit voice recorder (Photo: AP/Jefri Tarigan):A passenger's laptop shows the impact forces (Photo: Reuters/Duyeh Cidayu):Looking down from the top of the cliff (Photo: AP):Crash site from the bottom of the cliff (Photo: AFP/Adek Berry):Crash site from the air (Photo: Lystseva Marina):Lowest part of the crash site (Photo: APA/EPA/Subali Ahmad):Video of the crash site off a search helicopter (Video: Sergey Doyla):The aircraft in Jakarta on May 8th 2012:Infrared MTSAT Satellite Image May 9th 09:00Z (Photo: MTSAT):Infrared MTSAT Satellite Image May 9th 06:00Z (Photo: MTSAT):Detail Map (Graphics: AVH/Google Earth):Map (Graphics: AVH/Google Earth):
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A garden controller helps us to manage the environment by controlling fans, heaters, lights, pumps, and notifying us when the garden needs our attention.
The Garden Controller System will help you to grow:
Greens such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and kale.
Herbs such as basil, parsley, oregano, cilantro and mint
Tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, and many more
using hydroponics (or soil) because I believe everyone, even on a budget, should be able to grow their own plants at home without having to go through the painful process of learning what does and doesn't work. I've distilled it down to an electronic control system that provides you with the insight you need to get your little green friends growing and thriving. I want to help you learn more about your plants by using the controller and using helpful reminders..
I recommend using hydroponics, before you try aquaponics - try hydroponics so that you know what success looks like! Also, for growing indoors it's a must, besides, plants will grow much faster after germination.
Just about any plant can be grown hydroponically, but for beginners it is best to start small. The best choices are herbs and vegetables that grow quickly, require little maintenance, and do not have a huge variety of nutrient needs. You want fast-growing plants so that you can assess how well your system works and tweak it as necessary. It would be a real letdown to wait months until harvest time only to find out your system is not working properly. Low-maintenance plants are great for beginners because they allow you to focus on learning about your system. If you are growing a variety of plants it is also important to make sure that they are similar in their nutrient requirements, so that they grow well together.The New American Century: Cut Short By 92 Years
America's time as a superpower is coming to an end. The financial crisis was just the last straw. Whatever good faith was left after the invasion of Iraq, the shrugging off of international treaties and the shameless disregard for human rights, is now gone. The United States has polluted the global economic system with worthless mortgage-backed securities and, by doing so, has pushed 6 billion people closer to a long and painful recession. That's not something that can be easily forgiven.
The anger at the US seems to be surfacing everywhere at once. It was particularly noticable at the recent opening of the UN General Assembly. Typically, this is a tedious event full of empty political blabbering and pretentious ceremonies. But not this time. With the world sliding towards a US-created recession; patience have worn thin, and foreign leaders have started to lashing out at the United States more vehemently. The speeches have been blunt and acrimonious; no one is "pulling their punches" any more. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez summed up the mood of the meetings like this:
"I think that, sooner rather than later, this empire will fall - to the benefit of the whole world, enabling a balance in the world to be created: polycentric and multi-polar. That will guarantee peace in the world. To the creation of this multi-polar world we are making our small contribution."
Chavez likes the American people but opposes the American Empire; it's that simple. He was the first foreign leader to offer food and medical assistance to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. (Bush refused his offer) Also, he regularly supplies tons of heating oil to low-income families in the Northeast USA.
What Chavez objects to is Bush's "unipolar" model of global governance whereby all the world's crucial decisions--on everything from global warming to nuclear proliferation--are made by Washington. No one likes being told what to do, just as no one likes the US constantly meddling in their affairs. That's why none of the UN attendees seem particularly bothered by the fact that the US financial markets are in freefall. It's called schadenfreude, taking pleasure in someone elses misfortune, and there was ample supply of it at the United Nations last week.
Many of the dignitaries seem to believe that America's sudden downturn presents opportunities for a change in the way the world is run. That's what everyone wants; change. Real change. No one wants another 8 years like the last. That's why the central theme in Chavez's speech was repeated over and over again by the other world leaders. They reject the present system and want a bigger role in shaping the world's future.
That doesn't mean that the world hates America. It just means that everyone wants a breather from the torture, the abductions, the bombing of civilians, and now, the financial contagion that the US has spread throughout the global system. The US's lack of regulation and low interest monetary policies have driven up inflation, triggered food riots, and sent oil prices skyrocketing. Enough is enough. The United States is like the dinner guest who doesn't know when it's time to go home. Perhaps, a touch of recession will help to rebalance Washington's approach and make its leaders more responsive to the needs of the rest of the world. In any event, other nations are already preparing for a world where America's role is greatly reduced.
Journalist John Gray summed it up like this in his article in The Observer, "A Shattering Moment in America's fall from Power":
"The control of events is no longer in American hands.....Having created the conditions that produced history's biggest bubble, America's political leaders appear unable to grasp the magnitude of the dangers the country now faces. Mired in their rancorous culture wars and squabbling among themselves, they seem oblivious to the fact that American global leadership is fast ebbing away. A new world is coming into being almost unnoticed, where America is only one of several great powers, facing an uncertain future it can no longer shape."
The US is about to join the family of nations and learn how to get along with its neighbors whether it wants to or not. There's simply no other choice; the dollar is falling, the deficits are soaring, and the financial markets are in a shambles. America will either learn to cooperate or become isolated in a world that is rapidly integrating. It's "get along or get out"; a message that Washington needs to learn quickly so it can adapt to a new power-paradigm.
Yes; plenty of money will still go into covert operations and CIA-sponsored dirty tricks just to keep alive the hope the Superpowerdom will be restored. That is to be expected. The well-heeled rogues in the British royal family still dream of rebuilding the Empire, too. But realists know that it's just a harmless fantasy. Nothing will come of it. Empire's have a short shelf-life and they're impossible to stitch-back together. They usually end on a corpse strewn battlefield or in a towering financial bonfire which leaves nothing behind but a pile of ashes and shards of broken glass. We can only hope that the yawning economic chasm ahead of us all, will involve less hardship than we anticipate. But when a nation sows dragon's teeth, it shouldn't expect a harvest of sweet plums.
Journalist Steve Watson reports on Infowars:
"A Council on Foreign Relations member and former policy planner under prominent Bilderberger Henry Kissinger has penned a piece in the Financial Times of London calling for a “new global monetary authority” that would have the power to monitor all national financial authorities and all large global financial companies.
“Even if the US's massive financial rescue operation succeeds, it should be followed by something even more far-reaching – the establishment of a Global Monetary Authority to oversee markets that have become borderless." writes Jeffrey Garten also a former managing director of Lehman Brothers
The biggest global financial companies would have to register with the Global Monetary Authority (GMA) and be subject to its monitoring, or be blacklisted. That includes commercial companies and banks, but also sovereign wealth funds, gigantic hedge funds and private equity firms. The GMA's board would have to include central bankers not just from the US, UK, the eurozone and Japan, but also China, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. It would be financed by mandatory contributions from every capable country and from insurance-type premiums from global financial companies – publicly listed, government owned, and privately held alike." (Infowar.com)
The dream of "one world" government does not die easily, but it is dead all the same. The center of the present global financial system is the Federal Reserve. Its offspring includes the Council on Foreign Relations, the IMF, The World Bank, the G-7 banking cartel and thousands of predatory NGOs which have expanded the grip of the Washington banking cabal and the dollarized system across the planet. Neoliberalism is collapsing. What we are seeing now is the erratic spasms of a terminal heart patient entering |
the story seems to break down a little. Some people in the audience were heard identifying the woman as a theater student, which does kind of set off some warning bells. Even more problematically, she’s claiming to be 24 years old, which is somehow (and by “somehow,” we mean “mathematically”) at odds with Kaufman’s death date 29 years ago. Kaufman does have an actual daughter, Maria Colonna, who lives in upstate New York. She occasionally does leave civilian life to comment or weigh in on stories about her dad, but thus far has not spoken about this latest one.
The Smoking Gun later identified the woman as a New York City actress named Alexandra Tatarsky whose father is a psychologist and not a (deceased) comedian:
In news that should shock nobody, the woman who appeared onstage claiming Andy Kaufman was alive — and that she was his daughter — is a New York City actress whose actual father is a Manhattan doctor. Posing as the late comedian’s daughter, Alexandra Tatarsky, 24, appeared at the Andy Kaufman Awards and told the audience that Kaufman dropped out of show business nearly three decades ago to be a “stay-at-home dad.” According to a source familiar with [the] Kaufman stunt, Tatarsky met Michael Kaufman while working at a Manhattan gallery exhibiting a collection of Kaufman “ephemera and artifacts” from the comedian’s personal and professional life. Tatarsky was recruited by Michael Kaufman to play the role of Andy Kaufman’s daughter.
The Hollywood Reporter (THR) also got nowhere when it attempted to contact Michael Kaufman to verify elements of the story proffered by him and his brother’s alleged daughter:
Andy Kaufman’s faked death is looking more and more like a hoax perpetrated by the comedian’s brother. Contacted by THR, Michael Kaufman said that the woman claiming to be Kaufman’s daughter was impossible to reach, for reasons he would explain later. He then excused himself, saying he had a dinner date with his wife. Sounding rushed and harried in a short phone conversation [the next] morning, Michael Kaufman apologized for having to delay a planned interview with THR, the second such postponement in two days. He then admitted that the attention foisted upon him in the last 24 hours had become overwhelming. “This is so, like, out of my league what’s going on here,” Kaufman said. The brother would not comment on the allegations regarding Tatarsky. Saying he was late for planned TV appearances, he only offered the following, backpedaling on his initial claims: “I think I’ve been misquoted, OK?” Kaufman says. “I never came out with, ‘He’s alive.’ I’m as skeptical as anybody else.”
The 20th anniversary of Kaufman’s death also provided the occasion for some “Andy Kaufman is alive!” rumors, fueled primarily by an “Andy Kaufman Returns” blog and a press release (widely distributed via Yahoo!) proclaiming that he had emerged from hiding two decades after faking his death — accounts supposedly confirmed by his having given an interview to ABC and submitted to (and passed) DNA testing. And all of this screamed of being a very un-Kaufman-like publicity stunt:
New York City, NY (PRWEB) May 19, 2004 — Twenty years ago, on May 16, 1984, most of the world believed that we had lost a comedic legend forever. This has turned out to be what will inevitably be known as the greatest comic prank ever conceived. Andy Kaufman, by all accounts, is alive and well at age 55 and is now living in New York City on the upper west side. To his loyal supporters and fans, Andy says “sorry about faking my death,” in a recent interview with ABC News at his apartment. In order to reach legendary comic status and seal his place in the history of performance art, he said it was “necessary to go away for twenty years.” Andy Kaufman’s official site has been launched at: http://andykaufmanreturns.blogspot.com/ Even though he has technically returned, Andy says that he plans to maintain his low key lifestyle that he has led for the past twenty years. He has resumed contact with friends and family. Fearing the possibility of this scenario and the potential for another hoax, Kaufman’s family has contracted with independent auditors Ernst & Young to determine if this in fact the real Andy Kaufman. He has subjected himself to medical examination and submitted DNA, hair, blood and fingerprint samples to the auditors. Ernst & Young and the Kaufman family report that with a 99% probability, this is indeed the real Andy Kaufman. His mother says, “It’s good to have Andy back.” In 1999, a new crop of Kaufman fans were born after Jim Carrey starred in the hit film Man on the Moon. “Andy’s bizarre mix of comedy and performance art will inspire fans and comedians alike for generations, especially after this stunt,” says Jim Carrey. Andy says he will make only occasional public appearances, sometimes in disguise so that you won’t know if it’s really him or someone else. Kaufman was famous for pulling this stunt with the Tony Clifton character, sometimes played by good friend Bob Zmuda. Andy says fans should tune into his website for ongoing updates to his adventures in life. As always, Andy’s stage has been the world, testing the boundaries of our beliefs, our sources of information, and our perception of reality. “It’s good to be back,” Andy writes on his website.
The “celebrity-died-young actually faked his own death to drop out of the public eye” rumor has long since been milked for all its worth. Every decade sees it applied to at least one prominent entertainer — James Dean, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Tupac Shakur. They’re all dead, and they’re not coming back. Ever. That someone issued a press release proclaiming Andy Kaufman to be alive signified nothing other than an attempt to capitalize on the confusion his bizarre performance style sowed during his lifetime. (Heck, if anybody was capable of faking his own death, it was that crazy old Andy Kaufman, right?)
The releasing agency, PRWeb, is a for-hire wire service that will distribute anyone’s press release, about anything, for a fee. (Another PRWeb release from the same timeframe — “Ambassador from Mars Receives 181,634 Spam Emails; Says ‘Earthlings Are Not Ready’ and Takes First Available Saucer Back Home” — demonstrated that nothing was considered too silly to be distributed by the PRWeb wire service.)
The supposedly recent photographs of Andy Kaufman appearing as Tony Clifton, his abusive lounge singer character, displayed in the “Andy Kaufman Returns” blog were taken from a May 2004 Andy Kaufman tribute event, during which Kaufman’s friend and writing partner, Bob Zmuda, played Tony Clifton. Zmuda himself said, during a 1999 interview:
“The hoax and the practical joke are lost art forms.” But did Andy Kaufman pull one last stunt on his deathbed at age 35? No, says Zmuda. “Andy Kaufman is dead. He’s not in some truck stop with Elvis.” While Kaufman tinkered with the idea, tells Zmuda, he never brought it up again.
The “Andy Kaufman Returns” blog was later amended to state that, contrary to details provided in the press release, he was not interviewed by ABC, and the alleged DNA testing was not conducted by the auditing firm of Ernst & Young. This seemed rather transparently indicative of someone’s having to backpedal after receiving complaints from companies disgruntled at having their names associated with a hoax. Indeed, within a few days the perpetrator was forced to issue another press release apologizing for his prank:
On May 19th 2004 a Press Release from New York was issued claiming that infamous comedian and prankster Andy Kaufman was apparently back from the dead after allegedly faking his own death in 1984. The outlandish release had explained that Kaufman was in fact alive and well, and had been living in secrecy for the past 20 years. The report was met with scepticism by the mainstream media, but it did not prevent some news sources reporting it at as fact. Although many have speculated that Kaufman, a notorious prankster, could have indeed faked his death, a press release was issued today from 26 year old Enrique Proust of Burbank, CA, claiming he was responsible for the recent reports. “I faked the whole thing”, Proust explained, “it was very easy to do. I am deeply sorry for any distress I have caused to the Kaufman family and any of Andy’s closest friends”. He continued, “it was my intention to continue the spirit of Andy Kaufman alive and to provoke debate about his possible whereabouts, but I did not anticipate the feelings of those closest to him, and for that I’m very sorry.” On his website Proust, as Kaufman, had made several defamatory remarks about the Kaufman family, claiming that they themselves part of an elaborate hoax and were not actually related to Kaufman. It is rumoured that these remarks may have prompted their recent “cease and desist” order against Proust. Kaufman’s life-long friend and charity event organizer, Bob Zmuda, made the following statement regarding Proust’s press release. “I’m very glad to hear that Mr. Proust has decided to stop his recent activities which had deeply upset Andy’s family,” he said. “I understand Mr. Proust’s intentions, and I’m sure Andy would have loved the idea for people to believe he was still alive, but this has been a rather destructive and upsetting event for family, friends and fans of Andy’s alike.” “If Andy was coming back,” added Zmuda, “believe me, I’d know about it, and he’s definitey not”. According to Proust, his website, “Andy Kaufman Returns” will be taken down within the next few weeks and it is expected that he will post an apology and explanation shortly. “I still hope that Andy will one day make a triumphant return”, he said.
If the real Andy Kaufman wanted to demonstrate he was still alive, just one public appearance would serve that purpose far more convincingly than an unverifiable DNA test. Most important, if the Andy Kaufman we remember — the brilliant, unpredictable, erratic, and unique comic genius — had finally emerged from hiding decades after faking his own death, I have no doubts that he’d find a much more imaginative way of revealing his return than an Internet press release and a rather ordinary blog, or having his “daughter” announce his imminent return to the audence of a small awards ceremony.
The Kaufman hoax returned in September 2014, when Bob Zmuda reversed course (because he had a book to sell) and claimed that not only did he believe that Kaufman had engaged in some ridiculously far-fetched scheme to fake his death, but that Kaufman would be emerging to reveal his great prank to the world very soon:
Kaufman, Zmuda believes, found a “body double,” someone with his general physical appearance, who was genuinely dying of cancer. Then he began changing his own physicality to match that of the dying man, including losing weight and shaving his head, and released photos of himself in this state. When the body double died, Zmuda says, a switch was made, with the double buried as Kaufman, and Kaufman being spirited away to start his new life. Zmuda believes that, given Kaufman’s self-declared 30-year timeline, his return is imminent. Kaufman died in May 1984. If Zmuda is correct, then Kaufman is already late.
As usual, we expect that long after the book Zmuda was hawking (Andy Kaufman: The Truth, Finally) is forgotten, Andy Kaufman will still be deadThe 2016 NFL Draft is eight months away, but it's never too early to start doing homework on a top prospect.
The Cleveland Browns are already doing their due diligence on Michigan State senior quarterback Connor Cook, according to Cook's high school coach, Gerry Rardin.
Rardin told CBS Sports that the Browns visited him earlier this month to discuss Cook. Rardin, who is retired after 35 years as a coach at Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio, also said it was the first time an NFL team had paid him a visit to discuss a prospect.
"They feel like Connor is going to be one of the more important guys in the draft, for sure," Rardin said, per the report.
Indeed, Cook was already drawing comparisons to 2003 No. 1 overall pick Carson Palmer a year ago. He opted to return for his senior season rather than apply for entry into the 2015 NFL Draft after the 2014 campaign. NFL Media draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote earlier this summer that Cook likely would have been the third quarterback selected had he entered the 2015 draft. After Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota came off the board with the draft's first two picks, a third QB wasn't selected until the 11th pick of Round 3 (75th overall), when the Saints took Garrett Grayson.
However, Zierlein also wrote that Cook's decision to return to school should only help his stock.
In other words, with another strong season from Cook, the Browns, or any other team interested in the quarterback, will have to strike quickly to land the Spartans star in next year's draft.
The Browns signed veteran Josh McCown in the offseason and spent a first-rounder on Johnny Manziel in 2014, but barring a breakthrough from Manziel (McCown isn't a long-term answer at 36 years old), Cook could look awfully tempting to the team coming out of the 2015 season.
Follow College Football 24/7 on Twitter @NFL_CFB.Sorry to start your week out with such a sad story, but I think it needs to be told. Late last week I became aware of the story of Claudialee, a six-year-old girl who passed away after being misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes, when she actually had type 1 diabetes. There is a very detailed account of the story here.
I’m not going to go into every detail of this story, but I did want to point out a few things that stand out for me. One is that Claudialee has a family history of diabetes. Another is that the doctor diagnosed Claudialee as obese. It is clear that the doctor was deeply concerned about the young child’s weight–prescribing diet and exercise in an effort to get her to lose weight. It is also clear that the mother closely followed the doctor’s recommendations–carefully monitoring what Claudialee ate and making sure she got plenty of exercise.
What is not clear is why the doctor felt so strongly that this child had Type 2 Diabetes as opposed to Type 1. According to a source cited in the article (The National Institute of Health) at that age group, Type 1 Diabetes has an incidence of about 20 in every 100,000 kids, whereas Type 2 Diabetes has an incidence of.4 in every 100,000 kids or 1 in every 250,000 kids. What’s more, at that age, Type 1 Diabetes is a far more urgent problem than Type 2 Diabetes. So what led to the doctor’s misdiagnosis?
We may never know for sure. But it does invite one to speculate whether the child’s weight was a factor. Clearly, getting Claudialee’s weight down was a prime part of the prescription to the parent. And as the child’s weight went down, the doctor neglected to do some of the critical follow-up blood tests that would have indicated that something was drastically wrong.
The article states:
Because Mercado [the doctor] had locked in on type 2, she did not monitor her patient’s blood. She did not tell Irma [the child’s mother] to purchase a $20 blood sugar meter from the drugstore. She did not ask Irma about the frequency with which her daughter drank and urinated. And neither she nor Cabatic [another doctor] described to Irma the danger signs to look out for.
When asked in court, why the doctor seemed so certain that the child had type 2 diabetes when type 1 diabetes was so much more prevalent among children that age, she stood by her original diagnosis:
“How many type 2 infant diabetics have you treated?” a lawyer asked her. “A lot,” she replied. “Maybe it’s geographical, because I work at Brooklyn as an assistant professor and also in wellness program where there are a lot of obese children, so we diagnose a lot of children with type 2 diabetes.”
Clearly there may have been other issues at play here. Claudialee was on Medicaid and doctors are paid significantly less for treating patients on Medicaid than they are for those with private insurance. The doctor was not board-certified, and the article points out that finding board certified physicians willing to work in clinics that take Medicaid can be difficult. And this is a single case where a single doctor has been convicted of malpractice. We will never know exactly what was in the doctor’s mind.
I but I personally found myself wondering if this doctor had ever previously considered that she may have a bias against fat patients–and maybe even fat children with low SES in particular. I wonder, had this doctor considered the potential for her own bias in this arena, would that child still be alive? Would Claudialee still be running around and playing today?
We certainly have plenty of evidence for a seeming “hysteria” around the issue of childhood Type 2 diabetes. A simple google search of “childhood diabetes epidemic” yields hundreds and hundreds of articles. This hysteria has spawned a number of shaming techniques aimed at children despite the fact that shame has been proven over and over again to be ineffective at treating obesity at any age, that shame is more likely to make kids engage in unhealthy behaviors, and that eating disorders are much, MUCH more prevalent among children than diabetes of any kind.
All I know for sure, is that stories like that of Claudialee get me even more fired up to fight against weight stigma in medicine. And that passion leads me to come to you with a plea. The Association for Size Diversity And Health and the Size Diversity Task force have embarked on a documentary film project to help doctors see and understand weight stigma and weight bias in medicine. This project is called the Resolved project. But this project needs a little bit of help from you. We are raising funds to finish the documentary on Go Fund Me here. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Even if you can only give a few dollars, that will help. And if you don’t have a few dollars to spend, would you consider sharing this with your friends and asking them to help? Let’s see if we can end weight stigma and weight bias in the healthcare industry for good. And maybe, just maybe we won’t have stories like Claudialee’s any more.
Love,
Jeanette (The Fat Chick)
P.S. Want to stay up to date on my projects and appearances? Just opt in RIGHT HERE!
AdvertisementsIn a real life example of the country's infamous "Boxing Kangaroo" mascot, the 25 year-old was out running when he was attacked by the rogue animal on Thursday.
The Australian Rules football player, from Canberra, the country’s capital, was then knocked unconscious after it punched him in the face and remembers little about the unprovoked attack.
"I turned around and before I knew it, it took a swipe at my face," he said.
Mr Striegl, who works in a corporate real estate office, was found by a passing motorist who took the dazed and bloody victim to hospital.
His only injury seemed to be some cuts and bruises, a black eye and a wounded ego with his colleagues making fun of his misfortune and giving him a new nickname – “Skippy”.
"The main thing they've been asking is whether I got one (punch) back on the roo,” he told the Australian Associated Press.
"I can't even say that, because one punch and it put me to the floor.
"All my years of playing football and never a fight, and then I have a fight with a kangaroo."
He had been running up the city's Mount Ainslie during his lunch break and did not think twice when he spotted one of the resident kangaroos nearby.
The bushland reserve in the nation's capital is popular with joggers and cyclists and assaults by the marsupials who share the mountain are rare. Though exceptional, it is not uncommon for kangaroos to attack humans
The attack comes a year after a nine-foot kangaroo invaded a house in Canberra during the night, terrifying its occupants before going on a rampage through their home.
Beat Ettlin, his partner Verity Beman and their nine-year-old daughter Beatrix hid under blankets as the two-metre high animal jumped on top of them and gouged holes and their furniture.
Mr Ettlin eventually wrestled the thrashing animal and dragged it out of the house, saving his family from serious injury.
"My initial thought when I was half awake was: it's a lunatic ninja coming through the window," he said at the time.
The previous year a jogger was attacked by a kangaroo in the outer Melbourne suburb of Sunbury.Wartime photographs drawn from archives of the International Center of Photography and appear in a new book
Images of the same locations were taken this month and show how the city has changed dramatically since
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These stunning images show the bustling heart of New York in the middle of the 20th century - and how times have changed in the city.
Pictures taken in the 1940s and 1950s by legendary crime photographer Arthur Fellig, better known as Weegee, are shown alongside shots of the same areas captured this month.
They include an image of a man lying drunk next to the former police department headquarters on Center Street in 1945 - and the same spot 70 years later.
A man is pictured lying drunk on the ground on Center Street in a 1945 picture called 'Derelict sleeping on the sidewalk outside police headquarters' (left). A woman walks past the same engraved sign for the former Police Department on March 18 this year (right)
A lightning bolt strikes above Lower Manhattan on July 27, 1940 (top) in a picture taken by legendary crime photographer Arthur Fellig. A picture taken from the same vantage point (bottom) shows how the skyline has changed over the last 75 years
Bright lights: Weegee's photograph 'Neon billboards on Times Square' (top), taken in September 1957, and an image taken from the same spot earlier this month (bottom) shows how the area has changed over the years
A 1940 photo of Lower Manhattan, shot at night from across the river near the Brooklyn Bridge, is dominated by a mere three skyscrapers, a shocking contrast to the forest of towers now surrounding 1 World Trade.
A 1946 image shows a fire in a loft building at Fulton and Greenwich streets. The intersection would be unrecognizable to Weegee today: It's the site of the 9/11 Memorial and museum.
A 1952 picture shows the stately, pristine stone facade of One Times Square, where a spire on the roof is still used for the New Year's Eve ball drop.
Today the building's exterior is covered with billboards.
But Weegee's 1957 view of Times Square does show neon ads, including now-outmoded brands like Admiral TV appliances alongside still-familiar names like Budweiser.
Then and now: Shops and businesses have sprung up along Doyers Street in the heart of New York's Chinatown (bottom). Weegee photographed a fire on the same street (top) on January 17, 1941
Weegee photographed The Empire State Building in 1943 (left) from behind a 'loans sign'. A picture taken this month (right) shows how the view from the same spot has changed in the last 70 years
WEEGEE: THE NOTORIOUS PHOTOJOURNALIST FAMED FOR ARRIVING AT CRIME SCENES BEFORE POLICE Arthur Fellig (pictured) went by the pseudonym Weegee, derived from a Ouija board - chosen for his ability to arrive at crime scenes before police He was the photojournalist who prowled the streets of New York, capturing crime scenes and revelling in his own notoriety. Arthur Fellig went by the pseudonym Weegee, derived from a Ouija board - chosen for his ability to arrive at crime scenes before police. He is credited with setting a new standard for tabloid photojournalism with his distinct and dramatic black and white street photography. He started out as a Hollywood paparazzo but his talents eventually landed him freelance jobs for a variety of New York newspapers and photo agencies. In a 2006 article entitled 'Unknown Weegee, on Photographer Who Made The Night Noir', New York Times reporter Holland Cotter described his technique. 'He prowled the streets in a car equipped with a police radio, a typewriter, developing equipment, a supply of cigars and a change of underwear,' Mr Cotter wrote, dubbing Weegee a 'one-man photo factory'. 'He drove to a crime site; took pictures; developed the film, using the trunk as a darkroom; and delivered the prints.' Weegee was born Usher Fellig in Zlockzów, Austrian Galicia (now Ukraine), but his name was changed to Arthur when his family emigrated to New York in 1909. He became known for his obsession with the macabre with his stills of New York's crime-ridden Lower East Side, but eventually returned to his roots in Hollywood. His 1945 book of photographs, Naked City, was the inspiration behind the 1947 film of the same name and he was uncredited as a still photographer in the 1964 Stanley Kubrick film Dr Strangelove. He revelled in his own notoriety, stamping the back of his pictures with 'Credit Photo by Weegee the Famous'. Speaking of his archive, he once said: 'The easiest kind of a job to cover was a murder. The stiff would be laying on the ground. 'He couldn't get up and walk away or get temperamental.' He died in December 1968 at the age of 69. In 1980, his widow Wilma Wilcox formed The Weegee Portfolio Incorporated to create a collection of his works from the original negatives and his entire archive was donated to the International Center of Photography in New York in 1993.
Flashback: Crowds of men gather next to what is now the Barclay's Center, in a picture taken on March 18, 1943 called 'Wartime rationing: retail butchers await arrival of meat' (top). The same area, next to the Atlantic Mall, is shown below as it appears today
Other photos, lined up with contemporary views of the same spot, are surprisingly unchanged - like a 1939 scene in Little Italy where small shops still line the sidewalks. A 1953 photo shows Humphrey Bogart on the marquee of the Victory movie theater, home now to the New Victory, which specializes in children's entertainment.
The Weegee photographs appear in a new guidebook, The Weegee Guide to New York, which includes never-before published work mostly drawn from the archives of the International Center of Photography.
Most of the book's photos show ordinary neighborhoods and streetscapes with low-rise buildings, bulky cars, empty skies and remarkably uncluttered public spaces.
Publishers Prestel say the book takes readers on 'excursions through Weegee’s stamping grounds, from the Bowery to Midtown, the West Side to the East, and with a little Brooklyn thrown in'.
It adds that the photographs'reinforce Weegee’s lasting vision of New York as a city both tough and resilient, a city that never sleeps.'
Fellig moved to America from Eastern Europe as a child in 1909 and lived in the Lower East Side. As an adult, he went on to become a press photographer, famed for his pictures of urban life, crime and death.
His nickname is said to have derived from a Ouija board - chosen for his ability to arrive at crime scenes before police.
Fire crews battle a blaze at the intersection of Fulton and Greenwich Streets in a 1946 picture called 'Fire in a loft building' (left). A photograph taken earlier this month (right) shows people lining up for the September 11 Museum near the World Trade Center transportation hub
Another picture provided by the International Center of Photography shows the Times Building in 1952 (left) - free from the neon billboards that can be seen at the same spot today (right)
Food for thought: The 24-hour Ham n Egg restaurant on West 51st Street (top) is shown in Weegee's 1953 photo. People walk past a Starbucks Coffee at the same spot earlier this month
Crowds are pictured along Wall Street in May 1945 as the nation was celebrating VE Day (left). A picture taken from the same vantage point shows the area as it appears today (right)
The photos in the book are organized by neighborhood, with maps and locations for each, including which direction Weegee was facing when he took the picture. The information makes it easy to compare images with how the city looks today - either by walking around or by going on Google Street View.
'The classic New York skyline has changed dramatically since Weegee's day, and the flurry of often mundane building construction over the last decades has obscured many of New York's iconic skyscrapers,' said Philomena Mariani, director of publications at the International Center of Photography, who compiled the book with another ICP staff member, Christopher George.
ICP owns 20,000 Weegee images, but for this book, Mariani said, 'We were looking for pictures that showed something of New York's built environment and public life,' including images of crowds gathered for celebrations and shoppers waiting for rationed goods.
Mariani said she hopes the book will get people thinking not only about 'how different the urban landscape is physically,' but also about 'the public life that existed through the mid-20th century that Weegee captured.'
A 1945 picture called 'Victory' shows men and women at a Chinese restaurant (top). A woman walks down the same staircase earlier this month. A new guidebook of Weegee's photos includes pictures drawn from the archives of the International Center of Photography
Victory: An August 1945 picture called 'Celebration in the Garment District on Japanese offer to surrender' is shown left while the same street is pictured rightFrench army suppresses reporting of Mali war
By Ernst Wolff
13 March 2013
The war in Mali will enter its third month this week. Some 4,000 French soldiers, and about twice as many African soldiers of an international force fighting in coordination with them, have conquered all the major cities in northern Mali. However, there are hardly any reports of the fighting, and almost no pictures.
Since the start of the war the French army, in collaboration with the Malian army, has systematically prevented reporters and journalists from any possibility of conducting objective reporting.
Initially all international reporters were banned from leaving the capital, Bamako, where they were harassed by Mali junta soldiers who confiscated their equipment.
A week after the war began, a few selected “embedded journalists” were allowed to travel to the north of Mali. Correspondents were required to stay by their assigned units, however, and participation was restricted exclusively to employees of the French national media.
On January 31, Malian intelligence officers confiscated material from two journalists working for the French news channel France24. They had filmed a demonstration by soldiers of the “Red Berets” brigade, who are seeking to re-enter the Malian army.
On February 8 several foreign journalists were detained for hours in Bamako by “Green Berets,” who carried out the Malian coup last March. Reuters photographer Benoit Tessier and two other journalists who had witnessed and photographed the incident, were beaten and led away. Their equipment and mobile phones were confiscated.
After the conquest of Gao, about fifty international reporters were allowed into the city under strict conditions, but then escorted out of the city shortly afterwards, allegedly due to a suicide attack, without having done their work. Three television crews who flew to Kidal were held at the airport by the French military until their departure.
Under the title “Atrocities in Mali,” the French television channel France 2 showed a 22-minute film on February 7, in which 45 seconds of film was shown of victims of the Malian army. France’s Central Audiovisual Council (CSA) reprimanded those responsible for the program, accusing them of “violating human dignity” by presenting images of dead bodies.
On February 28 the CSA stepped up its warnings, declaring that “repeated and excessive presentation of human body remains” is “unbearable,” especially for young audiences. Since then there have been no further critical reports of the war in Mali on French television.
Last week the chief editor of the Malian newspaper Le Républicain, Boukary Ndaou, was arrested without a warrant by the Malian state security service. A few hours earlier he had published an open letter by a soldier criticizing president Dioncounda Traoré for the payments he made to Captain Amadou Sanogo, the leader of the March 2012 coup. Ndaou’s whereabouts are unknown, and no charges have so far been brought against him.
The blocking of coverage of the war in Mali is based on an explicit command from the French army leadership: from day one, journalists were kept at least one hundred miles from the front lines and all theaters of war. They were only allowed to move in convoys and could not take photos. They were only able to enter conquered cities after all hostilities had ended and all victims had been removed.
Leading figures in the official media have come forward to defend such censorship.
Antoine Guélaud, editor-in-chief of TV station TF1, publicly justified the army’s policy, pointing to the difficulty of finding “the right balance between information requirements and the safety of journalists.” The war in Mali, he continued, was not a “normal war between two countries,” but was directed against terrorists.
His colleague Phil Chetwynd, managing editor of Agence France Presse, also referred apologetically to a “complex and dangerous conflict.” Another journalist declared it was “still better to report as an ‘embedded journalist’ than not at all.”
The subordination of the French media to army discipline has definite precedents, notably the censorship of the 1954-1962 Algerian War, which was often described as a “war without images,” as the media censored the widespread atrocities, massacres, and use of torture by French forces.
Like General Charles de Gaulle in the 1960s, the greatest fear of the current French government headed by the Socialist Francois Hollande is that such anti-war sentiment will fuse with growing anger against the anti-worker policies of the state and fuel social uprisings. For this reason the French army is determined to stick with its policy of a “war without images.”A butterfly flutters its wings in, say, England and touches off a hurricane on the other side of the world: so goes the usual explanation of the butterfly effect, a concept that as part of chaos theory expresses the way seemingly small actions can result in huge eventual changes. You could say the effect works in reverse, too: let loose a jet of CO 2 in one spot on the planet, and before long butterflies in England permanently cease to flutter their wings. That’s the implication of research published yesterday in Nature Climate Change.
Of course, the idea that climate change resulting from CO 2 emissions will touch off species extinctions around the globe is hardly news at this point. But, in keeping with the theme of interconnectedness, the new study is the first to calculate the interaction of climate change and a mitigation strategy – habitat restoration – on species’ chances for the future.
Sharply curtailed CO 2 emissions as well as extensive habitat restoration are needed for a healthy butterfly fauna in Britain, the researchers found. Without both, many populations of drought-sensitive butterfly species are likely to disappear by 2050.
The study focused on butterflies because scientists have good records of their yearly changes in abundance, and because they are known to be sensitive to hot, dry conditions, which are predicted to increase in Britain with climate change.
The researchers combined data on the abundance of 28 butterfly species collected at 129 sites under the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme with historical climate data, land cover maps, and projections from 17 different climate models. They ran their analysis for four different CO 2 emissions scenarios, ranging from “business as usual” conditions to emissions reductions that would limit the increase in global average temperature to 2° C at the end of the century.
The analysis identified six butterfly species – the ringlet, speckled wood, large skipper, large white, small white, and green-veined white – that are sensitive to the effects of drought and suffered major population collapses after the summer of 1995, which was the most arid Britain had ever experienced over 238 years of record keeping.
Under the business-as-usual emissions scenario, by 2100 almost every summer in the UK is predicted to be as arid as the summer of 1995. Under the 2° C warming scenario, droughts of this severity will occur roughly every 6 years.
The predicted effects on butterfly populations are similarly stark. Under business-as-usual carbon emissions, many populations of drought-sensitive species are almost certain to disappear by 2050.
With habitat restoration, these populations have between a 6 and 42 percent chance of persisting at midcentury. Similarly, curtailing emissions helps but, by itself, not by much.
For drought-sensitive butterfly populations to have a better-than-even chance of hanging on until the year 2100 requires both sharply limiting emissions and restoring habitat, the researchers found.
Their analysis also indicates that reducing fragmentation of habitat is more important for protecting butterflies than is increasing the total area of habitat – a surprising result that runs counter to recent thinking on the topic.
Although the study focused on one specific group of organisms in a relatively limited geographic area, the researchers say similar patterns would likely hold in other places and for drought-sensitive species of other taxonomic groups like birds, beetles, moths, and dragonflies. But the “beetle effect” already describes a different phenomenon that came out of England in the last century, and the “moth effect” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. – Sarah DeWeerdt | 4 August 2015
Source: Oliver T.H. et al. “Interacting effects of climate change and habitat fragmentation on drought-sensitive butterflies.” Nature Climate Change DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2746
Header image: A speckled wood butterfly, one of six drought-sensitive butterfly species |
will be discussed further with respect to diffusion limiting processes of compound extraction kinetics.
3-CGA
The compound, 3-CGA is freely soluble in water at room temperature46. Initial 3-CGA concentration increased rapidly over the first 180 minutes and slowed until reaching equilibrium at approximately 400 minutes for all coffee roasts and grinds (see Fig. 1). Moroney et al.45 attributed the initial fast extraction of soluble coffee compounds to the extraction of compounds from the surface and near-surface volume of the solid coffee grind matrix. The slower, longer time-scale extraction of additional CGA concentration, post 180 minutes, is likely due to the mass transfer of the compound through intra-grain pores into intergrain pores, and ultimately into the bulk liquid phase. The data collected in this current work follows the Spiro and Selwood36 model well and suggests that cold brew processes of 3-CGA extraction are governed by first-order kinetics. A sample kinetic plot of ln (C ∞ /[C ∞ − C]) for 3-CGA versus time is shown in Fig. 2 where C ∞ is the equilibrium concentration of 3-CGA and C is the concentration of 3-CGA at time t. Several sources7,8,9,10 providing brewing instructions for cold brew coffee recommend prolonged brewing times upwards of 12 to 24 hours. Any water/grind interaction longer than 400 minutes (6.7 hours) did not result in additional significant extraction of 3-CGA. The mean concentrations of 3-CGA at 400 and 1400 minutes were within one standard deviation of each other (see Table 1). These data suggest 3-CGA concentrations are influenced by roasting temperature, but not grind size. Blumberg et al.11 determined that increased roasting temperatures resulted in degradation of chlorogenic acid precursors and lower extractable total chlorogenic acid concentrations. The same study also observed that chlorogenic acids extracted quickly from coffee grinds, while 4-vinylcatechol oligomers showed strong retention to the coffee grinds11. The longer steeping times associated with cold brew coffee may result in increased extraction of these catechol oligomers, which are characterized by harsh bitter-tasting properties. Over-brewing cold brew coffee may result in unpalatable extracts due to these and other relatively slow-extracting compounds.
Figure 1 Concentration of 3-CGA (top) and caffeine (bottom) over time for (■) medium roast - medium grind; (●) medium roast - coarse grind; (◆) dark roast – medium grind, (▲) dark roast - coarse grind. The vertical line at 400 minutes represents the establishment of steady-state concentration for both 3-CGA and caffeine extractions. Full size image
Figure 2 First-order plot for the extraction of 3-CGA from medium grind - medium roast coffee particles at 23.5 °C. R2 = 0.983. Full size image
Caffeine
Caffeine, unlike 3-CGA, has a limited solubility at room temperature of 16 mg/mL46. However, all four coffees analyzed showed comparable extraction kinetics to those of 3-CGA. In all coffees sampled, fast initial extraction was seen over the first 180 minutes, with a slower rate of extraction after 180 minutes. Similar to 3-CGA, caffeine also reaches nearly steady-state concentrations after 400 minutes (see Fig. 1). As with 3-CGA, all samples followed a first-order kinetic model. Spiro and Selwood36 offered a thorough mathematical model for the kinetics of caffeine extraction at room temperature, and found that the diffusion of caffeine through the intragranular pore space to be the rate limiting step in the extraction process. This analysis concluded that extraction times greater than 400 minutes do little to increase the caffeine concentration of the resulting coffee. Moreover, caffeine concentrations do not demonstrate the same sensitivity to roasting temperatures as 3-CGA, and all coffee roasts and grinds were found to have comparable caffeine concentrations at equilibrium, with the exception of the dark roast - coarse grind coffee. The relatively high standard deviations are suspected to be caused by the heterogeneous grind size distributions from the commercially sourced beans. As the packaging was handled, settling of finer particles may have caused inter-sample variability.
pH
Work by Andueza et al.47 and Gloess et al.48 both report there is no correlation between pH and perceived acidity in the flavor of coffees. However, commercial coffee vendors continue to relate acidity to coffee taste when marketing coffee to consumers. The pH of coffee studied in this work ranged from 5.40 to 5.63. Moon et al.15 observed a correlation between total CGA concentrations and pH of coffee extracts. However, data collected in this work did not provide enough evidence to support the claim by Moon et al.15 that coffee samples containing high concentration of 3-CGA tend to have high acidity or low pH.
Comparison of hot brew and cold brew coffee
There is a common marketing message that cold brew coffee is fundamentally different than hot brew coffee. This may be attributed to acidity and/or caffeine concentration49,50. This work compared the same water-to-coffee ratio using cold brew and hot brew extraction processes to identify any differences between the two methods with respect to 3-CGA and caffeine concentrations. In the coffee extraction process, Moroney et al.35 described two different extraction mechanisms that function on different timescales. The fast extraction from the surface and near-surface matrix happens much more rapidly than the diffusion of compounds through the intragranular pore network to the grain surface. Because the time periods for hot brew and cold brew are drastically different, 6 minutes vs. 1440 minutes respectively, the intragranular diffusion may limit the extractable concentration of soluble coffee compounds in the hot brew, as compared to the cold brew.
3-CGA
In Fig. 3, the cold brew extraction of caffeine and 3-CGA are shown for each of the four coffee samples, with the hot brew concentrations indicated by horizontal lines. Table 2 shows the equilibrium concentrations of 3-CGA for the hot and cold brew coffees along with the pH. In both hot and cold brew extractions, all samples show comparable average 3-CGA concentrations and pH, regardless of water temperature. The CGA molecule is not seen to be limited by the intragranular pore diffusion processes, as observed with caffeine extraction. CGA is freely soluble in water, and this facilitates its extraction at both low and high temperatures. While grain size did not impact the magnitude of 3-CGA concentrations, roasting temperature of the beans did show a noticeable effect in both cold and hot experiments. In both hot and cold brew extractions, CGA was found in higher concentrations in medium roasts than in darks roasts, supporting the work of Trugo and Macrae37 that suggests that higher roasting temperatures decomposes CGA and results in lower extraction concentrations.
Figure 3 Caffeine (▲) and 3-CGA (●) concentration as a function of time for each of the four coffee samples. Horizontal lines represent each coffee type’s hot water concentration for caffeine and 3-CGA. Error bars represent the range for each measurement. Full size image
Table 2 Concentration of 3-CGA and caffeine and pH of each cold brew coffee sample after 400 minutes and 1440 minutes of brewing time (Mean ± 95% Confidence Interval, n = 6). Full size table
Caffeine
Coarse grain samples, both medium and dark roast, showed a considerable deviation in caffeine concentrations between hot and cold brew extractions (Table 3). In both samples, the cold brew coffee was found to have the higher concentration of caffeine. Medium grain samples also showed higher concentrations of caffeine in cold brew extraction, however, the difference was not statistically significant. This result suggests that the medium grind blends, in both hot and cold extraction, experienced nearly complete extraction during their respective steeping times. The hot brew extraction saturated the intra- and intergranular pores and facilitated fast diffusion (6-minute steeping times) of caffeine across the solid matrix to generate a bulk liquid phase with nearly the same concentration of caffeine as the cold brew coffee generated in 400 minutes. Coarse grain samples, with their higher relative proportion of particles in the 841 µm range, did not reach similar steady-state concentrations in both hot and cold brews. The faster, hot water extraction was diffusion limited, and likely did not allow the full extraction of caffeine across the larger radius particles. The longer brewing times for the cold brew samples resulted in greater caffeine extraction, allowing time for completion of the rate-limiting mass transfer step in the extraction process.
Table 3 Comparison of equilibrium 3-CGA and caffeine concentrations (after 1440 min) extracted using cold and hot brew method along with pH (mean ± 95% Confidence Interval, n = 6). Full size table
Role of Grind Size and Roasting Temp in Cold Brew Coffee
Further analysis of the data indicates that the observed CGA and caffeine concentration differences between medium roast and dark roast are, in general, substantial. Both CGA and caffeine showed higher concentration in medium roast samples. Our data is in support of the works of Trugo, et al.37 and Hečimović, et al.51, both suggest that higher roasting temperatures decrease the concentration of CGA and caffeine. The only exception is the observed difference in concentration of caffeine when comparing medium roast – medium grind and dark roast – medium grind samples. Although the medium roast samples showed higher concentration of caffeine than dark roast samples, the observed difference in concentration is insignificant due to large variations in the measurements.How’s your weekend going?
Redditor, Law School Graduate, and nimble navigator William Craddick (/u/PleadingtheYiff, and brand new Twitter handle @williamcraddick) has made quite the name for himself on Reddit’s “The_Donald” forum. In just three short months, Craddick has managed to rack up over 153,000 “post karma” and 48k “comment karma,” which (if you’re not familiar) is impressive. The guy is an incredibly effective dot-connector, perhaps owing it to his legal training – often posting lengthy reads that are well worth the investment in time. Craddick made the Clinton – Silsby – Haiti connection, which is un-refuted to the best of my knowledge.
In his latest piece, Craddick presents frightening evidence of a massive ISIS network covering the USA. Let’s start with the conclusion:
Either the US government and current administration is so hopelessly incompetent that they are unable to detect domestic and foreign threats which are discoverable by investigative journalists and whistleblower organizations. Or, there are factions within the United States government who are seeking to prevent competent, well-intentioned members of the intelligence community, law enforcement, and legislative/regulatory branches from taking action against ISIS operatives and extremist recruits who are active both on the American border as well as in the United States.
Dig in:
Abstract:
The director of the FBI, James Comey, has stated that ISIS now has a presence in all 50 of the United States:
ABC 7 News Chicago: https://archive.fo/OiEHM
This presence varies in its form from state to state. It exists in the form of smaller cells attached to mosques run by radicalized imams, paramilitary groups operating out of compounds throughout the US, reinforced by veterans and command figures from ISIS’ Syria theater and bolstered by recruits from American minority communities. If all the reports outlined here are in fact found to be true, ISIS has managed to amass a terrifyingly impressive network across the United States that would be capable of wreaking heavy damage in the event of a large-scale terror incident.
I. Training Camps
One of the ways ISIS has established a military presence in the US is by directly franchising out training camps that build operations centers/cells in various parts of the country. Some of these camps are public knowledge although the media has tried to hide them from the public.
At least one established network of paramilitary training camps has been public knowledge since at least the 1980’s. The Jamaat ul-Fuqra, or “Muslims of America” network has run a network of camps estimated in a report from Sean Hannity to be spread across 35 different locations. The report (linked here) showed a number of Islamic jihadist style military training videos filmed at these sites in the United States. News site WND has placed the number of camps at least 22:
WND: http://archive.is/eYGbK
Here is a map showing the location of most of the compounds run by Jamaat ul-Fuqra:
http://i.sli.mg/nmtohh.jpg
The Clarion Project ran a report citing FBI documents which state that in 2014 the FBI investigated the organization “…based upon specific and articulate facts giving justification to believe they are engaged in international terrorism or activities in preparation thereof…” This was due in part to an “accidental” deadly shooting that occurred in one of their compounds, Mahmoudberg, in Texas:
FBI Document: http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/exclusive-clarion-project-discovers-texas-terror-enclave#popup-1
Mahmoudberg was one of several compounds located on property Jamaat ul-Fuqra had purchased in the area:
Clarion: http://archive.is/6yjBu
Jamaat ul-Fuqra was based in Pakistan and its leader, Mubarak Ali Gilani was directly involved in the kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped while going to interview Gilani in Iraq. He was questioned but never arrested for the role he played:
http://archive.is/vjwk5
You will recall of course, that the group who carried out the murder of Pearl was Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which was the forerunner of ISIS. This indicates that ISIS has had established connections to this network in particular since at least 2002.
Hannity’s report and the piece by WND both mention the fact that Jamaat ul-Fuqra has produced a video titled “Soldiers of Allah” where Gilani states:
We are fighting to destroy the enemy. We are dealing with evil at its roots and its roots are America.
Despite all of this troubling information, the Department of State does not list Jamaat ul-Fuqra as a terrorist organization. Here is a list of videos both showing footage these Islamic jihadist paramilitary groups have filmed or reports referencing them:
https://vid.me/64tH
https://vid.me/Fade
https://vid.me/d7Fd
https://vid.me/4RMz
It appears that there may be a correlation between the states where camps run by Jamaat ul-Fuqra are located and recent terror attacks which have linked to ISIS.
For example, one of the largest compounds is located in Islamberg, New York. Many of the training and propaganda films made by Jamaat ul-Fuqra are produced at this location. It is interesting that this particular location is so significant to the group when one considers terror activity in the New York/New Jersey area, such as the recent pressure cooker bombings:
The Telegraph: https://archive.fo/hom7j
The Telegraph: https://archive.fo/VVGKJ
The Washington Post: https://archive.fo/wJzdm
The authorities attempted to claim that the individual arrested, Ahmad Khan Rahami, acted alone and there was no cell. But that contradicts other prior reports complete with footage showing multiple other individuals who were active in the terror operation:
CNN: https://archive.fo/kEPW1
The “lone wolf” narrative pushed by the mainstream media is a lie in almost every single case. Wherever there is a “lone wolf” there is a bigger wolf pack nearby providing logistical and operational support. We’ve all seen the damage that individual attackers have caused in various terror incidents and how much chaos an entire squad of ISIS operatives such as those who perpetuated the 2015 Paris attacks can cause. Imagine what will happen when all of them decide to attack at once? The death toll in each location might potentially be in the hundreds, if not thousands.
It is also interesting to note that these pressure cooker attacks happened at the tail end of a spree of “gas leak” explosions in New York. The most recent one occurred in September and was first blamed on a Marijuana growing operation, then a meth lab showing apparent law enforcement confusion as to what and who had actually caused the blast. Others mention that residents didn’t actually smell gas leaking before the explosion. The shifting stories and common stated causes of the explosions are very interesting. When done intentionally, this is known as a “supplement narrative” or a cover story that the public is more likely to accept than what really happened. Here are a number of local news reports on the incidents:
Gothamist: https://archive.fo/bQzwo
NY Daily News: https://archive.fo/Z4zkp
WKRC Cincinnati: https://archive.fo/CwyWr
Pix 11 TV: https://archive.fo/ruuGN
In addition to Jamat ul-Fuqra, other Islamic groups in the United States are Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Masjid at-Taqwa (led by Siraj Wahhaj) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). I have not yet researched these other groups, am not alleging that they are paramilitary in nature and merely list them for referential purposes.
II. Using mosques as centers for radicalization
In addition to training camps, domestic ISIS terrorists seem to have been groomed to some extent at local mosques by extremist imams. It is of course not logistically tenable to have paramilitary wings located in every single US state. In such cases, smaller cells coordinated by handlers preaching extremist Wahabbist or Salafist Islam are a much more secure and low profile option.
Mosques in Europe have been proved to be at risk of being coopted by jihadi groups for use as operations centers. In the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks, French authorities raided a number of mosques and made more than 200 arrests, confiscating 334 weapons of which 34 were described as “war grade.” The raids led to the closure of over 100 mosques in France:
Al Jazeera: https://archive.fo/TIjnV
American security officials have also highlighted that many mosques in the United States are involved to some extent with extremism. Breitbart cited a former FBI counter-terrorism special agent as opining that as many as 75% of American mosques were used by jihadist networks:
Breitbart: https://archive.fo/JCTe8
The imams and mosques of specific “lone wolf” attackers in the U.S. have been suspected of having varying levels of involvement in their radicalization process. The Los Angeles cleric Roshan Zamir Abbassi who ministered to the San Bernardino terror attackers was questioned after it emerged he had exchanged a flurry of texts with attacker Syed Rizwan Farook and was allegedly lying about the fact that he knew his wife:
NY Post: http://archive.is/YX4yw
In a revelation suggesting evidence that mosques can and do play host to more than one radicalized attacker, it was revealed that Pulse nightclub attacker Omar Mateen and American suicide bomber Moner Abu Salha both were enrolled in the radical cleric Marcus Dwayne Robertson’s Timbuktu Seminary.
Daily Mail: https://archive.fo/iudwl
In the aftermath of the Pulse shooting, the imam of The Husseini Islamic Center was caught on camera calling for death to gays:
WFTV 9: https://archive.fo/8Q2WU
https://vid.me/E2w8
The imam of the Boston Marathon bombers, Abdullah Faaruuq, denied radicalizing them despite videos emerging of him making fiery sermons alluding to committing acts of violence. New also surfaced that he was on the radar of groups monitoring preachers of extremism before the attacks occurred:
Fox News: https://archive.fo/ZrlIB
More moderate imams also spoke to the press talking about how extremist clerics had taken over many Boston mosques in recent years:
Fox News: https://archive.fo/G6En6
It has also been revealed in a report by The Gateway Pundit that yesterday’s airport shooter, Esteban Santiago lived within walking distance of the only mosque in Alaska. As more information emerges about the cleric running this facility, will we find out that he too has a history of preaching extreme Islamic ideology?
The Gateway Pundit: https://archive.fo/s9fsg
III. Smuggling Syria veterans and command figures into the US
A. ISIS operatives’ presence and activity are now being routinely reported at the southern US border
While developing domestic paramilitary capabilities, ISIS and groups collaborating with them are attempting to move military assets including combat veterans and command figures from the Syrian/Iraqi theaters into the West. These redeployments are likely rapidly increasing as regional and international coalitions have been closing in on their Middle East territories. ISIS movements into Europe among the refugee population are already fairly well documented. Not so well known are a growing number of reports that ISIS members are locating into the Western Hemisphere and infiltrating the United States.
In 2015, Judicial Watch ran a series of reports based on testimony from various Mexican military sources stating that ISIS was running a small camp just a few miles from the border of Texas near El Paso:
Judicial Watch: https://archive.fo/aQkhJ
The watchdog further claimed that ISIS was paying multiple cartel organizations to smuggle members across the US border using rural smuggling routes and regional airports to avoid the U.S. Border Control:
Judicial Watch: http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2015/07/mexican-cartels-smuggle-terrorists-into-u-s-through-rural-texas-border-region/
They supported their sources with a leaked document from the Texas Department of Public Safety stating that several known members of Islamic terror organizations have been apprehended attempting to enter the U.S. in recent years:
Texas DPS Document: https://www.scribd.com/document/256933420/Border-Surge-Report
Additionally cited was a 2004 document from the Department of State, which stated that multiple known Arab extremists were using Mexico to enter the United States, including a top Al Qaeda operative, Adnan G. El Shurkrjumah who was wanted by the FBI:
Judicial Watch archive: http://www.judicialwatch.org/document-archive/statedocs/
These reports follow a 2014 project conducted by Judicial Watch documenting the existence of an operation stretching from the southern border to Chicago being run by cartel and ISIS members to move drugs, weapons and individuals from Mexico into the US. This is especially interesting considering the fact that the recent Ft. Lauderdale attacker was Hispanic:
Judicial Watch: https://archive.fo/2c4J8
This year, Judicial Watch reported they had been tipped off by a Homeland Security official that cartel groups were helping multiple ISIS members, including leadership figure Shaykh Mahmood Omar Khabir, enter the United States to conduct surveillance for an attack on American soil:
Judicial Watch: https://archive.fo/9xzZ5
In April 2016 Khabir bragged to Italian newspaper Il Giornale that it would be easy for him to “get in with a handful of men, and kill thousands of people in Texas or in Arizona in the space of a few hours.”
Judicial Watch quoted Mexican officials who were incredulous that the Obama administration was not taking these threats more seriously.
Judicial Watch’s reports were denied by Texas DPS Director Robert Bodisch. However, the language Mr. Bodisch indicates that his denial is in fact untrue, though it does not legally qualify as perjury. When confronted about the two reports that Judicial Watch had obtained from Texas DPS contradicting his statement, he merely asserted that neither he nor intelligence officials could “confirm” the reports and he did not accuse Judicial Watch of misquoting their other sources. Notice the language here: to explicitly deny the authenticity of the documents would be to make an untruthful statement, hence Bodisch’s decision to merely state that he could neither confirm nor deny their authenticity. The two reports outlined plans by ISIS operatives to attack Fort Bliss, Texas, and that four of their members had been detained in Texas.
Politifact made a similarly disingenuous attempt to discredit Judicial Watch’s reports. The report also cited Texas DPS officials who merely said they could neither “confirm nor deny” the documents and sources cited by Judicial Watch. In fact, officials with El Paso’s Sherriff’s Department expressed shock the Judicial Watch’s findings, before their superiors told Politico they similarly “couldn’t provide relevant information” about the report. Again, notice that no authorities have outright denied Judicial Watch’s findings as to do so would be to commit perjury, especially if the official in fact had knowledge suggesting that the reports and information was in fact true. Finally, Politico cited a Border Patrol official who merely cast doubt on Judicial Watch’s reports before it emerged that he had left the Border Patrol in contentious circumstances. None of this refutes the findings and reports of Judicial Watch.
B. How ISIS can cross from West Africa to the Western Hemisphere
It is, in theory, actually incredibly easy for ISIS operatives and commanders to leave the theater of war in Syria and move into the Western Hemisphere, potentially linking up with paramilitary forces located in some of the camps mentioned above. South American and Mexican drug cartels have been increasingly running drugs into West Africa using entire fleets of decrepit and unregistered cargo planes:
The Telegraph: https://archive.fo/lyFCe
CNN: https://archive.fo/9p3bM
In order to move the drugs from West Africa to their ultimate markets in Europe, narco groups have been working to smuggle them in cooperation with multiple Islamic terror groups. These terror groups benefit financially from the arrangement. Below are reports from the United Nations and Financial Action Task Force explaining these business arrangements in addition to an article from The Telegraph outlining the arrangement:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: https://archive.fo/OV4fV
Financial Action Task Force: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/TF-in-West-Africa.pdf
The Telegraph: https://archive.fo/bscuT
ISIS has known franchises in West Africa, most notably the Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram. It would logistically possible to move assets from Syria into West Africa via their franchises in Libya and jump the Atlantic into the Western Hemisphere:
NY Times: https://archive.fo/tivy4
ISIS’ estimated monthly income of $80-120 million USD (and that number relies only on what is public knowledge) also shows that it is financially possible for them to pay their way through Western smuggling networks. All that would be needed is the willingness to outbid competing state agencies reaching out to cartels in the hope that they will keep extremists out of the United States and the adjacent countries:
Stuff Mag New Zealand: https://archive.fo/5rL6K
As a final note, once ISIS members have entered the United States, it is quite easy for them to take up positions and embed themselves within Sanctuary Cities, where lax immigration laws give them a veritable free pass to move around without fear of harassment from or detection by local law enforcement.
IV. Radicalizing black American youth
There are also indications that recruitment and radicalization is occurring in various black American communities in recent years. ISIS has publicly stated its desire to recruit African Americans and exploit unrest caused by police violence incidents to increase sympathy for it’s cause in the black community:
Heavy: https://archive.fo/IkYAL
In some of their recruitment media, ISIS has actually used Black Lives Matter talking points in an attempt to convince Americans to join the organization:
Breitbart: https://archive.fo/tXFhh
Recently I came across a nine month long program Black Lives Matter has been running labeled as the “Youth Empowerment Strategy program at Dubai.” The stated purpose of the program is to “to empower our youth with the knowledge, skills and confidence to conduct themselves with poise and professionalism”.
http://i.sli.mg/t4fYOr.png
Here is BLM’s main web page with the program visible in their event calendar:
http://blacklivesmatter.com/events/
Here is the website for the program in Dubai
http://www.uvconsultants.com/youthempowerment/
Given that it is common knowledge Saudi and UAE state groups use educational programs as a way to radicalize youth and infect them with the Wahabbist ideology that breeds terrorism, what exactly is this program BLM is partnering with? Does it involve religious teaching? More research and demands for clarification from Black Lives Matter is needed to clarify that American youth are not intentionally being exposed to state agents who are radicalizing them.
It is worth remembering that George Soros funds Black Lives Matters:
Breitbart: https://archive.fo/MFLe6
The man who broke the Bank of England makes his money and gains control through sewing economic and political chaos. In fact, documents released by DC Leaks have proved he has used Black Lives Matter protests to further his agendas in the past. This current “educational” program and recent shifts towards extremist behavior should be alarming to many given what is known about the way he uses the organization:
The Free Thought Project: https://archive.fo/UGxST
V. The United States government is either negligently ignoring these facts or factions within it are attempting to prevent action from being taken to deal with ISIS
From what information is publicly available, ISIS or groups affiliated with them are creating and training paramilitary groups around the country, infiltrating American mosques to turn them into centers for radicalization and staging points for “lone wolf” style attacks and attempting to engage in recruitment and radicalization campaigns among American minority groups. It beggars belief that the United States government is not aware of these developments. In fact, Director Comey’s statement about ISIS’ presence in all 50 states implies that intelligence agencies do in fact know of this threat.
The State Department, who Wikileaks have revealed to have illegally helped Hillary Clinton delay the process of turning email records over to Congress, has tried to deny that ISIS operatives are present on the US southern border.
Fox News: http://archive.is/WoW91
Their claims that Judicial Watch’s reports are “unfounded” are in direct contradiction to their reports from over 10 years ago which describe Al Qaeda terrorists operating in and around Mexico in attempts to gain entry to the United States just as ISIS allegedly seeks to do now. And again, they do not explicitly deny the authenticity of the documents produced by Judicial Watch because this would legally land them in very hot water.
Other reports of government failure to tackle this apparent extremism exist as well. In 2016, the Daily Mail reported that the FBI had failed to inform American citizens that their names were present on a “kill list” of 15,000 potential targets complied by ISIS:
Daily Mail: https://archive.fo/Kf3lq
There are two conclusions to draw from incidents such as this. Either the US government and current administration is so hopelessly incompetent that they are unable to detect domestic and foreign threats which are discoverable by investigative journalists and whistleblower organizations. Or, there are factions within the United States government who are seeking to prevent competent, well-intentioned members of the intelligence community, law enforcement, and legislative/regulatory branches from taking action against ISIS operatives and extremist recruits who are active both on the American border as well as in the United States.
The fact that certain agencies and news groups have engaged in legalistic denials of reports about the growing ISIS threat to the United States certainly indicate that the latter might sadly be the case.
Original thread on Reddit with tons of great additive discussion in the comments section
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If you find yourself navigating the barren wastelands of America, hit up these other Post-Apocalyptic Strongholds. Hit us up on Facebook and Twitter.A new law that goes into effect January 31 in California requires railroads to give more information to emergency planners about crude oil shipments.
Local and state emergency responders say they are given very little detail about the movement of trains carrying crude oil.
A 2013 Bakken crude oil train explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec raised awareness of the danger that poses.
Kelly Huston with the California Office of Emergency Services says with the predicted increase in the amount of imported crude oil, more information is needed.
“Being able to know what’s coming and then being able to prepare for it and take actions that may be needed whether it’s moving hazardous materials crews or whether it is, perhaps we know about an event that’s going on in a highly populated area and we would want to make sure the railroad is aware of that,” says Huston.
Under the new law, railroads will have to submit weekly schedules of trains, and the volumes of crude oil they carry. They would also have to set up a communications center for first responders and give local authorities access to emergency plans.
The California Energy Commission has estimated nearly a quarter of the oil imported into the state will be delivered by rail by 2016.
“It’s not only having the knowledge but also how we use that knowledge to both prevent an accident from occurring and then having adequate hazardous materials resources and first responder resources to respond in the event there is an accident,” says Houston.Road to Ruin: Final stretch
The credit crunch may only be in its early stages and a bigger contraction in lending in coming months could have "serious implications" for the U.S. economy, Standard & Poor's Rating Services said Friday.
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Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.
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iTulip.com has returned. Back in the go-go days when Internet stocks ruled the world, iTulip was one of a very few voices warning about the NASDAQ bubble and the likely fallout. As bad as things got, the overall financial bubble never really popped, it just shifted into debt and real estate after furious slashing of interest rates and money-printing by the Fed. Financial manias are terrible; their unraveling has been compared with economic nuclear weapons. The only good solution to a bubble is not to have one in the first place. March 15, 2006 (Metafilter)iTulip.com has returned. Back in the go-go days when Internet stocks ruled the world, iTulip was one of a very few voices warning about the NASDAQ bubble and the likely fallout. As bad as things got, the overall |
’s special, and we hope the audience thinks it’s special,” said Jamie Alls, the KEXP chief engineer, sitting in the performance studio as he and his colleagues prepped for the station’s first live in-studio video streaming event.
The service, available for free on KEXP’s live online video portal, debuts Tuesday with a performance by the Pixies at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time on the KEXP Morning Show, hosted by John Richards.
“KEXP is fundamentally about community and enriching people’s lives through music discovery,” said Rob Knop, the station’s director of marketing. “What this platform will allow us to do is really create a focal point by which community can get together and enjoy a band or see a new artist and do it in real time. It’s a community-building tool, as well as a cool technological innovation that we have in our wheelhouse now.”
The new system is also a testament to the increasingly affordable nature of professional live-streaming technology, at least for those willing to patch together a custom system using different components and software. The budget for the whole system was about $35,000, a small fraction of comparable off-the-shelf systems, which was an important consideration for a public radio station that gets the majority of its funding from listeners.
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But Tuesday morning is the real deal, and you can tune in live to see it for yourself.For the album by Mike Ladd, see Father Divine (album)
Father Divine (c. 1876 – September 10, 1965), also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African American spiritual leader[2] from about 1907, until his death. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messenger" early in his life. He founded the International Peace Mission movement, formulated its doctrine, and oversaw its growth from a small and predominantly black congregation into a multiracial and international church.
Father Divine claimed to be God.[3] He made numerous contributions toward his followers' economic independence and racial equality. He was a contemporary of other religious leaders such as Daddy Grace, Charles Harrison Mason, Noble Drew Ali and James F. Jones (also known as Prophet Jones).
Life and career [ edit ]
Prior to 1912: Early life and original name [ edit ]
Little is known about Father Divine's early life, or even his real given name. Father Divine and the Peace Movement he started did not keep many records. Father Divine himself declined several offers to write his biography, saying that the history of God would not be useful in mortal terms. He also refused to acknowledge relationship to any family. Newspapers in the 1930s had to dig up his probable given name: George Baker. (This name is not recognized by the Library of Congress, and from 1979, there is no further use of that name as a heading for Father Divine in libraries' catalogs.)[4] Federal Bureau of Investigation files record his name as George Baker alias "God".[5]
In 1936 Eliza Mayfield claimed to be Father Divine's mother. She stated that his real name was Frederick Edwards from Hendersonville, North Carolina, and had abandoned a wife and five children, although Mayfield offered no proof and claimed to not remember his father's name. (Father Divine replied that "God has no Mother.")[3]
Father Divine's childhood remains a contentious point. Some, especially earlier researchers, suppose that he was born in the Deep South, most likely in Georgia, as the son of sharecroppers. Newer research by Jill Watts, based on census data, finds evidence for a George Baker, Jr. of appropriate age born in an African-American enclave of Rockville, Maryland, called Monkey Run. If this theory is correct, his mother was a former slave named Nancy Baker, who died in May 1897. Most researchers agree that Father Divine's parents were freed African-American slaves. Notoriously poor records were kept about this generation of African Americans, so controversy about his upbringing is not likely to be resolved. On the other hand, he and his first wife, Peninniah (variant spellings: Penninah, Peninnah, Penniah) claimed that they were married on June 6, 1882.[6][7][8]
Father Divine was probably called George Baker around the turn of the century. He worked as a gardener in Baltimore, Maryland. In a 1906 sojourn in California, Father Divine became acquainted with the ideas of Charles Fillmore and the New Thought Movement, a philosophy of positive thinking that would inform his later doctrines. Among other things, this belief system asserted that negative thoughts led to poverty and unhappiness. Songwriter Johnny Mercer credited a Father Divine sermon for inspiring the title of his song "Accentuate the Positive".[9][10]
Father Divine attended a local Baptist Church, often preaching, until 1907, when a traveling preacher called Samuel Morris spoke and was expelled from the congregation. Morris, originally from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, had a soft-spoken and uncontroversial sermon until the end, when he raised his arms and shouted, "I am the Eternal Father!" This routine had him thrown out of many churches in Baltimore, and was apparently unsuccessful until Morris happened upon the receptive Father Divine.
In his late 20s, Father Divine became Morris's first follower and adopted a pseudonym, "The Messenger". The Messenger was a Christ figure to Morris's God the Father. Father Divine preached with Morris in Baltimore out of the home of former evangelist Harriette Snowden, who came to accept their divinity. Morris began calling himself "Father Jehovia."
Divine and Father Jehovia were later joined by John A. Hickerson, who called himself Reverend Bishop Saint John the Vine. John the Vine shared the Messenger's excellent speaking ability and his interest in New Thought.
In 1912, the three-man ministry collapsed, as John the Vine denied Father Jehovia's monopoly on godhood, citing 1 John 4:15 to mean God was in everyone:
"Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God."
Father Divine had finally parted ways with his former associates. Denying that Father Jehovia was God, and saying that everyone could not be God, he declared that he himself was God, and the only true expression of God's spirit.
1912–14: In the South [ edit ]
Father Divine traveled south, where he preached extensively in Georgia. In 1913, conflicts with local ministers led to him being sentenced to 60 days in a chain gang. While he was serving his sentence, several prison inspectors were injured in an auto accident, which he viewed as the direct result of their disbelief.
Upon his release, he attracted a following of mostly black women in Valdosta, Georgia. He taught celibacy and the rejection of gender categorizations.
On February 6, 1914, several followers' husbands and local preachers had Divine arrested for lunacy. This actually expanded his ministry, with reporters and worshippers deluging his prison cell. Some whites even began calling on him. Former Mercer University professor and lay preacher, J. R. Moseley of Macon, Georgia, befriended Divine and arranged for J. B. Copeland, a Mercer alum and respected Valdosta lawyer, to represent him pro bono. Moseley was interested in what he termed "this unusual man" in his autobiography "Manifest Destiny." Decades later, in the 1930s, Moseley met Divine in New York City when he received word that the man going by that name might in fact be the same person he met in Georgia. Father Divine was found mentally sound in spite of "maniacal" beliefs. He had given no name when arrested and was tried as "John Doe (alias God)".
1914–19: Brooklyn and marriage to Peninniah [ edit ]
In 1914, Father Divine traveled to Brooklyn, New York, with a small number of followers and an all-black congregation. Although he claimed to be God incarnate fulfilling Biblical prophecy, he lived relatively quietly.
He and his disciples formed a commune in a black middle-class apartment building. He forbade sex, alcohol, tobacco and gambling among those who were living with him. By 1919, he had adopted the name Reverend Major Jealous Divine. "Reverend Major" was chosen as a title of respect and authority, while "Jealous" was a reference to Exodus 34:14, where the Lord says he is a "jealous god" and that God's name is Jealous. Exodus 34:14 His followers affectionately called him Father Divine.
In this period, Father Divine was married to a follower, Peninniah (variant spellings: Penninah, Peninnah, Penniah), who was a few years older than him. Like Father Divine, her early life is obscure, but she is believed to be from Macon, Georgia. The date of the marriage is unknown but probably occurred between 1914 and 1917.
In addition to lending her dignified look to Father Divine, Peninniah served to defuse rumors of impropriety between him and his many young female followers. Both Penninah, who was often called "Mother Divine", and Father Divine would assert that the marriage was never physically consummated.
1919–31: Sayville, New York [ edit ]
Father Divine's house in Sayville, New York.
Father Divine and his disciples moved to Sayville, New York (on Long Island), in 1919. He and his followers were the first black homeowners in town. Father Divine purchased his 72 Macon Street house from a resident who wanted to spite the neighbor he was feuding with. The two neighbors, both German Americans, began fighting when one of them changed his name from Felgenhauer to Fellows in response to anti-German sentiment. His neighbor taunted him, and the feud escalated until Fellows decided to move. As a final insult, he specifically advertised his home for sale to a "colored" buyer to presumably lower his neighbors' property values.
In this period, his movement underwent sustained growth. Father Divine held free weekly banquets and helped newcomers find jobs. He began attracting many white followers as well as black. The integrated environment of Father Divine's communal house and the apparently flaunted wealth of his Cadillac infuriated neighbors. Members of the overwhelmingly white community accused him of maintaining a large harem and engaging in scandalous sex, although the Suffolk County district attorney's office found the claims baseless. Nonetheless, the neighbors continued to complain.
1931–32: Sayville arrests, trial, notoriety, and prison [ edit ]
On May 8, 1931, a Sayville deputy arrested and charged Father Divine with disturbing the peace. Remarkable during the Depression, Father Divine submitted his $1000 bail in cash. The trial, not as speedy as the neighbors wanted, was scheduled for late fall, allowing Father Divine's popularity to snowball for the entire Sayville vacation season.
Father Divine held banquets for as many as 3000 people that summer. Cars clogging the streets for these gatherings bolstered some neighbors' claims that Father Divine was a disturbance to the peace and furthermore was hurting their property values.
On Sunday, November 15, at 12:15 am, a police officer was called to Father Divine's raucously loud property. By the time state troopers, deputies and prison buses were called in, a mob of neighbors had surrounded the compound. Fearing a riot, the police informed Father Divine and his followers that they had fifteen minutes to disperse. Father Divine had them wait in silence for ten minutes, and then they filed into police custody. Processed by the county jail at 3 AM, clerks were frustrated, because the followers often refused to give their usual names and stubbornly offered the "inspired" names they adopted in the movement. Seventy-eight people were arrested altogether, including fifteen whites. Forty-six pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and incurred $5 fines, which Father Divine paid with a $500 bill, which the court was embarrassingly unable to make change from. Penninah, Father Divine, and thirty followers resisted the charges.
Father Divine's arrest and heterodox doctrines were sensationally reported. The New York frenzy made this event and its repercussions the single most famous moment of Father Divine's life. Although mostly inaccurate, articles on Father Divine propelled his popularity. By December, his followers began renting buildings in New York City for Father Divine to speak in. Soon, he often had several engagements on a single night. On December 20, he spoke to an estimated 10,000 in Harlem's Rockland Palace, a spacious former basketball venue, Manhattan Casino.[11]
By May 1932, meetings were regularly held at the Rockland and throughout New York and New Jersey. Father Divine had supporters in Washington state, California and throughout the world thanks to New Thought devotees like Eugene Del Mar, an early convert and former Harlem journalist, and Henry Joerns, the publisher of a New Thought magazine in Seattle. Curiously, although the movement was predominantly black, followers outside the Northeast were mostly middle class whites.
In this period of expansions, several branch communes were opened in New York and New Jersey. Father Divine's followers finally named the movement: the International Peace Mission movement.
Father Divine's trial was finally held on May 24, 1932. His lawyer, Ellee J. Lovelace, a prominent Harlem African American and former US Attorney had requested the trial be moved outside of Suffolk County, due to potential jury bias. The court acquiesced, and the trial took place at the Nassau County Supreme Court before Justice Lewis J. Smith. The jury found him guilty on June 5 but asked for leniency on behalf of Father Divine. Ignoring this request, Justice Smith lectured on how Father Divine was a fraud and "menace to society" before issuing the maximum sentence for disturbing the peace, one year in prison and a $500 fine.
Smith, 55, died of a heart attack days later on June 9, 1932. Father Divine was widely reported to have commented on the death, "I hated to do it."[12] In fact, he wrote to his followers, "I did not desire Judge Smith to die.… I did desire that MY spirit would touch his heart and change his mind that he might repent and believe and be saved from the grave."
The impression that Justice Smith's death was divine retribution was perpetuated by the press, which failed to report Smith's prior heart problems and implied the death to be more sudden and unexpected than it was.
During his brief prison stay, Father Divine read prodigiously, notably on the Scottsboro Nine. After his attorneys secured release through an appeal on June 25, 1932, he declared that the foundational documents of the United States of America, such as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, were inspired. Father Divine also taught that contemporary leaders strayed from these ideals, but he would become increasingly patriotic through his life.
1932–42: Harlem [ edit ]
The International Peace Mission movement established over 100 Heavens in the Northeastern United States.
Father Divine moved to Harlem, New York, where he had accumulated significant following in the black community. Members, rather than Father Divine himself, held most deeds for the movement, but they contributed toward Father Divine's comfortable lifestyle. Purchasing several hotels, which they called "Heavens", members could live and seek jobs inexpensively. The movement also opened several budget enterprises, including restaurants and clothing shops, that sold cheaply by cutting overhead. These proved very successful in the depression. Economical, cash-only businesses were actually part of Father Divine's doctrine.
By 1934, branches had opened in Los Angeles, California, and Seattle, Washington, and gatherings occurred in France, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia, but the membership totals were drastically overstated in the press. Time Magazine estimated nearly two million followers, but the true figure of adherents was probably a few tens of thousands and a larger body of sympathizers who attended his gatherings. Nonetheless, Father Divine was increasingly called upon to offer political endorsements, which he initially did not. For example, New York mayoral candidates John P. O'Brien and Fiorello H. LaGuardia each sought his endorsement in 1933, but Father Divine was apparently uninterested.
An odd alliance between Father Divine and the Communist Party of America began in early 1934. Although Father Divine was outspokenly capitalist, he was impressed with the party's commitment to civil rights. The party relished the endorsement, although contemporary FBI records indicate some critics of the perceived huckster were expelled from the party for protesting the alliance.
In spite of this alliance, the movement was largely apolitical until the Harlem Riot of 1935. Based on a rumor of police killing a black teenager, it left four dead and caused over $1 million in property damage in Father Divine's neighborhood. Father Divine's outrage at this and other racial injustices fueled a keener interest in politics. In January 1939, the movement organized the first-ever "Divine Righteous Government Convention", which crafted political platforms incorporating the Doctrine of Father Divine. Among other things, the delegates opposed school segregation and many of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's social programs, which they interpreted as "handouts".
At the zenith of Father Divine's influence, several misfortunes struck the movement.
On December 16, John Hunt, a white millionaire and disciple from California calling himself John the Revelator, met the Jewett family of Denver, Colorado. He kidnapped their 17-year-old daughter Delight and took her back to California without her parents' consent. Renaming her "Virgin Mary", John the Revelator began sexual relations with her. He announced that she would give birth to a "New Redeemer" by "immaculate conception" in Hawaii. Father Divine summoned Hunt to New York, separated the couple and chastised his eccentric follower. The Jewetts, finding their daughter apparently brainwashed into believing she was literally the Virgin Mary, demanded compensation. After the movement's attorneys conducted an internal investigation, they refused. Outraged, the Jewetts offered their story to William Randolph Hearst's New York Evening Journal, an established critic of the movement. After a manhunt and trial, John Hunt was sentenced to three years and adopted a new name, the "Prodigal Son". Father Divine publicly endorsed the conviction of John the Revelator, contrary to some expectations (some followers expected him to once again "smite" the judge). However, the scandal brought bad publicity to Father Divine. News coverage implied his followers were gullible and dangerous.
In March 1937, Penninah fell ill in Kingston, New York. Father Divine rarely comforted her on what was widely believed to be her deathbed. He kept running the church, only visiting her once in Kingston, again causing bad publicity. Penninah, however, claimed that she was not seriously ill or in pain.
On April 20, 1937, a violent outburst occurred in a meeting when two men tried to deliver Father Divine a summons. One of the men, Harry Green, was stabbed as Father Divine fled. Father Divine went into hiding to evade authorities.
During this time, one of Father Divine's most prominent followers, called Faithful Mary, defected and took control of a large commune, which was technically in her name. Of the Father she said, "he's just a damned man." She furthermore alleged that he defrauded his followers to maintain a rich lifestyle for himself. Faithful Mary also made a number of sexual allegations, including a charge that Father Divine coerced women to have sex with key disciples.
In early May, Father Divine was located and extradited from Connecticut and faced criminal charges in New York. That summer, Hearst's Metronone newsreel distributed mocking footage of Father Divine's followers singing outside police headquarters, "Glory, glory, hallelujah! Our God is in our land!"
Later in May 1937, an ex-follower called Verinda Brown filed a lawsuit for $4,476 against Father Divine. The Browns had entrusted their savings with Father Divine in Sayville back in 1931. They left the movement in 1935 wishing to live as husband and wife again, but were unable to get their money back. In light of their evidence and testimony from Faithful Mary and others critical of the movement, the court ordered repayment of the money. However, this opened up an enormous potential liability from all ex-devotees, so Father Divine resisted and appealed the judgment.
In 1938, Father Divine was cleared of criminal charges and Mother Divine recovered. Faithful Mary, impoverished and broken, returned to the movement. Father Divine made her grovel for forgiveness, which she did. By the late 1930s, the movement stabilized, although it had clearly passed its zenith.
Father Divine's political focus on anti-lynching measures became more resolved. By 1940, his followers had gathered 250,000 signatures in favor of an anti-lynching bill he wrote. However, passage of such statutes came slowly in New York and elsewhere.
The Verinda Brown lawsuit against Father dragged on and was sustained on appeal. In July, 1942, he was ordered to pay Brown or face contempt of court. Instead, Father Divine fled the state and re-established his headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He still visited New York, however. State law forbade serving subpoenas in New York on Sunday, so he often spoke on the Sabbath day in Harlem, the Promised Land (his Kingston commune), and Sayville.
1942–65: Pennsylvania [ edit ]
After moving to Philadelphia, Father Divine's wife, Penninah, died. The exact date is not known, because Father Divine never talked about it or even acknowledged her death. However, it occurred sometime in 1943, and biographers believe Penninah's death rattled Father Divine, making him aware of his own mortality. It became obvious to Father Divine and his followers that his doctrine might not make one immortal as he asserted, at least not in the flesh.
In 1944, singer/songwriter Johnny Mercer came to hear of one of Divine's sermons. The subject was "You got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative." Mercer said, "Wow, that's a colorful phrase!”[9][10] He went back to Hollywood and got together with songwriter Harold Arlen ("Over The Rainbow"), and together they wrote "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive", which was recorded by Mercer himself and the Pied Pipers in 1945. It was also recorded by Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters that same year.
After his first wife died, Father Divine married a white Canadian woman called Edna Rose Ritchings in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 1946. The ceremony was kept secret even from most members until Ritching's visa expired. Critics of the movement believed that Father Divine's seemingly scandalous marriage to 21-year-old Ritchings would destroy the movement. Instead, most followers rejoiced, and the marriage date became a celebrated anniversary in the movement. To prove that he and Ritchings adhered to his doctrine on sexual abstinence, Father Divine assigned a black female follower to be her constant companion.
He claimed that Ritchings, later called "Mother S. A. Divine", was the reincarnation of Penninah. Reincarnation was not previously part of Father Divine's doctrine and did not become a fixture of his theology. Followers believed that Penninah was an exceptional case and viewed her "return" as a miracle.
Going into the 1950s, the press rarely covered Father Divine, and when it did, it was no longer as a menace, but as an amusing relic. For example, light-hearted stories ran when Father Divine announced Philadelphia was capital of the world and when he claimed to inspire invention of the hydrogen bomb. Father Divine's predominantly lower-class following ebbed as the economy swelled.
"Woodmont" was Father Divine's home from 1953 until his death in 1965.
In 1953, follower John Devoute gave Father Divine Woodmont, a 72-acre (0.3 km²) hilltop estate in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia. This French Gothic manor served as his home and primary site of his increasingly infrequent banquets until his death in 1965.
As his health declined, he continued to petition for civil rights. In 1951, he advocated reparations to be paid to the descendants of slaves. He also argued in favor of integrated neighborhoods. However, he did not participate in the burgeoning American Civil Rights Movement because of his poor health and especially his dislike of the use of racial labels, denying he was black.
On September 10, 1965, Father Divine died of natural causes at his Woodmont estate. His widow and remaining followers insist his spirit is still alive and always refer to Father Divine in the present tense. Believers keep the furnishings of Father Divine's personal rooms at Woodmont just as they were as a shrine to his life.
Edna Rose Ritchings became spiritual leader of the movement. In 1972, she fought an attempt by Jim Jones to take over the movement's dwindling devotees. Jones based some of his doctrines on the International Peace Mission movement and claimed to be the reincarnation of Father Divine. Although a few members of the Mission joined Peoples Temple after Jones made his play for leadership of the movement, the power push was, in terms of its ultimate objective, a complete failure. That Jones was 34 years old at the time of Father Divine's death made his claims of being a new incarnation rather hard to sustain - Jones claimed Divine's spirit had entered his body upon the passing of the elder man - and Ritchings was left unimpressed by Jones' impassioned rhetoric. Jones' custom of tape-recording all his sermons was copied from Divine, who "spoke" to his followers via archived sermon tapes once ill health forced him to cease speaking at meetings.
Physical characteristics and preaching style [ edit ]
Father Divine was a lightly built African American man at a diminutive 5′2″ (1.57 m). Through most of his life, he maintained a fastidious appearance and a neat moustache that he kept well groomed, his hair was invariably neatly combed, and since his days in Sayville, New York, he almost always wore a suit in public.
Father Divine was said to be very charismatic. His sermons were emotionally moving and freely associated between topics. His speech was often peppered with words of his own invention like "physicalating" and "tangiblated". An attendee at a Harlem "kingdoms" meeting in the 1930s recalled that he rhythmically intoned "Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions. Tens, hundreds,... millions.' Although this seemed nonsense to the visitor, he reported that at the end the true believers chanted, "Yes, he's God. Yes he's God."[13] Other eccentricities were drawn from his doctrine. For example, nearly every sermon began with the greeting and exhortation "Peace!" Father Divine believed that peace should replace hello.
Doctrine [ edit ]
Father Divine preached of his divinity even before he was known as "Father Divine" in the late 1910s.[14] His doctrine taught that his life fulfilled all Biblical prophecies about the second coming, regarding himself as Jesus Christ reborn. Father Divine also lectured that Christ existed in "every joint" of his follower's bodies, and that he was "God's light" incarnated in order to show people how to establish heaven on earth and to show them the way to eternal life. For example:
Condescendingly I came as an existing Spirit unembodied, until condescendingly inputting MYSELF in a Bodily form in the likeness of men I came, that I might speak to them in their own language, coming to a country that is supposed to be the Country of the Free, where mankind is privileged to serve GOD according to the dictates of his own conscience...establishing the Kingdom of GOD in the midst of them; that they might become to be living epistles as individuals, seen and read of men, and verifying what has long been said:
"The tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and God Himself shall be with them, and he shall be their God, and they shall be his people." – quoted in Peace Mission Movement p. 62, Mrs. S. A. Divine, 1985 and God, Harlem, U.S.A. p. 178, Jill Watts, 1992.
Father Divine and his followers capitalized pronouns referring to him, much like "LORD" translated from the tetragrammaton is capitalized in the English Bible.
Father Divine's definition of God became quite celebrated at the time because of its unusual use of language: "God is not only personified and materialized. He is repersonified and rematerialized. He rematerialized and He rematerialates. He rematerialates and He is rematerializatable. He repersonificates and He repersonifitizes."
Positive thought [ edit ]
Father Divine can be considered part of the New Thought Movement; indeed, many of his white followers came from this tradition.[citation needed]
Welfare [ edit ]
Father Divine was particularly concerned with the downtrodden of society, including but not limited to Blacks. He was opposed to people accepting welfare.
Race [ edit ]
Scholars disagree about whether Father Divine, an African American, was a civil rights activist, but he certainly advocated some progressive changes to race relations. For example, because he believed that every human was accorded equal rights, he believed that all members of lynch mobs ought to be tried and convicted as murderers. Father Divine's anti-lynching campaigns resonated in the black ghettos where his congregations lived, and he got over a quarter million people to sign his anti-lynching proposals.
Patriotism [ edit ]
Father Divine advocated that followers think of themselves as simply Americans. He believed that America was the birthplace of the "Kingdom of God", which would ultimately encompass truths of all religious principles, promoting equality and brotherhood. The Movement was supportive of the United States Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and particularly the Bill of Rights as inspired documents, believing that they outlined a more ideal life.
Communal living [ edit ]
Toward this life, followers of Father Divine owned and managed property collectively. The movement strove to alleviate poverty by feeding the poor and through education in written English, which the Movement believed was the "universal language."
Chastity [ edit ]
Father Divine established an "International Modesty Code" which forbids smoking, drinking, and profanity. Additionally, it forbade tips, bribes, receiving presents, and "undue mixing of the sexes," along with women wearing slacks or short skirts and men wearing short-sleeves.
Although Father Divine himself was married, the movement discouraged marriage, along with any excessive mingling of the sexes. In the "Heavens" and other living spaces the Movement maintained, separate areas existed for men and women.
Thrift and Business Practices [ edit ]
Father Divine advocated a number of economic practices, which his followers abided by. He opposed life insurance (which converts were to cancel), welfare, social security, and credit. Thus, the Movement advocated economic self-sufficiency. His insistence that his followers refuse welfare not related to employment was estimated to have saved New York City $2 million during the Depression.
Business owners in the Movement named their ventures to show affiliation with Father Divine, and obeyed all of these practices. They dealt only in cash, refusing credit in any of its forms. Each was to sell below competitor's prices while refusing any sorts of tips or gratuities. Finally, they refrained from trade in alcohol or tobacco.
Legacy [ edit ]
Civil rights [ edit ]
Some biographers, such as Robert Weisbrot, speculate that Father Divine was a forerunner to the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s, heavily influenced by his upbringing in the segregated South. Others, such as Jill Watts, reject not only this characterization, but also the theory that Father Divine grew up in the Deep South. Watts asserts that Rockville was less oppressive than the South or even Baltimore, Maryland, and believes his civil rights positions are unintelligible without evaluating them in the context of the Doctrine of Father Divine.
Although Father Divine strove extensively against lynching and bigotry, he accepted many of the negative characteristics assigned African Americans. He concluded that those who identified themselves as "black" manifested these characteristics. In short, he believed blacks perpetuated their own oppression by thinking racially. He once said that he was not poor because he did not belong to a poor downtrodden race—that he was not black.
Religious [ edit ]
Edna Rose Ritchings (Mother Divine) conducted services for the old and dwindling congregation until her death. The movement owns several properties, such as Father Divine's Gladwyne estate Woodmont, his former home in Sayville, New York, and the Circle Mission Church on Broad Street in Philadelphia, which also houses the movement's library.
Chapters exist in Pennsylvania and possibly elsewhere, but the movement is not centralized and exists through a number of interrelated groups.
In 2004, Gastronomica magazine published an article about Mother S. A. Divine and the movement's feasts.[15]
In 2000, the Divine Lorraine Hotel near Temple University on North Broad Street was sold off by the international Peace Mission Movement. It was a budget hotel with separate floors for men and women in accord with Father Divine's teachings. The Divine Tracy Hotel in West Philadelphia was sold in 2006.[16]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]This is, I think, my favourite detective story. I return to it again and again, just as soon as I have forgotten enough to re-enter it. The novel has the most amazing plot of any thriller I know. It was written in 1940 at the beginning of the second world war and has an ingenious secret at its centre, which I am not going to give away in case there are still readers who can come to it as the surprise it should be. Allingham’s publishers queried the plausibility of the German plot she imagined – only to discover many years later that she had in fact imagined a secret that did really exist.
The story is not only staggering because of the secret. It is staggering because in the opening pages the urbane Mr Campion is discovered in a hospital, having completely – or almost completely – lost his memory. He knows only that he has to discover and prevent something monstrous, portentous and urgent. The combination of these two strands creates a tension that I’ve never experienced in any other book I have read. The story takes place in Allingham’s own world of the bizarre, the minutely weird, with queer and memorable names, all threaded into formal dinners and police procedures. When reading discussions of Allingham, I have been shocked to find her being criticised for failures of realism. She creates her strange worlds with their own odd structures alongside what we think of as real.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Illustration by James Boswell from Traitor’s Purse.
Allingham is in one way an English writer like Lewis Carroll or PG Wodehouse in that she makes her own kinds of gangs and villains alongside “realism”. All detective stories, I suppose, are unreal because they have strict rules, and each of her books has different rules, depending on the small world it explores – fashion in The Fashion in Shrouds, the magical and sinister countryside of Sweet Danger, the post-war blocks of London flats in The China Governess, the dancers in Dancers in Mourning.
As an adolescent I puzzled about how the tradition of the gentleman detective came about. There they all were, urbane, watchful, inane from time to time, with steely, independent intelligences under their surface smoothness. Dorothy Sayers said that Lord Peter Wimsey was a combination of Fred Astaire and Bertie Wooster. With each appearance he became more complicated and human, and in the end Sayers was accused of having fallen in love with him. Campion was invented, according to Allingham, as a parody of Wimsey, hiding an aristocratic background under a pseudonym. Both had menservants full of character – Wimsey had Bunter, who had kept him alive during the first world war, and Campion had the brilliantly named and wonderfully realised ex-cat-burglar, run to fat, Magersfontein Lugg. These characters derive from Wooster’s Jeeves, the all-knowing, all-efficient manservant, working to totally trivial ends. If Wimsey becomes human when he sees Harriet Vane, a crime-writer, being tried for a murder she did not commit, Campion becomes human when his superficial memory disappears, leaving his real self naked to his real feelings. His need not to divulge the state he is in to his future wife, Amanda Fitton, is necessary |
's chief technology officer.
ZocDoc was already running on Microsoft software but has raised about $3 million in venture capital and plans to expand to other areas of the country, he said. Investors include Khosla Ventures in Menlo Park, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' investment company, Bezos Expeditions.
"We think (BizSpark) is a fantastic program and are very pleased," Ganju said.
Despite the tough economy, Microsoft has increased its investment in BizSpark to drive the program forward, Lewin said, because "This is our lifeblood, working with developers."Fringe vet John Noble is heading back to Fox with a major recurring role on Sleepy Hollow, TVLine has confirmed.
As first reported by Deadline, Noble will play Henry Parrish, a reclusive man who possesses supernatural powers that have the potential to help Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison).
RELATED | Why Did Sleepy Hollow Lose the Legend? And More Questions About New Fall Shows
The gig reunites Noble with Fringe cocreators Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci.
As reported earlier this week by TVLine, True Blood‘s James Frain is also joining the rookie drama for multiple episodes in the role of Rutledge, a modern-day nobleman who will interrogate Ichabod about his past.
Sleepy Hollow got off to a strong start Monday, giving Fox its best fall drama debut in seven years.Making marijuana legal will encourage use, especially by young people. That is the go-to line for any drug prohibitionist who has been bludgeoned by the onslaught of marijuana legalization and medical marijuana exceptions now passed in 20 American states.
Unfortunately for them, the latest polling data from Gallup seems to show that further liberalization of American marijuana policy is not leading more young people down the supposedly slippery slope from marijuana initiation to full-blown heroin addiction. In fact, fewer young people are trying marijuana than when I began college in the mid-1980s.
In 1985, a full one-third (33 percent) of Americans had tried marijuana. In 1996, California became the first medical marijuana state and since then, 19 more have created exceptions to criminal prosecution for medical uses of cannabis. In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first political jurisdictions in the world to fully legalize the possession of marijuana. Today, just 38 percent of Americans have tried marijuana.
The crosstabs of the poll are even more devastating for the idea that legalization entices young people. When I graduated high school in 1985, 56 percent of my generation aged 18-29 had tried marijuana. The figure now for that age group is just 36 percent.
The groups that have increased their experimentation with marijuana are over age 30. While 41 percent of the middle-aged (30-49) in 1985 had tried pot, the figure is now nearly half (49 percent). The increase is more pronounced for ages 50 to 64, rising from a mere 9 percent in 1985 to 44 percent today -- almost five times greater use! This means more people aged 30 to 64 are experimenting with marijuana than people in their college years. Among seniors age 65 and over, experimentation has nearly tripled, from 6 percent to 17 percent.
Current use of marijuana is still an area where young adults come out on top. Fourteen percent, or over one-third of the 18-29-year-olds who tried marijuana, are using it currently. Only one-out-of-seven of the 49 percent of 30-49-year-olds who tried marijuana are using it now (7 percent). Just 5 percent of people aged 50-64 are currently toking, which is about one-in-nine of those who tried it. Only one percent of seniors aged 65 and older are using pot now.
So, it seems that even though fewer young people are trying marijuana, more of them are currently using it. However, current use steadily declines as the marijuana smoker ages... so much for the super-potent, highly-addictive modern marijuana.
Earlier on Huff/Post50:Coming Soon
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This drama series tells the astonishing true story of Israel's most prominent spy, Eli Cohen, who infiltrated the Syrian government in the 1960s.
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An unexpected detour turns a couple's road trip into a terrifying journey through their fragile psyches. Adapted and directed by Charlie Kaufman.Mr. Snellgrove is proposing to scale back the tennis club and build a glass and limestone condo complex that would step up from 4 to 12 stories and hold 165 residential units that are expected to be among the priciest in the city.
A coalition of neighborhood groups opposes the project, saying it would destroy the decades-old club and alter the San Francisco skyline. Many of them also fought 555 Washington.
“To give this up for a huge condo project built for the rich hedge-fund executives and an underground parking garage — you’ve got to be kidding me,” said Lee Radner, president of the Friends of the Golden Gateway.
But Mr. Snellgrove’s team is confident that 8 Washington will be approved under the new regime at City Hall, and big money is already lining up behind it. The project’s financer, CalSTRS, the state teachers’ retirement fund, has committed $26.7 million to pre-construction costs, and had spent $23 million as of March 31.
“I would like to think there is a more rational and productive debate in City Hall now,” said P. J. Johnston, a spokesman for the developer, attributing the change to “the supervisors as well as the mayor.”
The development at 555 Washington, a planned 38-story corkscrew-shaped tower near the Financial District and North Beach, drew the same battle lines between developers and neighborhood activists.
Mr. Brown, who oversaw a construction boom during his eight years as mayor, starting in 1996, was a consultant on the project. The developer, Lowe Enterprises, made a donation to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and secured the support of Ms. Pak, the group’s influential consultant, according to people involved with the project.
Photo
“Rose was definitely a supporter,” said Andy Segal, senior vice president of Lowe Enterprises.
Ms. Pak did not return calls seeking comment. Mr. Brown declined to comment.
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The developers attributed their defeat to former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who was elected in 2000 as a liberal firebrand who vowed to slow the proliferation of big-money development projects backed by Mr. Brown.
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Even after Mr. Peskin was termed out of office in 2009, he and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, a group of outspoken North Beach residents, vigorously fought 555 Washington. On the day of the vote in May 2010, Mr. Peskin lobbied out of the offices of his former colleagues.
Today, Mr. Peskin, who is chairman of the city’s Democratic Party, has seen his influence wane while Mr. Brown and Ms. Pak enjoy a renaissance.
Mr. Brown and Ms. Pak — close friends and political allies — helped install Mr. Lee as interim mayor in January, outmaneuvering progressives allied with Mr. Peskin. That shift at City Hall is translating into an increased pace for development.
Mr. Snellgrove, the developer of the 8 Washington project, has assembled a lobbying team that includes several people with close ties to Mr. Brown: H. Marcia Smolens, one of the city’s highest-paid lobbyists and a longtime Brown fund-raiser; Karin Carlson Johnston, a lobbyist at Ms. Smolens’s firm, HMS Associates; and her husband, Mr. Johnston, who served as Mr. Brown’s spokesman.
While the developers deny that Ms. Pak is working on the project, she has tried to help indirectly. In 2007, she organized a trip to China for friends and city officials that included Mr. Peskin, who was then president of the Board of Supervisors, and Mr. Snellgrove, a longtime friend of Mr. Brown and Ms. Pak.
“He was on the trip she organized and used it as a nonstop 10-day lobbying opportunity,” Mr. Peskin said of Mr. Snellgrove in an interview. “For 10 days we saw him for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were taking this whole tour of Macau, and he was tagging along whining about his project for three hours. And we just wanted to see Portuguese architecture.”
Mr. Snellgrove declined to comment.
Mr. Snellgrove’s representatives told planning department officials several months ago that they had lined up the necessary six votes on the Board of Supervisors to win approval, according to a city official with knowledge of the project. But they suggested that the window might close after the November election because three supervisors were running for other offices and might have to be replaced.
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“The message was, ‘We have to get this done with the current board,’ ” the official said.
The project’s progress has presented a political headache for David Chiu, the board president whose district includes 8 Washington Street. “I have heard there are attempts to move this faster through the process and have been surprised because I don’t think we have community support that we need,” Mr. Chiu said.
Mr. Chiu, who is also running for mayor, said he did not support the project in its current form.
Mr. Johnston denied that the 8 Washington project was speeding through the approvals process, noting that it originated four years ago. In addition, neighborhood groups have filed a lawsuit against the city, arguing that the planning department is illegally raising height limits to accommodate the project, a claim the department denies.
Whatever the fate of 8 Washington, developers like Mr. Segal, the investor in the 555 Washington project last year, see greater opportunities for development under a Lee administration.
“The executive branch is more animated on this project than it may have appeared on our project,” Mr. Segal said. “It’s a different style.”So we all know the bigger the pizza, the better the deal. The price per square inch decreases dramatically as you increase pizza size. But there's so much more to do with pizza math! For the following graphs I assume uniform thickness among pizzas (obvious conciet) but beyond that we just need equations for area an circumference of a circle. Presto pesto!
def pizza_value ( price, diameter ) : # calculates price per square inch return ( price / ( np. pi * ( diameter / 2 ) ** 2 )) def crust_value ( price, diameter ) : # calculates price per inch of crust return ( price / ( np. pi * ( diameter )))
Pizza Geometry
What does pizza size mean visually? Mouse over the data below for sample pizzas from the Pizza Hut, Dominos and Papa Johns in Minnesota. A lower price per square inch means a better deal on the pizza.
We see how value scales with increased pizza size, but what of other qualities? Well, we should talk about crust. Crust is the pulp of pizza - a highly divisive feature and one that should always be considered when choosing pizza size. The data below shows some randomly sampled pizza from across the states and how they scale pizza value ()
The Big take away from this is that due to trends in pizza pricing, if you really like crust you should just get a bunch of personal pan pizzas from Pizza hoot, or get cheese pizzas from dominoms.
A tale of three pizzas
Zooming in again on pizza value, combining data from all the states and all venders shows considerable price differences between pizzahoot, dominoms and pepe jose's
The state of pizza
Also, where you're buying your pizza can really affect things. A sampling of different states for all three venders shows DC is actually the most expensive place, while the midwest and the south show cheaper prices on average. Although, with the variability in specialty toppings there ends up being a lot of overlap.
Big take aways
Buy bigger pizza if you can afford it. Live in Mississipi if you can. Only pizza hut can help you if you really love crust.
Notes:Welsh football manager Chris Coleman has argued that Welsh “is part of who we are” as he attended the launch of the government’s new language strategy.
The Welsh Government published their plan to double the number of Welsh speakers in 30 years today.
Coleman told Golwg 360 that he was keen to show off the language when Wales took part in the Euro football championship last year.
“We had a responsibility to show the world that this is Wales, this is what we are, here’s how passionate we are about our country,” he said.
“That’s why I sing the national anthem. It honors those who fought hard and represent their country.
“That’s what we do in terms of football, and it’s very important that people understand what makes us as Welsh.
“This is our national language. Not everyone can speak it, but it’s part of our culture, and we must remember that.”
Strategy
To reach that target, the Welsh Government estimate that 70% of pupils will need to be fluent in the language by the time they leave school.
Welsh medium education will be increased by a third over the next 14 years, they say.
By 2030, 30% of seven-year-olds will be taught in bilingual schools. The current figure is 22%.
“Reaching a million speakers is a deliberately ambitious target to so that the Welsh language thrives for future generations,” said the First Minister, Carwyn Jones.
“If we are to succeed, we need the whole nation to take ownership of the language.
“Politicians can’t impose that, but politicians can lead. By raising our expectations and adopting an ambitious vision, we have the potential to change the future outlook for the language.”
‘Revolutionary steps’
Speaking before the launch, the Chair of the Welsh language society, Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said that revolutionary steps must be taken in order to achieve a million Welsh speakers.
“It’s almost exactly two years since we published our ‘million’ vision document aimed at the new Government in Wales,” said Heledd Gwyndaf.
“We’re still waiting for the firm action that’s needed in order to turn the tide. But we believe that it’s more than possible to achieve a million Welsh speakers, and to do so before 2050.
“In order to succeed, we need revolutionary steps in a number of fields, for example in planning the workforce, especially the education workforce.
“It means normalizing and expanding Welsh medium education on every level, and doing so on a greater scale and at a faster pace than ever before.
“In addition, we need to normalize the language in every aspect of life, by strengthening language legislation.
“We also need a revolutionary language strategy that will overturn the enormous migration of people outwards from our Welsh-speaking communities.
“Industry and jobs that are native to Wales need the support of the Welsh Government, recognizing the link between work and language. Nothing short of a revolution is needed in order to succeed.”Investigators have released an audio clip recorded by murder victim Libby German, believed to be the the prime suspect saying "Down the hill."
FIVE months after the murder of two Indiana teenagers, police have warned armchair sleuths to “stop posting your dubious detective work on Facebook”.
They say armchair sleuthing prompted by the release of a composite picture of a suspect is hindering the long-running murder investigation of Delphi teens Abby Williams and Libby German in February.
The FBI composite sketch of a man suspected in the February killings was released last week, to help “clarify” pictures previously released in relation to the mysterious “man on the bridge”.
The artist’s sketch is based off witness tips, including one woman who told police she saw this man near the Delphi Historic Trails the day Abby and Libby were murdered.
Release of the sketch resulted in a surge of tips. But sadly, it also resulted in a surge of fresh social media speculation.
Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby told Fox 59 News investigators received more than 1000 leads via email and telephone within 24 hours of the release of the sketch of the man.
Before the sketch was released, police said tips had decreased to about 10 per day. “The public is looking at this again … it’s helping. It’s also encouraging for the investigators, too,” said Indiana State Police’s Sgt. Kim Riley.
But two days after the sketch was released, police had to appeal for armchair sleuths to stop posting their amateur detective conclusions on Facebook, after a number of posts in which Facebook users combed websites to find mugshots of random men who resemble the composite sketch, then post them alongside it.
Indiana State Police chief public information officer, Captain Dave Bursten, said the growing problem of “armchair sleuthing” was hindering the investigation, according to the Indy Star.
“Those (pictures and posts) are of no value and take up investigative time,” he said.
He also warned “a person that does that may open themselves up to some civil liability”.
“They will have to suffer the consequences of their own stupidity.”
People might find themselves on the wrong end of a defamation or libel lawsuit.
“They are placing themselves in legal jeopardy, and they are doing absolutely nothing to help the investigation,” he said.
Police say the man is the main suspect in the murders of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams. Their bodies were found near the Delphi Historic Trails on February 14 after they were reported missing by family. Police later released a recording of a suspect saying “down the hill.”
According to police, there are no arrests at this time, and Riley could not comment as to whether they are close to making an arrest. But he assured everyone this is not a cold case, and they’re still getting around five to 10 tips every day. “We’ve always felt that we’re going to solve this case,” Riley said.Not so long ago a fag and orange segment was seen as restorative at half-time, an extra lap until you drop a good thing, a sign of heart. But in recent years metrics have become rugby’s living better bible.
They are colder and soulless but computer programs and algorithms with cutting-edge hardware and software that measure a dizzying array of measurements has made the old school running up and down a pitch appear almost as inappropriate as a smoke.
With every Irish team member now wearing a 50-gram Global Positioning System (GPS) snugly fitted into a pocket in the back of their shirt, bespoke players now take to the pitch to carry out defined functions with known workloads.
Irish company Statsports provides the expertise and pods and from modest beginnings they have grown into one of the world’s leading providers of performance analysis equipment.
Measured detail
Recent marks have been headline grabbers. The roll of an F16 fighter-jet is equivalent to around 9gs of force. Without protective suits and proper training pilots will pass out. The g-force of a car travelling at a 100kms per hour that comes to a stop in 0.2 seconds is 14.2g’s.
Irish tighthead prop Mike Ross can take forces of 15gs in the scrum and, in his last year of rugby before retirement, Brian O’Driscoll sustained a 27g hit in a Scott Williams tackle during Ireland’s game against Wales. Jamie Heaslip, Paul O’Connell, Cian Healy, Seán O’Brien and Rob Kearney will all give or take tackles registering between 10gs and 20gs in any given match.
In a New York Times report published in April 2013, Doug King, conducting a doctorate thesis on rugby impact in Hutt Old Boys Marist in New Zealand, recorded a g-force of 205 with no apparent injury to the player.
The GPS monitor tells how much of a beating a rugby player has to take in a match, although, it has not overtaken Joe Schmidt’s role. The intelligent eye of the Kiwi continues to trump raw data.
Commitment
Clarke is a cautious scientist, who previously worked in the Scottish Institute of Sport with white water paddlers and British cyclists including six times Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy. The South African is the man who studies the information gathered in the device.
The monitor has four processors, a state of the art GPS, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a digital compass, long-range radio and a heart monitor, all of it tailored for rugby, the only game with 16-man scrums.
“If a player tackles someone and comes to almost a stop, that will register as a collision and will have a magnitude. I remember Brian O’Driscoll playing in a Test here and the papers sensationalised the number of gs of force that he hit as he went into the tackle,” says Clarke.
“The more important thing for us is that represented a collision. Then Brian would have fallen to the ground and that would be another collision, which wasn’t published.
“Then he would have taken some time to get back on to his feet which would have been measured by the gyroscope coming back into a standing position. That tells us how much time the tackle took Brian out of the game and that was the important marker for us.
“We ask what is an acceptable time for a person to be out of the game as a consequence of a tackle and we ask can we close it (time on the ground) down.”
Players have a grim fascination with the force of their tackles. But it’s only a fraction of the work the device carries out.
It also measures basics such as how far players run, how much of that is sprinting or changing direction, the pressure in scrums and when and what players are exerting it, the force of foot strike, decelerations, length of stride and heart rate. They call them dynamic stress loads and what it means is that Clarke and Schmidt can prepare their players for the toll a game will take.
“It has been very accurate in telling us about changes in position and referencing that to time,” says Clarke. “The real clever stuff is when it gets into the computer. The mathematics and algorithms and data allow us to determine how a player conducts himself in a game and the events they put themselves through.
“What’s more important to us is the number of collisions. We do put some store on the magnitude of collisions. But we look at how many is normal for say Jack McGrath and whether he goes significantly over that or under that. These are factors we consider in making a judgement on how well he played or how he needs to be prepared or repositioned to be more effective in the next game.
“The other thing about collisions is that they are measured through the length of the body and though foot strike. That is a significant physiological demand on players. The force that goes through your foot increases as you increase speed and changes when you accelerate or de-accelerate. So it’s a marker of magnitude on physical demand. We’ve to insure our preparation matches that demand.”
At the scrum for example Mike Ross at tighthead, Rory Best at hooker and Cian Healy at loosehead will take pressures at different moments during the engage. The locks and flankers may then come in and finally the number eight. The engage is measured in fractions of seconds but the pathway of acceleration sheds light on whether the timing of the eight players is good or marginally off.
The “sync time” is the time between the first impact and the last player coming in and the accelerometer measures that. When the scrum is complete, the gyroscope measures how long each player takes to stand up. And, depending on where they are on the pitch, whether they should be accelerating towards another play.
Video analysis crucially ties in with the data. A registered lack of acceleration after standing up may be due to a secondrow or prop taking up a defensive position beside where the scrum had been. But if the ball is played away, the expectation is they get up and move into the next phase.
Match performance
The metrics are also different for each player and over time the fitness coaches have a map of the match performance of everybody in the squad across the positions. Backs Tommy Bowe, Rob Kearney and Simon Zebo would also be measured in the air, their hang time, the power they generate to get up, what leg might be stronger for taking off.
In the frontrow international props no longer play for a whole match as the coaches understand how metrics will change as they fatigue. That could be the engage or in their ability to move from phase to phase.
“The video analysis is where they get the quantities of events. What GPS does is put some of the qualitative data behind that,” says Clarke. “So how did that move look, was it effective, how fast was the person going when they made that break or how big was the collision required to carry the ball and make three metres in attack... as a consequence we can prepare and influence players physically to fulfil that task.”
The collisions in tackles and the breakdown, where they players grapple, are the most physically demanding sides of rugby. Even the tackle is parsed into acceleration into it, through it and the impact of the hit. It’s an area that is not about to get easier as forces get larger.
The size of forwards has increased from 94kgs in the 1980’s to 110kgs in the 2000’s. The predicted weight of forwards in the 2020’s is expected to be at 121kgs.
In the backs the average weight in the 1980’s was 78kgs, 90kgs in the 2000’s and predicted to be 100kgs in the 2020’s. A back in the 2020’s would be equivalent to the size and weight of a forward in the 1990’s. It’s a matter of physics. Force equals mass times acceleration.
O’Driscoll didn’t retire because he fell out of love with the game but because he was in pain. Paul O’Connell has probably played his last game in the Six Nations, while Denis Leamy, Jerry Flannery and Bernard Jackman all departed because of their bodies. There is a side to the game that is capricious and it is there that the Viper Pods provide possibly the most effective tool.
“We would know about the players who you have touched on,” says Clarke, “who have had previous injury that we are trying to manage so that they remain healthy. We know how many sprints they can do in a session and if they were to exceed that would they expose themselves to risk? Sprints would be one metric, collisions another. We would mange player’s collisions right there, acutely.
‘Influence training’
“We would manage the players that need acute recovery in the first 24 to 48 hours. They would be put into an accelerated recovery group as a consequence of the quantity of collisions, the accelerations, the de-accelerations, all of those events that cause the most physiological damage. It’s a high intensity intermittent game and we now have a good description of that.”
More of a description than they could ever have imagined 10 years ago.MANILA - A screener of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is under investigation for an alleged extortion attempt on a Filipina and her Jordanian companion, who was hospitalized after their ordeal last January 4.
Speaking to radio DZMM Wednesday, balikbayan Carol Reynon Quebalayan said Sergio Padilla, an Office of Transportation Security personnel, stopped her and the foreigner at the final security check of NAIA Terminal 1 after finding jars of ube jam in their hand-carried bag.
Quebalayan said Padilla told her the jars were not allowed to be hand-carried in the plane.
But instead of instructing the traveler on what she could do, the screener allegedly told her: "Tara po sa tabi, pag-usapan natin iyung ube jam niyo." (Let’s go there at the side and talk about your ube jam.)
When Quebalayan refused to follow Padilla's suggestion, he allegedly shouted that she could throw the jars in the garbage instead.
"Wala na po kaming oras para pag-usapan sa tabi. Ang point ko po, kung bawal, bawal... Sabi niya, pasigaw, 'Kung ayaw niyong pag-usapan sa tabi, itapon niyo na lang sa tabi,'" Quebalayan narrated.
"Mag-a-agree naman po akong itapon sa basurahan pero parang iyung way ng pakikipag-communicate n'ya sa amin, hindi proper."
(We no longer had time to talk about it. My point is that if it's prohibited, then it's just that... But he replied, shouting, 'If you do not want to talk about it, throw in there at the side. I would have agreed to throw it in the garbage but the way he communicated with us was improper.)
Quebalayan then requested to confer with Immigration officials so Padilla allegedly instructed her to return to the check-in area.
The incident caused Quebalayan and her companion to miss their flight to Saudi Arabia.
The balikbayan said she begged airport officials to help her rebook a flight immediately because her companion needed to visit a cancer-stricken sibling.
"Lumuhod ako, umiiyak ako dahil iyung kasama ko, andoon daw po sa hospital ang kapatid niya. May cancer po," she said.
(I was on my knees, crying because my companion's sibling was in the hospital and has cancer.)
The two were able to get new tickets for P75,000 but the Jordanian later ended up in a hospital due to extreme distress.
"Sobrang masaya siya na nakapunta siya ng Pilipinas, first time niya. Na-appreciate niya bawat pagkain... Lahat ng good things binanggit niya except doon sa what happened sa kanya sa airport, sobrang na-disappoint daw siya," Quebalayan said.
"Hindi siya nakakain maghapon, hindi siya nakainom ng tubig, nilagnat, nagsi-seizure siya. Pinaospital ko pa nga po siya. Ayaw niya kumain dahil sobrang nag-worry siya, natakot. Siyempre, nakakahiya na iyung image natin sa Pilipinas."
Quebalayan also alleged that Natalia Salaysay, another airport personnel, attempted to make her sign a waiver stating that they missed their flight because they were late.
"Parang gumagawa lang sila ng reason para malusutan ang OTS," she said. (It seemed they wanted OTS to have an excuse.)
An airport police, however, assisted the balikbayan in filing a complaint.
Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal said Padilla has been relieved and is now facing investigation.
Monreal also admitted that Padilla's actions were suspicious as he could have simply disposed of the ube jam.
"Ayoko naman pong sabihin guilty kaagad ang tao, pakikinggan po namin kung anong sasabihin niya, pero iyun po ay nakakapagduda," he said.This article is from the archive of our partner.
Last November, federal agents at Chicato's O'Hare International Airport seized a laptop belonging to computer scientist David House, an activist who helped found a group supporting Bradley Manning, the Army private currently in custody and charged with leaking classified information that reached Wikileaks. House says the agents took the laptop "without a hint that it contained evidence of wrongdoing," according to the Washington Post, and he and the ACLU sued the federal government on Friday. House also went on a message board at Firedoglake to answer questions about the suit and said, among other things, that the State Department and Army had offered to bribe him to give them tips on Boston-area hackers. Here are some of the highlights from House's Q&A:
On being offered cash for information:
The State Dept and Army CID attempted to bribe me in Cambridge last June, asking me to “keep my ear to the ground about WikiLeaks and the Boston hacker scene” in exchange for an unspecified “large cash reward.” That’s the point where I asked the gentlemen to leave.
On the legality of his search:
I have not received a subpoena, but I know other Manning supporters have. If the government believed I had something criminal on my laptop, I woud hope they would obtain a warrant or issue a subpoena. The way the State went about this seizure may say a lot about its role as a fishing expedition.
On traveling while on a government watch list:
The airport process changes a bit each time I re-enter the country. The first time I had any problems was re-entering the nation from Canada last September, where I underwent extra scrutiny and questioning, a thorough bag search, etc. I didn’t think much of it — normalcy bias, perhaps. The next incident was a full-on computer seizure at the Chicago O’Hare airport. In this situation, the DHS waited until I had cleared customs to approach me and seize my electronics. The DHS’s questions primarily revolved around my political beliefs, my work in Manning Support Network, and my impressions of WikiLeaks. Since that incident in O’Hare, I have re-entered the nation through Boston five times. In each of these cases I am usually escorted from the Customs counter by an armed CBP officer and taken to a special bag-search/questioning area, where the agents may ask about everything from my political beliefs to who I was staying with overseas. In each of these cases, I refuse to cooperate with questioning when it becomes more than cursory.
On the implications of warrantless airport searches:
I’m unable to travel internationally without the threat of seizure to my electronics — a huge problem for a freelance computer scientist. In my mind this State behavior poses a threat to democracy in the long-term: for journalists, it may mean the seizure of a camera or a computer full of source information; for activists, it may mean the seizure of digital support lists and donor information. This intimidation has become a routine part of travel for hundreds of thousands of Americans, according to a USA Today article published in 2009 [http://usat.ly/ju4LTe]. This lawsuit seeks to stop this disturbing trend, amongst other goals.
On Bradley Manning's status now that he's moved to Fort Leavenworth:
I know that Bradley is doing much better in Kansas; the facility is treating him humanely and in a dignified fashion. Finally. What alarms me is that it took four months of full-time campaigning to get Bradley’s treatment changed — for many Americans in solitary, such a concerted and prolonged public effort is not possible. I shudder to think how many other prisoners are being mistreated at the hands of the State.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.It is difficult for me to watch political speeches. After all, I know that I am going to hear one alarming word over and over again. It’s not “debt,” “deficit,” or “downturn.” It’s “um.”
Filler words like “um” may seem natural in everyday speech, but they do not belong in formal presentations or speeches. Powerful public speakers work hard to eliminate words such as “um,” “uh,” “well,” “so,” “you know,” “er,” and “like” from their vocabulary so that their listeners can focus solely on their message. Through practice and persistence, you can too.
So, like, why am I saying “um”?
Why do we use filler words? The simplest answer is that we have been conditioned to answer questions immediately from an early age. When our mother or father asked us a question, we were sure to answer right away—either because we wanted to show respect or because we were afraid of what would happen if we didn’t answer. Consequently, we feel the urge to speak when spoken to.
Some people argue that filler words serve an important purpose such as making a speaker sound more “natural” or “real.” In fact, Michael Erard wrote a book on this very subject. But just because filler words are fairly common in everyday speech does not mean that they are useful. In fact, they often detract from the listener’s ability to understand a particular message.
There are two places where filler words commonly appear: at the beginning of a statement and in between ideas. See what happens the next time you answer a question. You might say “um” or “uh” right away without even thinking. Then when you are finished discussing your first idea, you may be tempted to use another filler word as you decide what to say next.
You can think of these two “filler word hot spots” in the context of a two paragraph essay. The first hot spot would be the tab before the first paragraph, and the second hot spot would be the white space between the first and second paragraphs.
When you use a filler word such as “um,” you are thinking verbally. In other words, you are verbalizing your thought process. Armed with this information, it is easy to realize that the best way to avoid using filler words is to pause. If you are not speaking, you can’t say “um”!
Removing “um” from your vocabulary
The next time you are asked a question, take a couple seconds to think about what you want to say. This pause serves two important purposes: it will help you begin powerfully, and it will help you avoid using a filler word. Pause, think, answer.Armed drones are the way of the future for Canada's military, but conversations about how they are |
and contingency. In any combination, it is almost certain that the country would have to embrace a radical new role for government. 3. Consumption: The Paradox of Leisure Work is really three things, says Peter Frase, the author of Four Futures, a forthcoming book about how automation will change America: the means by which the economy produces goods, the means by which people earn income, and an activity that lends meaning or purpose to many people’s lives. “We tend to conflate these things,” he told me, “because today we need to pay people to keep the lights on, so to speak. But in a future of abundance, you wouldn’t, and we ought to think about ways to make it easier and better to not be employed.” Frase belongs to a small group of writers, academics, and economists—they have been called “post-workists”—who welcome, even root for, the end of labor. American society has “an irrational belief in work for work’s sake,” says Benjamin Hunnicutt, another post-workist and a historian at the University of Iowa, even though most jobs aren’t so uplifting. A 2014 Gallup report of worker satisfaction found that as many as 70 percent of Americans don’t feel engaged by their current job. Hunnicutt told me that if a cashier’s work were a video game—grab an item, find the bar code, scan it, slide the item onward, and repeat—critics of video games might call it mindless. But when it’s a job, politicians praise its intrinsic dignity. “Purpose, meaning, identity, fulfillment, creativity, autonomy—all these things that positive psychology has shown us to be necessary for well-being are absent in the average job,” he said.
The post-workists are certainly right about some important things. Paid labor does not always map to social good. Raising children and caring for the sick is essential work, and these jobs are compensated poorly or not at all. In a post-work society, Hunnicutt said, people might spend more time caring for their families and neighbors; pride could come from our relationships rather than from our careers. The post-work proponents acknowledge that, even in the best post-work scenarios, pride and jealousy will persevere, because reputation will always be scarce, even in an economy of abundance. But with the right government provisions, they believe, the end of wage labor will allow for a golden age of well-being. Hunnicutt said he thinks colleges could reemerge as cultural centers rather than job-prep institutions. The word school, he pointed out, comes from skholē, the Greek word for “leisure.” “We used to teach people to be free,” he said. “Now we teach them to work.” Hunnicutt’s vision rests on certain assumptions about taxation and redistribution that might not be congenial to many Americans today. But even leaving that aside for the moment, this vision is problematic: it doesn’t resemble the world as it is currently experienced by most jobless people. By and large, the jobless don’t spend their downtime socializing with friends or taking up new hobbies. Instead, they watch TV or sleep. Time-use surveys show that jobless prime-age people dedicate some of the time once spent working to cleaning and childcare. But men in particular devote most of their free time to leisure, the lion’s share of which is spent watching television, browsing the Internet, and sleeping. Retired seniors watch about 50 hours of television a week, according to Nielsen. That means they spend a majority of their lives either sleeping or sitting on the sofa looking at a flatscreen. The unemployed theoretically have the most time to socialize, and yet studies have shown that they feel the most social isolation; it is surprisingly hard to replace the camaraderie of the water cooler.
Most people want to work, and are miserable when they cannot. The ills of unemployment go well beyond the loss of income; people who lose their job are more likely to suffer from mental and physical ailments. “There is a loss of status, a general malaise and demoralization, which appears somatically or psychologically or both,” says Ralph Catalano, a public-health professor at UC Berkeley. Research has shown that it is harder to recover from a long bout of joblessness than from losing a loved one or suffering a life-altering injury. The very things that help many people recover from other emotional traumas—a routine, an absorbing distraction, a daily purpose—are not readily available to the unemployed.
Adam Levey
The transition from labor force to leisure force would likely be particularly hard on Americans, the worker bees of the rich world: Between 1950 and 2012, annual hours worked per worker fell significantly throughout Europe—by about 40 percent in Germany and the Netherlands—but by only 10 percent in the United States. Richer, college-educated Americans are working more than they did 30 years ago, particularly when you count time working and answering e-mail at home. In 1989, the psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Judith LeFevre conducted a famous study of Chicago workers that found people at work often wished they were somewhere else. But in questionnaires, these same workers reported feeling better and less anxious in the office or at the plant than they did elsewhere. The two psychologists called this “the paradox of work”: many people are happier complaining about jobs than they are luxuriating in too much leisure. Other researchers have used the term guilty couch potato to describe people who use media to relax but often feel worthless when they reflect on their unproductive downtime. Contentment speaks in the present tense, but something more—pride—comes only in reflection on past accomplishments.
The post-workists argue that Americans work so hard because their culture has conditioned them to feel guilty when they are not being productive, and that this guilt will fade as work ceases to be the norm. This might prove true, but it’s an untestable hypothesis. When I asked Hunnicutt what sort of modern community most resembles his ideal of a post-work society, he admitted, “I’m not sure that such a place exists.” Less passive and more nourishing forms of mass leisure could develop. Arguably, they already are developing. The Internet, social media, and gaming offer entertainments that are as easy to slip into as is watching TV, but all are more purposeful and often less isolating. Video games, despite the derision aimed at them, are vehicles for achievement of a sort. Jeremy Bailenson, a communications professor at Stanford, says that as virtual-reality technology improves, people’s “cyber-existence” will become as rich and social as their “real” life. Games in which users climb “into another person’s skin to embody his or her experiences firsthand” don’t just let people live out vicarious fantasies, he has argued, but also “help you live as somebody else to teach you empathy and pro-social skills.” But it’s hard to imagine that leisure could ever entirely fill the vacuum of accomplishment left by the demise of labor. Most people do need to achieve things through, yes, work to feel a lasting sense of purpose. To envision a future that offers more than minute-to-minute satisfaction, we have to imagine how millions of people might find meaningful work without formal wages. So, inspired by the predictions of one of America’s most famous labor economists, I took a detour on my way to Youngstown and stopped in Columbus, Ohio.
4. Communal Creativity: The Artisans’ Revenge Artisans made up the original American middle class. Before industrialization swept through the U.S. economy, many people who didn’t work on farms were silversmiths, blacksmiths, or woodworkers. These artisans were ground up by the machinery of mass production in the 20th century. But Lawrence Katz, a labor economist at Harvard, sees the next wave of automation returning us to an age of craftsmanship and artistry. In particular, he looks forward to the ramifications of 3‑D printing, whereby machines construct complex objects from digital designs. The factories that arose more than a century ago “could make Model Ts and forks and knives and mugs and glasses in a standardized, cheap way, and that drove the artisans out of business,” Katz told me. “But what if the new tech, like 3-D-printing machines, can do customized things that are almost as cheap? It’s possible that information technology and robots eliminate traditional jobs and make possible a new artisanal economy … an economy geared around self-expression, where people would do artistic things with their time.” The most common jobs are salesperson, cashier, food and beverage server, and office clerk. Each is highly susceptible to automation. In other words, it would be a future not of consumption but of creativity, as technology returns the tools of the assembly line to individuals, democratizing the means of mass production.
Something like this future is already present in the small but growing number of industrial shops called “makerspaces” that have popped up in the United States and around the world. The Columbus Idea Foundry is the country’s largest such space, a cavernous converted shoe factory stocked with industrial-age machinery. Several hundred members pay a monthly fee to use its arsenal of machines to make gifts and jewelry; weld, finish, and paint; play with plasma cutters and work an angle grinder; or operate a lathe with a machinist. When I arrived there on a bitterly cold afternoon in February, a chalkboard standing on an easel by the door displayed three arrows, pointing toward bathrooms, pewter casting, and zombies. Near the entrance, three men with black fingertips and grease-stained shirts took turns fixing a 60-year-old metal-turning lathe. Behind them, a resident artist was tutoring an older woman on how to transfer her photographs onto a large canvas, while a couple of guys fed pizza pies into a propane-fired stone oven. Elsewhere, men in protective goggles welded a sign for a local chicken restaurant, while others punched codes into a computer-controlled laser-cutting machine. Beneath the din of drilling and wood-cutting, a Pandora rock station hummed tinnily from a Wi‑Fi-connected Edison phonograph horn. The foundry is not just a gymnasium of tools. It is a social center.
Adam Levey
Alex Bandar, who started the foundry after receiving a doctorate in materials science and engineering, has a theory about the rhythms of invention in American history. Over the past century, he told me, the economy has moved from hardware to software, from atoms to bits, and people have spent more time at work in front of screens. But as computers take over more tasks previously considered the province of humans, the pendulum will swing back from bits to atoms, at least when it comes to how people spend their days. Bandar thinks that a digitally preoccupied society will come to appreciate the pure and distinct pleasure of making things you can touch. “I’ve always wanted to usher in a new era of technology where robots do our bidding,” Bandar said. “If you have better batteries, better robotics, more dexterous manipulation, then it’s not a far stretch to say robots do most of the work. So what do we do? Play? Draw? Actually talk to each other again?”
You don’t need any particular fondness for plasma cutters to see the beauty of an economy where tens of millions of people make things they enjoy making—whether physical or digital, in buildings or in online communities—and receive feedback and appreciation for their work. The Internet and the cheap availability of artistic tools have already empowered millions of people to produce culture from their living rooms. People upload more than 400,000 hours of YouTube videos and 350 million new Facebook photos every day. The demise of the formal economy could free many would-be artists, writers, and craftspeople to dedicate their time to creative interests—to live as cultural producers. Such activities offer virtues that many organizational psychologists consider central to satisfaction at work: independence, the chance to develop mastery, and a sense of purpose. After touring the foundry, I sat at a long table with several members, sharing the pizza that had come out of the communal oven. I asked them what they thought of their organization as a model for a future where automation reached further into the formal economy. A mixed-media artist named Kate Morgan said that most people she knew at the foundry would quit their jobs and use the foundry to start their own business if they could. Others spoke about the fundamental need to witness the outcome of one’s work, which was satisfied more deeply by craftsmanship than by other jobs they’d held.
Late in the conversation, we were joined by Terry Griner, an engineer who had built miniature steam engines in his garage before Bandar invited him to join the foundry. His fingers were covered in soot, and he told me about the pride he had in his ability to fix things. “I’ve been working since I was 16. I’ve done food service, restaurant work, hospital work, and computer programming. I’ve done a lot of different jobs,” said Griner, who is now a divorced father. “But if we had a society that said, ‘We’ll cover your essentials, you can work in the shop,’ I think that would be utopia. That, to me, would be the best of all possible worlds.” 5. Contingency: “You’re on Your Own” One mile to the east of downtown Youngstown, in a brick building surrounded by several empty lots, is Royal Oaks, an iconic blue-collar dive. At about 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday, the place was nearly full. The bar glowed yellow and green from the lights mounted along a wall. Old beer signs, trophies, masks, and mannequins cluttered the back corner of the main room, like party leftovers stuffed in an attic. The scene was mostly middle-aged men, some in groups, talking loudly about baseball and smelling vaguely of pot; some drank alone at the bar, sitting quietly or listening to music on headphones. I spoke with several patrons there who work as musicians, artists, or handymen; many did not hold a steady job. “It is the end of a particular kind of wage work,” said Hannah Woodroofe, a bartender there who, it turns out, is also a graduate student at the University of Chicago. (She’s writing a dissertation on Youngstown as a harbinger of the future of work.) A lot of people in the city make ends meet via “post-wage arrangements,” she said, working for tenancy or under the table, or trading services. Places like Royal Oaks are the new union halls: People go there not only to relax but also to find tradespeople for particular jobs, like auto repair. Others go to exchange fresh vegetables, grown in urban gardens they’ve created amid Youngstown’s vacant lots.
When an entire area, like Youngstown, suffers from high and prolonged unemployment, problems caused by unemployment move beyond the personal sphere; widespread joblessness shatters neighborhoods and leaches away their civic spirit. John Russo, the Youngstown State professor, who is a co-author of a history of the city, Steeltown USA, says the local identity took a savage blow when residents lost the ability to find reliable employment. “I can’t stress this enough: this isn’t just about economics; it’s psychological,” he told me. Russo sees Youngstown as the leading edge of a larger trend toward the development of what he calls the “precariat”—a working class that swings from task to task in order to make ends meet and suffers a loss of labor rights, bargaining rights, and job security. In Youngstown, many of these workers have by now made their peace with insecurity and poverty by building an identity, and some measure of pride, around contingency. The faith they lost in institutions—the corporations that have abandoned the city, the police who have failed to keep them safe—has not returned. But Russo and Woodroofe both told me they put stock in their own independence. And so a place that once defined itself single-mindedly by the steel its residents made has gradually learned to embrace the valorization of well-rounded resourcefulness. Karen Schubert, a 54-year-old writer with two master’s degrees, accepted a part-time job as a hostess at a café in Youngstown early this year, after spending months searching for full-time work. Schubert, who has two grown children and an infant grandson, said she’d loved teaching writing and literature at the local university. But many colleges have replaced full-time professors with part-time adjuncts in order to control costs, and she’d found that with the hours she could get, adjunct teaching didn’t pay a living wage, so she’d stopped. “I think I would feel like a personal failure if I didn’t know that so many Americans have their leg caught in the same trap,” she said. Perhaps the 20th century will strike future historians as an aberration, with its religious devotion to overwork in a time of prosperity. Among Youngstown’s precariat, one can see a third possible future, where millions of people struggle for years to build a sense of purpose in the absence of formal jobs, and where entrepreneurship emerges out of necessity. But while it lacks the comforts of the consumption economy or the cultural richness of Lawrence Katz’s artisanal future, it is more complex than an outright dystopia. “There are young people working part-time in the new economy who feel independent, whose work and personal relationships are contingent, and say they like it like this—to have short hours so they have time to focus on their passions,” Russo said.
Schubert’s wages at the café are not enough to live on, and in her spare time, she sells books of her poetry at readings and organizes gatherings of the literary-arts community in Youngstown, where other writers (many of them also underemployed) share their prose. The evaporation of work has deepened the local arts and music scene, several residents told me, because people who are inclined toward the arts have so much time to spend with one another. “We’re a devastatingly poor and hemorrhaging population, but the people who live here are fearless and creative and phenomenal,” Schubert said. Whether or not one has artistic ambitions as Schubert does, it is arguably growing easier to find short-term gigs or spot employment. Paradoxically, technology is the reason. A constellation of Internet-enabled companies matches available workers with quick jobs, most prominently including Uber (for drivers), Seamless (for meal deliverers), Homejoy (for house cleaners), and TaskRabbit (for just about anyone else). And online markets like Craigslist and eBay have likewise made it easier for people to take on small independent projects, such as furniture refurbishing. Although the on-demand economy is not yet a major part of the employment picture, the number of “temporary-help services” workers has grown by 50 percent since 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some of these services, too, could be usurped, eventually, by machines. But on-demand apps also spread the work around by carving up jobs, like driving a taxi, into hundreds of little tasks, like a single drive, which allows more people to compete for smaller pieces of work. These new arrangements are already challenging the legal definitions of employer and employee, and there are many reasons to be ambivalent about them. But if the future involves a declining number of full-time jobs, as in Youngstown, then splitting some of the remaining work up among many part-time workers, instead of a few full-timers, wouldn’t necessarily be a bad development. We shouldn’t be too quick to excoriate companies that let people combine their work, art, and leisure in whatever ways they choose.
Today the norm is to think about employment and unemployment as a black-and-white binary, rather than two points at opposite ends of a wide spectrum of working arrangements. As late as the mid-19th century, though, the modern concept of “unemployment” didn’t exist in the United States. Most people lived on farms, and while paid work came and went, home industry—canning, sewing, carpentry—was a constant. Even in the worst economic panics, people typically found productive things to do. The despondency and helplessness of unemployment were discovered, to the bafflement and dismay of cultural critics, only after factory work became dominant and cities swelled. The 21st century, if it presents fewer full-time jobs in the sectors that can be automated, could in this respect come to resemble the mid-19th century: an economy marked by episodic work across a range of activities, the loss of any one of which would not make somebody suddenly idle. Many bristle that contingent gigs offer a devil’s bargain—a bit of additional autonomy in exchange for a larger loss of security. But some might thrive in a market where versatility and hustle are rewarded—where there are, as in Youngstown, few jobs to have, yet many things to do. 6. Government: The Visible Hand In the 1950s, Henry Ford II, the CEO of Ford, and Walter Reuther, the head of the United Auto Workers union, were touring a new engine plant in Cleveland. Ford gestured to a fleet of machines and said, “Walter, how are you going to get these robots to pay union dues?” The union boss famously replied: “Henry, how are you going to get them to buy your cars?”
As Martin Ford (no relation) writes in his new book, The Rise of the Robots, this story might be apocryphal, but its message is instructive. We’re pretty good at noticing the immediate effects of technology’s substituting for workers, such as fewer people on the factory floor. What’s harder is anticipating the second-order effects of this transformation, such as what happens to the consumer economy when you take away the consumers. Technological progress on the scale we’re imagining would usher in social and cultural changes that are almost impossible to fully envision. Consider just how fundamentally work has shaped America’s geography. Today’s coastal cities are a jumble of office buildings and residential space. Both are expensive and tightly constrained. But the decline of work would make many office buildings unnecessary. What might that mean for the vibrancy of urban areas? Would office space yield seamlessly to apartments, allowing more people to live more affordably in city centers and leaving the cities themselves just as lively? Or would we see vacant shells and spreading blight? Would big cities make sense at all if their role as highly sophisticated labor ecosystems were diminished? As the 40-hour workweek faded, the idea of a lengthy twice-daily commute would almost certainly strike future generations as an antiquated and baffling waste of time. But would those generations prefer to live on streets full of high-rises, or in smaller towns?
Today, many working parents worry that they spend too many hours at the office. As full-time work declined, rearing children could become less overwhelming. And because job opportunities historically have spurred migration in the United States, we might see less of it; the diaspora of extended families could give way to more closely knitted clans. But if men and women lost their purpose and dignity as work went away, those families would nonetheless be troubled. The decline of the labor force would make our politics more contentious. Deciding how to tax profits and distribute income could become the most significant economic-policy debate in American history. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith used the term invisible hand to refer to the order and social benefits that arise, surprisingly, from individuals’ selfish actions. But to preserve the consumer economy and the social fabric, governments might have to embrace what Haruhiko Kuroda, the governor of the Bank of Japan, has called the visible hand of economic intervention. What follows is an early sketch of how it all might work. In the near term, local governments might do well to create more and more-ambitious community centers or other public spaces where residents can meet, learn skills, bond around sports or crafts, and socialize. Two of the most common side effects of unemployment are loneliness, on the individual level, and the hollowing-out of community pride. A national policy that directed money toward centers in distressed areas might remedy the maladies of idleness, and form the beginnings of a long-term experiment on how to reengage people in their neighborhoods in the absence of full employment. We could also make it easier for people to start their own, small-scale (and even part-time) businesses. New-business formation has declined in the past few decades in all 50 states. One way to nurture fledgling ideas would be to build out a network of business incubators. Here Youngstown offers an unexpected model: its business incubator has been recognized internationally, and its success has brought new hope to West Federal Street, the city’s main drag. Near the beginning of any broad decline in job availability, the United States might take a lesson from Germany on job-sharing. The German government gives firms incentives to cut all their workers’ hours rather than lay off some of them during hard times. So a company with 50 workers that might otherwise lay off 10 people instead reduces everyone’s hours by 20 percent. Such a policy would help workers at established firms keep their attachment to the labor force despite the declining amount of overall labor. Spreading work in this way has its limits. Some jobs can’t be easily shared, and in any case, sharing jobs wouldn’t stop labor’s pie from shrinking: it would only apportion the slices differently. Eventually, Washington would have to somehow spread wealth, too. One way of doing that would be to more heavily tax the growing share of income going to the owners of capital, and use the money to cut checks to all adults. This idea—called a “universal basic income”—has received bipartisan support in the past. Many liberals currently support it, and in the 1960s, Richard Nixon and the conservative economist Milton Friedman each proposed a version of the idea. That history notwithstanding, the politics of universal income in a world without universal work would be daunting. The rich could say, with some accuracy, that their hard work was subsidizing the idleness of millions of “takers.” What’s more, although a universal income might replace lost wages, it would do little to preserve the social benefits of work. Oxford researchers have forecast that machines might be able to do half of all U.S. jobs within two decades. The most direct solution to the latter problem would be for the government to pay people to do something, rather than nothing. Although this smacks of old European socialism, or Depression-era “makework,” it might do the most to preserve virtues such as responsibility, agency, and industriousness. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration did more than rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. It hired 40,000 artists and other cultural workers to produce music and theater, murals and paintings, state and regional travel guides, and surveys of state records. It’s not impossible to imagine something like the WPA—or an effort even more capacious—for a post-work future. What might that look like? Several national projects might justify direct hiring, such as caring for a rising population of elderly people. But if the balance of work continues to shift toward the small-bore and episodic, the simplest way to help everybody stay busy might be government sponsorship of a national online marketplace of work (or, alternatively, a series of local ones, sponsored by local governments). Individuals could browse for large long-term projects, like cleaning up after a natural disaster, or small short-term ones: an hour of tutoring, an evening of entertainment, an art commission. The requests could come from local governments or community associations or nonprofit groups; from rich families seeking nannies or tutors; or from other individuals given some number of credits to “spend” on the site each year. To ensure a baseline level of attachment to the workforce, the government could pay adults a flat rate in return for some minimum level of activity on the site, but people could always earn more by taking on more gigs. Although a digital WPA might strike some people as a strange anachronism, it would be similar to a federalized version of Mechanical Turk, the popular Amazon sister site where individuals and companies post projects of varying complexity, while so-called Turks on the other end browse tasks and collect money for the ones they complete. Mechanical Turk was designed to list tasks that cannot be performed by a computer. (The name is an allusion to an 18th-century Austrian hoax, in which a famous automaton that seemed to play masterful chess concealed a human player who chose the moves and moved the pieces.) A government marketplace might likewise specialize in those tasks that required empathy, humanity, or a personal touch. By connecting millions of people in one central hub, it might even inspire what the technology writer Robin Sloan has called “a Cambrian explosion of mega-scale creative and intellectual pursuits, a generation of Wikipedia-scale projects that can ask their users for even deeper commitments.”
Adam LeveyThe general advice given to users who want to make simple edits to a theme without losing them is to create a child theme. This involves creating a directory, CSS file, a functions.php file, and uploading them to the webserver via WordPress or FTP.
Users must also make sure the child theme references the parent theme correctly in order to establish the proper inheritance. This can be a complicated process for a lot of people but thanks to a new feature proposal for WordPress 4.7, the days of going through this process may soon be over.
The Benefits of Adding a CSS Editor to the Customizer
The proposal suggests adding a CSS editor to the customizer which offers a number of benefits. Users can live preview changes before they’re applied and see how they’ll appear on mobile devices. Instead of editing files directly, changes are stored in a Custom Post Type for each theme and override theme styles.
Related projects such as customize changesets (#30937) and revisions for customizer settings (#31089) will allow for future enhancements. Adding the editor will also lay the groundwork for possibly removing the Theme file editor from core at some point in the future.
Here’s an example of what the CSS editor looks like in action. Note the line numbers that can help with troubleshooting purposes.
The editor also displays error messages for common syntax errors. For example, a missing bracket. Adding the editor is only the beginning with revisions, syntax highlighting, and in-preview selector helpers, planned for future iterations.
Special Meeting Planned to Discuss Storage Issues
In today’s WordPress developer chat, attendees discussed the pros and cons of the editor and whether or not it’s ready to be merged into WordPress 4.7. A point of contention preventing a final decision is how data is stored.
Members of the Core and Customizer Component teams will discuss this particular issue in detail in a special meeting before making a final decision to merge it.
Testing and Feedback Needed
To test this feature, you’ll need to apply the patch via Trac or the Pull Request from GitHub as it won’t land in WordPress Trunk unless the proposal is approved. The team encourages you to add custom CSS in the customizer using a variety of themes and to share your experience and feedback in the comments.
A Use Perfectly Suited for the Customizer
While I have yet to test this feature myself, it seems like the perfect use case for the customizer. While some developers have expressed concerns with the proposed implementation, others are excited to see it land in core.
Removing the need to create a child theme for small or simple changes is a huge win for users. It’s also a major win for those who provide support. Instead of giving a customer complicated directions, it can be as simple as telling them to open the customizer, click on additional CSS, paste the snippet of code, and click the save button.
Like this: Like Loading...When I was a kid, I secretly enjoyed having maple syrup flow onto my bacon or sausage. While most people would save their sausages from drowning by moving them to higher ground, I left them in the lowlands, gleefully watching as the creeping syrup engulfed things it wasn’t supposed to. Sometimes, if I was feeling
When I was a kid, I secretly enjoyed having maple syrup flow onto my bacon or sausage. While most people would save their sausages from drowning by moving them to higher ground, I left them in the lowlands, gleefully watching as the creeping syrup engulfed things it wasn’t supposed to. Sometimes, if I was feeling bold, I’d even let my hand “slip” so that the stream of golden brown maple syrup would actually pass over the meat products. It’s a secret I’ve kept for a long time, sharing only with a few trusted friends, but today I’m coming out of the closet.
If you’ve ever had similar tendencies, this post is for you. If your face is contorting in disgust, come back some other time because this post is about bacon (yes BACON) pecan pie.
Still there? Okay, you’re probably wondering how on earth I came up with such a magnificent unusual combination. While I’d love to take all the credit, to tell you the truth, the idea was inspired by Tartelette. More specifically by a photo she took for her Hazelnut Tartelettes back in January. It’s the second one down the page to the right.
Perhaps I’d had a little too much to drink that night, but that long ripply smear of chocolate looked like bacon to me. I actually had one of those cartoon moments where I shook my head, rubbed my eyes and looked at it again before the mirage faded and I realized what it actually was. For that brief instant, all those childhood memories of letting my bacon drown came rushing back like a tide of sweet sticky syrup.
It didn’t take long before the idea of bacon pecan pie was born. I’ve honestly never been a big fan of pecan pie. Most of the time it’s an over sweetened cloying mess that’s either too goopy or tough and chewy. But it’s one of those things I’ve always liked in theory, so over the years, I’ve had a handful that were actually pretty good. Still, even the best ones tasted one dimensionally sweet and I’ve always wondered what sprinkling a little fleur de sel on top might do.
Honestly I’m a little disappointed in myself for not figuring out this combo sooner given my childhood breakfast proclivities. Now that the idea was set in motion, I just had to figure out how I would go about creating the pie. Would the bacon get crumbled up in the filling? Should I replace some of the butter with bacon fat?
Since I’ve never made pecan pie before I took the base recipe from Cooks Illustrated. Then, I took a page from my own bookand infused the crust with bacon flavour using both the lard and pulverized bacon. I didn’t want to change the texture of the filling and I wanted crisp strips of bacon, so I chose to garnish each slice with a strip of bacon after the pie was done.
Not content with just adding bacon, I also added booze to the mix, because booze (like bacon) makes everything better. Because the mixture is never boiled, you definitely taste the alcohol but if that’s not your thing, you can always boil the bourbon in the microwave for a few seconds to burn off the alcohol.
Bacon and Bourbon Pecan Pie American
Experimental
Dessert 0 from 0 votes Yield: 1 pie Print Nutrition Ingredients 8 ounces pecans
6 strips bacon medium thickness cut into thirds for crust 1 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons bacon grease frozen
8 tablespoons cultured unsalted butter frozen and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 egg
1 tablespoon ice water for filling 6 tablespoons cultured unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar packed
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract Steps Move the oven rack to the middle position then preheat to 350 degrees F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet then roast in the oven for around 10 minutes or until they are fragrant. Fry the bacon over medium low heat until brown and very crisp then transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Measure 2 Tbs of bacon lard into a glass or metal container then allow it to come to room temperature before placing it in the freezer. Put 9 pieces of the fried bacon (3 whole strips) in the freezer as well. Put the frozen bacon into the work bowl of a food processor and blitz until the bacon is powderized. Add the flour and sugar, processing until it's well incorporated into the flour. Add the frozen bacon grease, and butter then pulse until there are pebble sized pieces of fat. Whisk together 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of ice water. Add 2 tablespoons of this mixture too the food processor and then pulse to combine. Continue to add more of the egg mixture and pulse until the dough is crumbly but just starting to come together (pictured above). You shouldn't need to use all of the egg mixture. Turn the pebbles of dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press together. Using as few motions as possible, flatten the dough with the palm of your hand then use the plastic wrap to fold the dough over itself. The idea is to flatten the beads of cold butter into layers, which will make the dough flakey. Too much handling though and you will form gluten in the flour which will make the dough tough. Flatten once more, fold over and shape into a puck. Wrap with the plastic and put it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. On a floured surface, roll out the dough so it's bigger than a standard pie plate. Roll it onto your pin and slide it over your pie plate. Unroll it making sure it's centered. Gently press the dough into the corners of the plate and then use kitchen sheers to trim the dough with 1/2" of overhang. Tuck the overhang under itself then flute the edge with your fingers. Return to the fridge until hard. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and cover the crust with aluminum foil, pressing the foil against the dough. Use a fork to poke holes through the foil and through the dough. Dump some dried beans or pie weights onto the foil and put the crust into a preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is set. Remove the foil with the pie weights and return the crust to the oven until it just starts turning brown 7-10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 275 degrees. Setup a double boiler with a metal bowl over a pot filled with water and bring the water to a gentle simmer. Melt the butter, then add the sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Once they're dissolved, whisk in the eggs one at a time until combined. Switch to a heatproof spatula and mix in the vanilla and bourbon. Continue stirring, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl until the mixture reaches 130 degrees F. Remove it from the heat, add the pecans and pour the mixture into the warm crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the center is mostly set. Insert the remaining 9 pieces of bacon into the top of the pie while it is still warm. Let it cool completely before cutting. Notes: I'm entering this in the Foodbuzz BACONALIA challenge as an entry.Santos-AP player sent off for hitting the ref & masseur also sees red in defeat to Flamengo
The match between Flam |
Sanju, and finally all patched up.
Rohan Sharma
Rohan Sharma is the president of the college apart from this he is into bike racing and bike stunts and best friend's with Makrand Mahajan and this character is playing by Abhilash Kumar. Secretly he admires Sanjana but does not show his feelings to her. Later on, all the blame come on his shoulder. In the end, Sahil killed him.
Makrand Mahajan Mac is Ela's boyfriend. He feels quite insecure about his relationship with Ela specially after the arrival of Prithvi and therefore is very possessive. But he truly loves her and feels that she is a part of his life. Mac becomes jealous on seeing Ela and Prithvi together, and warns him to stay out of her.But later he realizes that Prithvi loves Sanju so he becomes a good friend of him, at holi party ela as usual speaks very rudely with mac thus he now finally breaks up with her and now he avoids her as much as possible, to irritate her, as per the plan of Sanju. And he finally win his girlfriend when Ela realizes her mistake.
Sahil
He is very silent and calm. He is a very good friend of Sanju and has feelings for her but is scared of losing friendship. Prithvi notices Sahil's crush on Sanju. He was the stalker and also killed Rohan in order keep his identity as a secret. At last Prof.Anu paralyzes him to protect her secret.
Professor Rigved
He is very charming. All students love him. Professor Rigved has a secret related to Mallika, his intern as he berates her for coming to his office. Vinnie used to have a crush on him but since purushastra's entry she doesn't drool over him like before.
Radhesham Govardan Vasudeva (RGV)
The film maker. He loves Film making than law. He is always seen with the camera. RGV proves that he is a great friend as he helps Sanju find information related to the stalker.
Prof.Anu Shukla
She is the new professor in the college and is very mysterious. She always tries to poke the girls and Mac by talking about Varun in the class. She feels there is some connection between varun's missing case and the girls especially Sanjana. She is very much connected with Varun's investigation. She is Varun's sister and wants to take revenge on the BFFS, for not trying to save his life. Varun is alive. She doesn't miss any chance to humiliate Sanju. at last she is sent to jail.
Sunny Roy
Sanju's younger brother. He is called 'Sherlock' and 'Champ' by his loved ones. He is very cute and is six years old. Sunny and Prithvi have become very good friends in a short span of time. He calls him 'Prithvi Bhaiyya' and loves his company. They both play video games together and even spoiled the kitchen in Sanju's absence. He suspects Prithvi to be Sanju's boyfriend.
Purushastra
Purushastra is a guy who was supposed to meet Vinnie for marriage as per her mom's wish that she should marry a traditional guy, he was first pranked by Vinnie and her friends that they make him feel that ela is Vinnie and she acts in a way that Purushastra rejects Vinnie, however this prank turns out to be a prank on them as they get to know that Purushastra has already seen Vinnie's photo he seems to be interested in vinnie and often they both meet accidentally. He mingles very well with her friends and there is a possibility that Vinnie likes him too, she often refers to him as "puru" casually or "maru" when she is angry. Puru is a very down to earth, patient and a guy with certain rules and is kind of suitable for vinnie as he gives a lot of attention to Vinnie, sometimes he flirts with Vinnie "its like i know how to be cool and trendy but i just don't like it". Presently both Vinnie and Puru's moms tell them to stay away from each other as Vinnie's mom feels that if doesn't want to marry Vinnie (actually Vinnie rejected him and he took the blame) then he is not supposed to roam around with her and Puru's parents are looking for a girl for him. At last he proposes Vinita.
Pammy
Pammy is a new student in Westwood. She has come from Ludhiana. She is very romantic, always flirts with Varun and has crush on him. She likes acting. Ela and Vinnie find her very irritating. she had played a major role to help Sanju and Varun to find stalker.
Cast [ edit ]
Main [ edit ]
Recurring [ edit ]
Abhilash Kumar as Rohan Sharma
Rohit Saraf as Sahil Mehta, Sanju's friend/stalker
Shravan Mehta as RGV Radhesham Govardan Vasudeva, Ela, Sanju & Vinnie's classmate
Imran Khan as Devashish Roy, Sanjana's father
Khushboo Purohit as Pammi, Sanju, Ela, Vinnie, Varun and Mac's classmate
Kishwar Merchant as Mandira Singh, Ela's Mother
Akash Maheshwari as Vinnie's Brother
Unknown as Sunny Roy, Sanjana's Brother
Unknown as Mr. Rigved, Westwood Professor
Megha Chatterjee as Prof. Anu Shukla, Varun's sister and Westwood professorIf nothing else, Insane Clown Posse‘s fans are devoted. It’s not uncommon to see members of the brood—commonly called “Juggalos”—with the Detroit rap duo’s hatchet-wielding logo tattooed on their skin. Last month, a group of Green Bay area Juggalos took that passion to blood-drinking, appendage-amputating levels during a “ritualistic memorial” for a fallen friend.
According to a WBAY report, a 24-year-old Suamico man named Jonathan Schrap was charged with mayhem and reckless injury after he chopped off a woman’s pinky finger, lacerated her arm, and drank her blood.
“‘Shelby [Neuens] had volunteered to let Jon [Schrap] drink her blood. Jon had taken a machete and made an approximate one inch laceration on her right side forearm. She was bleeding profusely… Jon filled up a shot glass with her blood and drank her blood. ‘Soon after, the group began talking about severing a finger. Again, Neuens volunteers, telling the men they could cut off her pinky. She stated that she was not using drugs or alcohol before this happened. Once again, Schrap grabbed the machete. ‘Jon’s second strike with the machete took the pinky clean off,’ says the criminal complaint. ‘All the way to the palm.’ ‘Jon then placed the finger in his freezer where he said he would cook it and eat it later,’ the complaint continues. ‘The group then attempted to stop the bleeding by using a car cigarette lighter which failed. They then used a blowtorch.'”
The WBAY report claims “Neuens was agitated and said she didn’t want anyone to be charged because the ritual was voluntary.”
Schrap’s preliminary hearing is later this month. It’ll be a miracle if he’s found innocent.For other uses of "Wookiee", see Wookie (disambiguation)
Wookiee Information Home world Kashyyyk Distinctions Brown, white, or black fur Language Shyriiwook, Xaczik
Wookiees () are fictional hirsute humanoids in the Star Wars universe. They come from the planet Kashyyyk and are taller and stronger than most humans. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewbacca, copilot of the Millennium Falcon alongside Han Solo.
Inspiration [ edit ]
According to an interview with creator George Lucas, the inspiration for the Wookiee was Lucas' dog, Indiana (whose name is used in the Lucas-inspired Indiana Jones movies). "He was the prototype for the Wookiee. He always sat beside me in the car. He was big, a big bear of a dog."[1] During the climactic chase scene in THX 1138, one of the robotic cops, voiced by actor Terry McGovern, improvises: "I think I ran over a Wookiee back there", and thus the word was born. Wookey was the surname of a friend of Terry's, Ralph Wookey, and Terry thought it would be a funny in-joke to include his friend's name in the soundtrack for THX-1138.[2][3]
In one episode of Animal Planet's series Animal Icons, focusing on the creation of Star Wars figures, it was revealed that the Wookiees were also based on orangutans and lemurs, which are long-haired creatures that live in a hot forest climate.[citation needed] The net effect in terms of the Wookiees' appearance is a marked resemblance to descriptions of the legendary Sasquatch of the Pacific Northwest.
Depiction [ edit ]
Physical characteristics [ edit ]
Adult Wookiees are typically taller than most humans, averaging 2.1 meters (6 feet 11 inches).[4] They possess enormous strength; Solo states that a Wookiee can pull a man's arms out of his sockets if angered or slighted, and in books and comics no humanoid species is shown to equal a Wookiee in pure strength. Wookiees have a keen sense of smell, are fully covered with a thick coat of hair, have good hand–eye coordination, and are shown to be excellent marksmen. Wookiees have been shown in many diverse environments, such as those of Hoth, Tatooine and Endor, never wearing any protective clothing or showing any signs of discomfort. Wookiees have a lifespan of several hundred years.[4]
Culture [ edit ]
Wookiees are devoted, loyal friends and are very distrustful of strangers.[4] Life debt is sacred to them.
Despite a fearsome appearance and temperamental disposition, Wookiees are very intelligent and are very adept at handling advanced technology. Chewbacca is co-pilot of and performs maintenance on the Millennium Falcon, and also possesses a working knowledge of robotics, managing to haphazardly reassemble C-3PO after he was destroyed by Imperial Stormtroopers in The Empire Strikes Back. Wookiees are fast learners; Chewbacca commandeers an Imperial AT-ST during the Battle of Endor and is shown effectively maneuvering the machine and operating its weapons systems.
Wookiees greatly value morality, courage, compassion, and loyalty. A sacred and ancient Wookiee tradition is that of the honor family. An honor family comprises a Wookiee's closest friends and companions. These family members pledge a commitment to lay down their lives for one another, as well as members of any honor families these individuals may have. Like the similarly sacred Wookiee life debt, Wookiees are willing to extend this tradition to members outside their species. Chewbacca considered Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, their children, and Luke Skywalker part of his honor family.[4]
Wookiees have an understanding of Star Wars– universe warfare and fought alongside Republic forces during the Clone Wars. Wookiees were betrayed and enslaved shortly after that conflict.
Some Wookiees are sensitive to the Force. One such Wookiee is Lowbacca, Chewbacca's nephew, from the book series Young Jedi Knights.
Some Wookiees are also prominent and successful bounty hunters, such as Black Krrsantan, due to their strength and ferocity.
Language [ edit ]
The Wookiee language is Shyriiwook. Wookiees are capable of understanding Galactic Basic, but generally none are able to speak it because of the structure of Wookiee vocal cords. In the original Star Wars trilogy, it seems that Chewbacca can understand humans. His human partner, Han Solo, also shows knowledge of Shyriiwook, or can at least understand Chewbacca; in Solo it is shown that Han does indeed have the ability to speak Shyriiwook at a rudimentary level. In the Star Wars expanded universe novels, Chewbacca builds a miniature translator droid ("Em Teedee") for his nephew Lowbacca when he later begins training as a Jedi, to facilitate communications with his fellow students.
Weapons [ edit ]
In the Star Wars films, Chewbacca carries a bowcaster, the traditional weapon developed and used by Wookiees. Bowcasters launch quarrels, which are crossbow bolts that through magnetic propulsion appear as elongated blaster bolts due to their velocity. The propulsion technique gives the quarrels extremely high stopping power. Chewbacca in particular is shown to be an excellent shot, killing a Stormtrooper who was attempting to escape on a speeder bike in "Return of the Jedi". The spring that powers the bowcaster is extremely hard to pull back; humans are generally incapable of cocking a bowcaster, although Han Solo was seen to do so.[5]
Home world [ edit ]
In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith the Wookiees live in the lush forests and giant jungles on the planet of Kashyyyk, where they originated. They live in villages among the giant wroshyr trees. George Lucas has said that he originally planned Yavin IV, home of the rebel base in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, to be the Wookiee home planet,[4] but subsequent rewrites changed this to Kashyyyk instead, and it was ultimately shown on screen as the setting for a battle in Episode III.[6] In the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Kashyyyk is one of the planets which may be traveled to. It shows the Wookiees' homes in the treetops while the ground level is filled with deadly creatures and mysteries. Kashyyyk first appeared onscreen in Star Wars Holiday Special.
Kashyyyk is a world enveloped in immense forests and beaches. Inland, the trees are so tall and dense that a layered ecosystem has evolved within its branches. The closer one gets to the forest floor, the more dangerous and primeval the environment becomes. Wookiees inhabit the upper levels of the forest, having built their massive cities within the interwoven canopy. The Wookiee city of Thikkiiana was one of the key manufacturers of sophisticated computer components in the New Republic.[4]
Notable Wookiees [ edit ]
Chewbacca [ edit ]
Chewbacca is the loyal friend and first mate of Han Solo, and serves as co-pilot on Solo's spaceship, the Millennium Falcon.[7]
Gungi [ edit ]
Gungi is a male Wookiee who is training to be a Jedi. Gungi appears in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Gungi was trained by Ahsoka Tano and was in the top of his class.[8]
Lowbacca [ edit ]
Lowbacca is a Jedi knight and the nephew of Chewbacca. He studied at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum and was a companion of Jaina Solo. He wielded a bronze-bladed lightsaber.[9]
Cultural impact [ edit ]
"Let the Wookiee win" (LTWW[10]) is a phrase from A New Hope. When Chewbacca is upset after losing a chess-like game against R2-D2, Han Solo says "It's not wise to upset a Wookiee. They're known to pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose".[11] In response C-3PO says "I suggest a new strategy R2: let the Wookiee win".[12][13] It has been interpreted to mean 'In trivial disputes, let the person who cares more have their way'.[12] It can also be interpreted as advice to avoid arguments, especially those with shallow motivation such as to appear more intelligent than one's opponent.[13] The phrase and the attitude it expresses have been criticized as potentially justifying the enabling of an abuser.[14]
References [ edit ]The last time we had Ski Lodge on our mind was when the NYC-based band dropped their debut Big Heart LP back in 2013. The album was dark but dreamy as it examined the dichotomy of opening yourself up and closing yourself off to life experiences. Today, the weather in New York is gloomy with non-stop rain on the forecast, and we honestly couldn't think of a more perfect time to premiere Ski Lodge's brand new single, "Heaven Is Now." The song is fresh off the band's upcoming EP to be released in 2016 on Old Flame Records. The track contains Ski Lodge's signature blend of indie pop, dream pop and 80’s new wave, but this time around, front-man Andrew Marr turns the darkness up a notch, even though the message within "Heaven Is Now" is anything but a damper.
"This song is pretty straightforward. It's about staying in the moment. It's about being with someone or in a situation where nothing matters but what's happening right in front of you and you're able to just take it all in," Marr said in an email. "Those moments are when I think people can experience joy, and they can be hard to come by. My brain is always spinning about things that have happened, what's happening elsewhere at that moment, or what's going to happen. On this new EP, I was able to go a few different directions musically and experiment with my sound a bit. I tried out some production techniques that I hadn't used on anything I've released in the past. I don't really know if, as a whole, it's headed in any specific direction musically, but I'm okay with that right now."
If you've been searching high and low for something reminiscent of a scene from your favorite '80s film, Ski Lodge is your best option. Turn back the clock, "taste the emotion," and tune in, below.Carlin’s 2016 FIA Formula Three European Championship season will resume this weekend at the infamous Norisring circuit with the team welcoming Will Buller into the fold. Buller already has experience with the team having raced and won with Carlin during the 2012 Formula Three season. Also back in action around the German circuit will be Pau Grand Prix winner Alessio Lorandi who looks to make his mark on another street venue. Joining him in the team will be Ryan Tveter who is returning to race in the car for the first time since an extremely scary accident with team mate Peter Li last time out at Red Bull Ring.
Following a tough weekend at the Red Bull Ring Carlin are pleased to welcome Tveter back in to his number three Volkswagen Dallara following the heavy impact between himself and Peter Li Zhi Cong’s Carlin car. While team mate Li Zhi Cong is currently back in his home country recovering from his injuries, Tveter, who escaped with a badly bruised knee, will be back racing once again this weekend after a few weeks of recuperation.
In place of Li Zhi Cong, Buller steps in for a one-off event having previously competed in the championship with Carlin. Buller has already experienced the challenges of the Norisring, when rather uniquely he stood to win the opening race of the weekend following the exclusion of the race leader; however ultimately no race winner was declared despite Buller becoming highest finisher in second place. Buller’s speed in the Volkswagen Dallara also saw him clinch two wins for Carlin in the F3 Euro Series and a further win in the GP3 Series over the course of his dual campaign 2012 season.
Buller said of joining the team at Norisring, “The whole Carlin team have been really great in welcoming me back into the fold. After racing in Japan for the last few seasons it’s a great opportunity for me to come back into Europe and I’m confident I can produce a strong performance as racing in Super Formula has really improved me as a driver. Trevor and I feel as though there is definitely some unfinished business at Norisring after not getting awarded the win in 2012. So I hope this weekend we can bring back some good memories and get on the top step!”
Trevor Carlin added, “First of all we send our very best wishes to Peter for his continued recovery. He’s very much missed within the team, but we’re very glad to see him recovering at home after a very scary accident. Will is a friend of the team and has experience of the FIA F3 car and Norising. With a gap in his SuperFormula commitments, we were delighted to offer him the opportunity to race with us this weekend. I’m sure Will, Alessio and Ryan will work well together.”
The weekend will get underway with two Friday morning practice sessions in short succession followed by two separate qualifying sessions later in the day. Saturday and Sunday will be the setting for three no doubt thrilling races as the fifth round in the 2016 season roars back in to action for the competitive young field.Seven months after Julie Christensen lost her political post in November, the former supervisor is hoping to land a new job to continue to serve the public.
But there was a catch: the position runs afoul of The City’s ethics laws.
Christensen, who Mayor Ed Lee appointed to the District 3 seat on the Board of Supervisors, applied with the Ethics Commission for waivers to serve as the executive director of the newly formed Dogpatch and Northwest Potrero Hill Green Benefit District. The community benefit district, which she voted to approve when on the board, captures property taxes in the area and invests them on area improvements like park space.
Local ethics laws require a “cooling off” period of one year when a board member exits office. During that one year, the person cannot be hired by an entity contracting with The City nor can that person communicate with board members or other city departments. The intent is to prevent undue influence.
But the law also allows for waivers.
Ethics Commission Executive Director LeeAnn Pelham recommended in a memo to the commission the denial of waivers related to communication, arguing this is meant to be strictly enforced, but approval of the waiver for employment based on previous waivers granted. However, Christensen pleaded her case successfully and the commission unanimously granted all the waivers Monday evening.
“Being able to take the position and not being able to communicate with The City basically renders me a non-candidate,” Christensen told the commission. “Why would they select someone who is muzzled for half a year just when they are trying to get off the ground?”
Commission Chair Paul Renne said he was “reluctant to grant waivers” and that the rules are in place to prevent “an elected official, walking out of office and the next day advocating their colleagues for something.”
But commissioner Peter Keane countered that he was “convinced“ Christensen should get the waivers. Keane argued that Christensen’s situation was far different than if one would ““become a lobbyist, work for developers, be involved in all sorts of big money deals and be able to use their influence”
The commission had to determine that in waiving the restrictions there is no “potential for undue influence or unfair advantage” and if the restriction “would cause extreme hardship for the individual” by considering such things as other efforts to find employment and if the restriction creates a “financial hardship” for Christensen.
Christensen, a product appearance consultant for companies like KitchenAid and Whirlpool, was unseated from the Board of Supervisors in the November election by Aaron Peskin, who held the seat previously between 2001 and 2009. She had served for 11 months.
In making her case for financial hardship, Christensen said in her letter to the Ethics Commission that in accepting the board appointment “I had to close my design practice and lost significant opportunities as a result.”
“Because of regime and staffing changes by my two major clients while I was serving on the board, I am unable to regain work with those key companies,” she said in her letter.
Christensen also said that she made a choice when accepting the appointment to “redirect my career focus to the public sector.”
Click here or scroll down to commentPolitifact rates North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory's Claims 'False'
Governor Pat McCrory this week denounced what he claimed is a "very well-coordinated campaign" against his anti-LGBT bill, HB2. He accuses LGBT and civil rights groups of "distorting the truth," and "frankly smearing our state in an inaccurate way and which I'm working to correct." (See video above.)
"I hope the media starts putting out more accurate information on the facts between a basic common sense bill which allows businesses to determine their own restroom and shower and locker room facilities, not government," the North Carolina Republican urged.
"I frankly think some of the media has failed miserably in communicating the clear facts, especially the national media with the New York Times and the Washington Post and the Huffington Post," McCrory attacked. "And we're trying to clarify that [sic] facts, and I hope you put out the accurate information about the true facts of a common sense ordinance."
Stunningly, McCrory once again insisted - lied - claiming HB2 has "not taken away any rights that currently existed in any city in North Carolina."
"Every city and every corporation has the exact same discrimination policy this week as they had two weeks ago," he said.
Be careful what you ask for, Governor.
Politifact, the non-partisan Pulitzer Prize winning arm of the Tampa Bay Times took Gov. McCrory up on his wish. It didn't turn out well for him.
"Pat McCrory is wrong when he says North Carolina's new LGBT law doesn't take away existing rights," the Politifact fact-checkers reported Wednesday afternoon.
"HB2 specifically says that local governments do not have the right to put [nondiscrimination] requirements on contractors," Politifact says, adding, "it also took away a right that had previously been available to residents of any and every city in the state - the ability to file a state lawsuit over discriminatory firing."
"This is a seismic issue," Eric Doggett, a Raleigh, NC employment discrimination lawyer told Politifact. "It's huge. It's a massive loss of rights, and it happened with almost no debate."
Another employment discrimination attorney, Laura Noble, said, "I won't refer to this as a 'bathroom bill' because that's really not what it's about." Noble says the law is "about the elimination of discrimination protections."
Politifact concludes HB2 "took away the rights of cities to put certain anti-discrimination requirements on private contractors, and it nullified existing policies like in Carrboro and Raleigh. It might have also taken away the rights of cities and counties to pass their own in-house anti-discrimination policies, depending on which lawyer you ask."
They add that HB2 "takes away the right of everyone in North Carolina to file a state-level lawsuit alleging a discriminatory firing, according to attorneys who represent both employers and employees in those cases."
"But even if you discount the discrimination lawsuit changes and only focus on municipal government powers and rights, McCrory is still wrong," Politifact charges.
"We rate this claim False."
EARLIER:
3 States And Several Large Cities Now Banning Publicly-Funded Travel To North Carolina Over LGBT Law
Over 80 Top CEOs, Business Leaders Urge North Carolina Gov. McCrory to Repeal Anti-LGBT Law
North Carolina Attorney General: I Will Not Defend Gov. McCrory's 'Unconstitutional' Anti-LGBT Law
Video and Screenshot: Charlotte Observer. Transcript: Talking Points Memo
See a mistake? Email corrections to: [email protected]Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in July 2014. The airline was shot out of the sky with 298 people on board over eastern Ukraine. The Dutch Safety Board released its report on Oct. 13; a number of questions remain. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)
MOSCOW — A Russian-developed Buk missile detonated less than a yard away from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17's cockpit, causing the plane to break up over eastern Ukraine so quickly that it is likely the nearly 300 people aboard "were barely able to comprehend the situation" before they perished, Dutch investigators said Tuesday.
The long-awaited findings by the Dutch Safety Board offered a chilling account of the devastation aboard the Kuala Lumpur-bound airliner that was blown out of the sky over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. The report marks the latest stage of evidence gathering as investigators try to sort out what happened to the plane, whose flight path took it directly over the war-torn region.
[How investigators tackled the mystery of Flight 17]
But the findings left unresolved the central question of responsibility, which became even murkier this week with conflicting reports from the missile's manufacturer. The report also did not specify what generation of missile brought down the plane. The Buk surface-to-air missile system, first developed in early 1970s by the Soviet Union, is part of the Russian arsenal and is a complicated air defense weapon designed to locate and engage targets by radar. While older versions are no longer in use by the Russians, various types of Buk systems are used by Ukraine and some other former Soviet republics.
"A 9n314m warhead detonated outside the airplane to the left side of the cockpit. This fits the kind of warhead installed in the Buk surface-to-air missile system,” said Safety Board head Tjibbe Joustra. An animated reconstruction of the impact released by the board detailed how the missile can travel at three times the speed of sound and detonate via proximity fuse; about 800 "pre-formed fragments" struck the jet.
"This impact, combined with the blast of the explosion, causes the cockpit and the business class section to separate," the video notes. "As it descends, the airplane disintegrates."
The report added that "it cannot be ruled out that some occupants remained conscious” during the 60 to 90 seconds before the debris spilled across the Ukrainian countryside, including a field of sunflowers in full bloom. But there was no evidence of "any conscious actions” such as text messages or calls from mobile phones.
[Obama says Malaysian plane shot down by missile from rebel-held part of Ukraine]
In its announcement, the board also noted that Ukraine should have closed off its airspace to civilian planes. It said the Boeing 777, carrying 298 people, should not have been flying over a war zone between Ukrainian forces and separatists backed by Moscow after departing from Amsterdam. But about 160 planes crossed the area of eastern Ukraine the day the flight was shot down.
The Dutch-led probe is not over. A separate criminal investigation is underway, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte asked Russia for "complete cooperation."
An international team of prosecutors looking into the downing said it had identified “persons of interest” but gave no further details, the Reuters news agency reported. A White House statement called the Dutch report an "important milestone in the effort to hold accountable those responsible."
Western officials and experts blamed separatist forces, who they said were being aided by the Russian military. Russia responded by pointing the finger at the West, saying that Ukraine's army may have shot down the plane and that Ukraine's government was complicit in the passengers' deaths for allowing a jetliner to fly through a war zone.
National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said Washington's assessment remains unaltered. “MH-17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine,” he said.
But disputes immediately flared, suggesting Moscow could dig in.
Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, was quoted by Russian media as dismissing the report as "biased" and the result of unspecified "political orders" to reach a conclusion. Dutch experts identified an area from where the missile was fired — a span of about 123 square miles that was believed mostly held by Moscow-backed rebels at the time.
The Dutch Safety Board report discredits at least one Russian theory: that the passenger plane was shot down by a Ukrainian air force jet. But both the Russian and Ukrainian armies have Buk missile systems, and Russian officials can and probably will continue to argue that the Ukrainian army was behind the attack on the plane.
In an effort to buttress that argument, the Russian weapons manufacturer Almaz-Antey destroyed a decommissioned airliner using a Buk missile in a controlled experiment. The goal of the experiment was to show that only the antiquated version of the Buk missile used by Ukraine, and not the modern version used by the Russian military, could have caused the damage done to MH17.
Nick de Larrinaga, Europe editor for IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly, questioned the assertion by the company that Russia no longer operates the missile variant that carries the warhead cited in the report.
“This is not borne out by the evidence, which shows they remained in Russian service and in Russian military stockpiles at the time of the shoot down,” he said in a statement.
1 of 36 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × What the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash site looked like View Photos Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 298 people fell in a field in Ukraine. Caption Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 298 people fell in a field in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 takes off at 12.31 PM from Schiphol Airport. Fred Neeleman/European Pressphoto Agency Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
"The results of our experiment contradict the Dutch report," said Yan Novikov, general director of the company, at Almaz-Antey's Tuesday conference. "It can now be clearly said that if a rocket was used it was a Buk 9M38, not a Buk 9M38M1, fired from the area of Zaroshchenske."
Tuesday's report is the first official finding by Dutch investigators since they announced that MH17 had been penetrated by "a large number of high-energy objects,” indicating shrapnel from a missile, in September 2014. A Dutch broadcaster, NOS, citing a Ukrainian official earlier attached to the investigation, said that pieces of shrapnel from a Buk missile had been found in the bodies of the passengers (English translation here).
According to Alexander Pustovit, a resident of Donetsk who traveled to the scene the day after the crash, bodies were strewn everywhere, and it took 10 minutes to drive through the debris field.
"It was like a crime scene but nobody cared," Pustovit said. "There were bodies everywhere but no one was around."
The Dutch Safety Board's goal was to answer what, and not who, caused the crash. It was also charged with answering why civilian planes were flying over the conflict area, where separatist forces had brought down more than a dozen Ukrainian aircraft and helicopters in the weeks before the MH17 crash.
A Dutch police investigation has released an appeal for witnesses who saw a Buk missile system being hauled on a trailer in separatist-held Ukraine shortly before and after the attack on MH17. The video said that a missile fired from separatist-held territory was the "main version of the investigation," although others are being considered.
Almost from the outset, Dutch investigators suspected that either a missile or an internal explosion caused MH17 to shatter and fall to the earth in pieces. Airliners simply don't fall apart once they have reached a comfortable cruising altitude.
Once the human remains were removed, investigators zeroed in on the thin aluminum skin of the aircraft, looking for tell-tale signs that it had been peppered with shrapnel from a missile designed to explode in close proximity to an airplane.
Suspicions that a missile was the culprit were boosted after rebels delayed and hindered investigators' access to the debris field.
The video's version of events relied heavily on two sources: open-source imagery of a Buk system in separatist-held Ukraine, much of which has been compiled here by the amateur investigative Web site Bellingcat, and audio from tapped telephone conversations between separatist fighters released by the Ukrainian government. The Russian government television station RT (formerly Russia Today) released reports last week attacking Bellingcat and the open-source evidence that separatist forces had a Buk missile system.
Dutch investigators face one other hurdle: finding a venue to bring the accused to justice. In July, Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have established an international criminal tribunal to investigate the MH17 attack. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said his country vetoed the resolution because it was politically motivated. Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine may set up an independent tribunal instead, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said last month.
Murphy and Gibbons-Neff reported from Washington. Ashley Halsey III in Washington contributed to this report.
Read more:
The evidence that may prove pro-Russian separatists shot down MH17
Russians have many theories about the MH17 crash. One involves fake dead people.
New poll finds many Russians believe Ukraine shot down MH17Sexual incompatibility happens in long-term relationships.
And yet, we act like it shouldn’t. We act like it’s not normal.
The time it most notably happens is when a couple has children. It’s the symptom of having babies that you think can’t happen to you. You think you won’t be like those ‘other couples’ that don’t have sex anymore.
Generally speaking, doctors will tell new moms they can jump in the sack six weeks after having a baby. Which is great, some women have uncomplicated births and they can do that if they wish or desire.
However, there are many of us (present company included), that had challenging deliveries. Complications may include, but are not limited to: episiotomies, c-sections, preeclampsia, postpartum uterine bleeding, etc. Some of these complications can really cause a great deal of trauma, physically and emotionally short and long-term.
With my first child, I felt ready to try having sex with my husband at around 3-months postpartum. I remember it hurting, and having to tell my husband to stop in the middle of it. It felt like my insides, up to my esophagus, were still quite literally ripped to shreds.
I remember thinking—I feel like Humpty Dumpty, will I ever be put back together again?
My husband respected my wish, but was visibly disappointed. He’d spout off the old worn out psycho-babble—we should just do it anyway. You’ll get in the mood.
I didn’t. Ever. Get in the mood.
Despite our dwindling sex life, I got pregnant with our second child, pretty quickly after delivering my first child.
I was extremely sick the first trimester (thank you morning, noon, and night sickness). And I was very tired from taking care of a one-year old.
When our second kid was born, it was like I’m not even interested in sex – BYE.
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start at middle linebacker.
Follow @LeviDamienConsider the abacus. Developed perhaps as long as 4,500 years ago, this handy gadget served the mathematical needs of merchants and accountants until the development of mechanical calculating machines in the 19th century. But the abacus hasn't been forgotten. Instead it still lives on in niches -- for instance teaching preschoolers the basics of counting.
There are a number of obsolete technologies and gadgets that have persisted from slightly less ancient times right down to the current day, though again in greatly diminished numbers and scope. A brief tour through these technological fossils serves as a lesson on the durability of items we sometimes think of as ephemeral.
[ 20 iconic tech sounds bound for extinction ]
Plugboards still plugging along
Image from ArnoldReinhold/Wikipedia You wimps with your IDEs don't know what it's like to program with wires
The world of retro computer geeks was thrown into a tizzy a couple of years ago with the report of an IBM 402, a model first introduced in 1948, still in use in the wild. Sparkler Filters, a Texas company that has manufactured water filtration equipment since 1928, still uses one of these punchcard machines for its accounting, and not even a delegation from a hobbyist group could convince them to give it to a museum and replace it with a modern computer.
In a strict sense, an IBM 402 isn't even a computer -- it's a tabulating machine, "programmed" by arranging wires on a plugboard. Some of the operations it can perform have analogies in modern database operations (the Wikipedia article on the subject is a good introduction). They were quite reliable, and if you only need one to do one task, and it still works, then why replace it? That seems to be the attitude at Sparkler Filters, at any rate.
Sparkler Filters seems to extend this philosophy to other aspects of its tech as well; for instance, its Web page appears to have not been redesigned since 1998.Fyvie has eight Scotland Under-21 caps
Hibernian have signed Fraser Fyvie until the end of the season after he was released from his Wigan contract.
The 21-year-old moved to Wigan from Aberdeen in 2012 but featured rarely for the Latics and had loan spells at Yeovil and Shrewsbury last season.
Fyvie made over 60 appearances after making his Dons debut in 2009 and has been capped for Scotland up to Under-21 level.
"I'm really pleased to sign for Hibs," Fyvie told the Hibs website.
"As soon as I heard about the opportunity it excited me.
"I was keen to head back up to Scotland and Hibs are a club going in the right direction, so everything about this move made sense.
"My first goal will be to earn a place in the starting line-up and then I want to help Hibs to achieve promotion.
"I can't wait to get started here at Hibs and I've been really impressed with the manager's vision for the future."
Manager Alan Stubbs added: "We're absolutely delighted to be able to add Fraser to the squad - he is a young player with tremendous quality and potential.
"It's a great opportunity for Fraser and we're delighted to give him an opportunity to be a part of what we're trying to achieve here at Hibernian.
"His arrival underlines our ambitions to kick on; it strengthens our squad and adds extra competition for places which will enable us to finish the season as strong as possible.
"Overall I'm delighted with the business we've managed to complete during the January transfer window and Fraser's arrival is another signing that I believe will excite our fans."Last week, Remedy has announced that it has begun work to convert the Northlight Engine (engine used for Quantum Break) on PlayStation 4 and this has now given way to a series of speculations about the future projects of the company, rumor that the studio has wanted to clarify answering some messages on Twitter.
As we reported a few days ago, Sam Lake and partners are working on P7, a codename for a new multi-platform game for which now we have almost no information. The last tweet of the Finnish software house seem to have at least answered a question far from trivial: Will P7 be a new IP?
According to the tweet by the company, Remedy claims not to be working on Alan Wake 2: “We have been really upfront about whats up with AW2. Hope to make it one day if possible, but for now it’s CF2 and P7.” So, P7 is not Alan Wake 2, although the studio has not given further details about the nature of this mysterious IP.
And as for Max Payne? Again, Remedy responds in a clear and concise way: “Rockstar Games owns Max Payne so the future is up to them.”
In recent weeks, the company has also clarified that it is not working to bring Quantum Break on PlayStation 4.
@MrXBob @deviance23 We have been really upfront about whats up with AW2. Hope to make it one day if possible, but for now it’s CF2 and P7. — Remedy Entertainment (@remedygames) April 11, 2017All 46 Indian women nurses seized by Sunni insurgents in Iraq were freed Friday and will fly to Kerala Saturday morning, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced.
The chief minister said in a telephonic interview from New Delhi that he will be in Kochi to receive the nurses Saturday when they return in a special Air India flight.
The nurses, all from Kerala, are safe, official sources said.
Chandy told IANS that the nurses were being taken in a bus from Mosul, which they reached Thursday evening from Tikrit, to Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan.
"An Air India plane will leave Delhi Friday evening to Erbil to fetch them back," the chief minister said.
"There will be one official each from the Kerala and central governments on the plane," he said. "The nurses will board the flight at Erbil and the plane will reach Kochi at 7 a.m. tomorrow."
One nurse in the bus sent an SMS to IANS promising to call soon.
The development triggered a wave of joy in Kerala, where nursing is a major profession and whose nurses serve in hospitals all across India and in many countries.
The family of one of the nurses added that all of them were on their way from Mosul to Erbil, 60 km away.
A group of Keralites and Indian embassy officials from Baghdad were at the border of Kurdistan to receive the nurses, an official source told IANS.
"They have to cross three or four checkposts at the Kurdistan border," the official added. "Our people are there at the final checkpost."
The chief minister, who has been camping in New Delhi since the crisis erupted, said the latest development took place due to the efforts of the Kerala and the central governments.
He had earlier met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and expressed confidence that the nurses would return to Kerala soon.
"A high-level crisis management group under the leadership of Sushma Swaraj has been formed. It will be doing everything to see that the nurses are brought back safely," he said.
Chandy requested the media not to go overboard while reporting the crisis.
The 46 nurses were put on a bus from Tikrit Thursday afternoon by armed militants and driven to Mosul.
Their shifting caused panic, with some reports suggesting that the nurses would be forced by the Sunni insurgents to work in hospitals controlled by them in Mosul, their stronghold.
But the situation changed dramatically Friday morning when the militants, after serving breakfast, allowed them to speak over the telephone to their families in Kerala.
It was the first definitive indication that the nurses were set to taste freedom.Buy Photo A body camera used by the Lowell Police Department in west Michigan (Photo: Jessica Trevino/Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo
The issue of requiring police officers to wear body cameras, which is getting increased attention in light of several high profile deaths of African-American males at the hands of police officers across the nation, landed before the Legislature Monday.
But the policy discussion wasn't about state funds available for body cameras or mandating the use of the new technology. The first bill up for discussion before the House Judiciary Committee is one that would exempt some body-cam footage from release under the state's Freedom of Information laws.
The bill has created some unlikely allies. State Rep. Jim Runestad, the sponsor of the bill and a conservative Republican from White Lake, and Shelli Weisberg, legislative liaison for the ACLU of Michigan, both testified in support of the legislation.
"Studies have shown that body-worn cameras improve public service as well as the conduct between officers and citizens," Runestad said, noting that citizens should continue to have a presumption of privacy in their own homes. "But surveillance technology should not be deployed without careful consideration."
While the ACLU in general has a dim view of the use of surveillance cameras, "Body cameras have the potential to serve as a check on people in power and protect police against false accusations," Weisberg said.
"But the challenge for body worn cameras is the potential to invade privacy," she added. "They must be deployed so they protect the public without becoming a tool for routine surveillance of citizens."
The legislation would exempt some of the body-cam footage from Freedom of Information laws and require police departments to retain the footage for 30 days, unless it's part of a criminal investigation. In those cases, the video would have to be saved for at least three years.
The only people who could get the footage, which was taken in a private place or residence, would be: the person who is the subject of the video, their parent or legal guardian; or someone who had their property seized.
There is mixed support and opposition to the bill from different police organizations. But both the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and the Michigan Press Association oppose the bill – HB 4234 – noting that current Freedom of Information laws already cover the release of public and non-public records.
"Digital media is the next great front that all of us have to figure out," said Karole White, president and CEO of the Broadcasters association. "We have no problem with body cameras, but most of what's in this bill is already in FOIA."
Lisa McGraw, spokeswoman for the press association, said she has concerns about the language in the bill regarding how long departments need to hang on to the footage.
"How does this affect civil cases against police departments," she said. "This is a huge, big issue that they need to take some time to really look at."
Both the Detroit Police Department and Michigan State Police are testing body cameras on a small number of officers.
DPD has been testing body cameras for officers for the last year. The first no-cost pilot that was used on 20 police officers and paid for by TASER International. The department is in the midst of a second, 90-day testing period.
MSP is also in the middle of testing about two dozen body cameras on some Capitol security officers and troopers in southeast Michigan. They won't make a determination on whether to deploy the cameras department-wide until the testing period is over, said Tiffany Brown, MSP spokeswoman.
"In general, the MSP is supportive of body cameras being worn as they increase transparency and help protect both law enforcement officers and citizens," she said. " However, as with any technology, there are areas that we need to explore further such as the cost to purchase large quantities of body cameras, maintenance fees, storage expenses, and policies."
The Oakland County Sheriff's Department is meeting with WatchGuard Technologies, the Seattle company that provides the department with in-car video cameras, to talk about testing a small number of body cameras for deputies. Cost could be a prohibitive factor, said Undersheriff Mike McCabe, though, with a price tag of up to $1.6 million to equip the department.
State Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Township and chairman of the Judiciary committee, said it's an important topic for debate, especially with the emerging technology and in light of the recent shooting death of Walter Scott in South Carolina, where the officer involved has been charged with murder after a bystander's video became public.
He doesn't have a time line for when a vote on the bill might take place.
There also is legislation that was introduced by Rep. Rose Mary Robinson, D-Detroit, that would mandate that police officers wear body cameras. A hearing on that bill has not been scheduled.
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1yrTTZPSirenum Fossae perspective view
Fracture swarms on Mars
These striking features on Mars were caused by the planet’s crust stretching apart in response to ancient volcanic activity.
Sirenum Fossae in context The fractures in the Sirenum Fossae region in the southern hemisphere were imaged by ESA’s Mars Express in March. They extend for thousands of kilometres in length, far beyond the boundaries of this image. The fractures divide the crust into blocks: the movement along a pair of faults causes the centre section to drop down into ‘graben’ several kilometres wide and a few hundred metres deep. Elevated blocks of crust remain between the graben when there is a parallel series of fault, as seen in this scene. The Sirenum Fossae are part of a larger radial fracture pattern around the Arsia Mons volcano in the Tharsis region, which is situated some 1800 km to the northeast.
Tharsis is the largest volcanic province on Mars, its far-reaching fracture system testament to the powerful influence this impressive volcanic province had on the planet.
Sirenum Fossae fractures Indeed, the Sirenum Fossae fracture system seen here is thought to be associated with tectonic stresses arising from ancient volcanic activity in the Tharsis region. For example, the graben could either be caused by the planet’s crust stretching apart as a magma chamber bulges the crust above it, or alternatively as the crust collapsed along lines of weakness as the magma chamber emptied. It is also possible that each graben was associated with an ancient volcanic dike: a steep corridor within the rock along which magma from the interior of Mars once propagated upwards, causing cracking along the surface. In this case the graben could represent a giant ‘dike swarm’ extending from the volcanic centre. Dike swarms are also seen on Earth, as in Iceland where they are observed with surface fractures and graben sets in the Krafla fissure swarm.
Sirenum Fossae topography As with any geological feature that cuts into the surface of the planet, the graben systems make for a good window into the subsurface. They also provide steep surfaces for active processes occurring in more recent times. For example, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter identified gullies on some of the steep slopes in Sirenum Fossae, along troughs and in the rims of impact craters. What material carves out the small channels is a topic of active research: they were initially thought to be related to flowing water, but recent proposals suggest that seasonal frozen carbon dioxide – dry ice – flowing downslope may be responsible.
Sirenum Fossae in 3DORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears (17-9-3-0) jumped back into first place in the ECHL’s South Division after Ryan Massa set a club record with 57 saves and Orlando held on for a thrilling 4-2 victory over the Florida Everblades (17-6-1-2) in a Wawa Sunshine Cup Series game on Thursday night at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center.
Click here for the box score.
Chase Witala retrieved the puck from behind the Florida net and dished the puck into the slot for Joe Perry to fire past the glove of Anthony Peters at 14:03 of the first period to give the Solar Bears the lead.
In the second period Perry netted his second of the game when Brett Findlay raced down a loose puck at the left circle and cut behind the net before sending it across the slot to Perry, who snapped it past the stick of Peters at 1:48.
Nikolas Brouillard made it 3-0 after Patrick Watling made his way into the attacking zone and flipped a pass back to the defenseman, who buried a wrist shot through the pads of Peters at 8:11.
The Everblades got on the board with a power-play goal from Brant Harris, who roofed a backhand shot above the glove of Ryan Massa at 17:23.
Harris made the game close with another power-play marker at 16:19 of the third period, but Eric Faille sealed the victory for Orlando with an empty-net tally at 19:17
Massa picked up the win with 57 saves on a club record 59 shots against, breaking the previous record of 53 held by Garret Sparks set on March 14, 2015 in Orlando’s 10-3 win at Evansville; Peters took the loss with 34 stops on 37 shots against.Editor’s Note: We’re pleased to introduce long-time Marlies writer Mark Rackham, who will be on the AHL beat for MLHS. Follow him on twitter at @MarkUKLeaf and check out his past stuff at UK Hockey Fan.
Just two games this week, but plenty of news and spectacular happenings on the ice.
There were two games on the rock for the Marlies against a St. John’s team that is now the affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. The jersey and location may have changed for the Habs farm team, but the old rivalry is alive and kicking between these two teams
We’ll begin Friday evening, where Toronto dominated when they were on their game but sadly it was too sporadic for them to pick up the full two points. The IceCaps took the lead against the run of play late in the second period and doubled up early in the third.
Mark Arcobello inspired the comeback, first setting up Casey Bailey for a tap in, before firing home on the power play himself. Both Sparks and Fucale were kept busy through the remainder of regulation, but it was off to overtime once again for Toronto. For the first time this season they would lose in extra hockey, with Christian Thomas ripping his effort from the left circle past Sparks to secure the second point for St. John’s.
Those who witnessed Saturday’s game will never forget it. Both teams played very average defense and some of the goaltending on offer was of a poorer standard than said defense.
Toronto allowed the opening goal once again, early in the first period but bounced back to score three straight, with markers from Brennan, Arcobello and Soshnikov to lead 3-1 after twenty minutes.
The IceCaps would then tally three goals in eleven second period minutes to re-take the lead.
The Marlies responded through Hyman to tie the game at 4-4. The home team weren’t finished as they tallied twice more for five goals in the period and held a 6-4 lead after forty minutes. That advantage was extended to 8-4 just 47 seconds into the final frame of regulation as St. John’s scored twice in six seconds.
Bibeau was replaced by Sparks and an Arcobello tally at 2:39 began the come back. A double blast from Leivo and a second of the season from Carrick meant we had a 8-8 tie with still over five minutes remaining, and it was the IceCaps turn to switch goaltenders.
The game would go to overtime again, and Nylander was the hero with a fantastic snipe after coming out from behind the net. For a fuller round-up of the craziest game I’ve ever witnessed, check out my post game here.
Despite what you might have read elsewhere, this was not the highest-scoring game in the history of the AHL.
That in fact was set in 1945 when Cleveland Barons defeated Pittsburgh Hornets by a score of 12-10.
A record was equalled however, for the highest-scoring regulation tie: 8-8 through 60 minutes (information provided by AHL Communications).
A three point weekend against a divisional rival on the road isn’t the worst possible result, especially when you consider that Toronto were trailing for the majority of both games and were far from the level they are capable of.
The standard of play won’t please Sheldon Keefe and there will be much to work on.
The point streak now sits at seven games and a record of 5-0-1-0 on this November road-trip which finishes this Wednesday in Rochester.
Toronto are four points clear at the top of the North Division, although having played more games than nearest rivals Albany and Syracuse. As far as the conference goes, the Marlies sit second with a 0.767 points percentage, only behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins whose PCT is 0.923 having won eleven straight games.
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William Nylander led the way with five points (1G/4A) this weekend and was the leading scorer in the American Hockey League come the end of the game. Nineteen points in 14 games for Nylander, as of Monday, has him tied with Nick Cousins for first in the AHL in points per game at 1.36. At age 19.
Mark Arcobello added three goals and a helper to his account. The Connecticut native has tallied in each of his six Marlies starts and has ten points to his name (6G/4A).
Richard Panik was benched late in Friday’s game and hasn’t been finding the net much this season, but he’s been a crucial cog alongside Nylander. Panik is third in the league for assists with eleven through 13 games, after helping himself to three helpers on Saturday evening.
Josh Leivo propelled himself to second in Marlies scoring with a pair of goals and assists on Saturday. Eleven of Leivo’s fourteen points have come at even strength.
The power play fired this weekend, with three goals on eight attempts, but the usually reliable penalty kill gave up two goals on six attempted kills.
In injury news, Petter Granberg is now engaged in full practise and has been cleared to hit.
Kasperi Kapanen did not make the journey with what is described as a lower back problem, bumps and bruises.
James Martin came in for Captain Andrew Campbell, who didn’t play this week with a lower body injury. Zach Bell was recalled as cover on the blue line.
Antoine Bibeau returned from the Leafs and looked stale in the Saturday night game. Bibeau getting pulled from the game was the first time that’s happened in a Marlies game this season.
Rob Madore was sent back to Orlando and was outstanding in the Solar Bears victory on the same Saturday evening.
Upcoming Games
The Toronto Marlies announced Thursday that their home game versus the Manitoba Moose on Sunday, December 6 will now take place at Air Canada Centre. Puck drop remains unchanged and will be at 3 p.m EST, with the game broadcast on Leafs TV.
The divisional match-ups continue this week with an away and home against the Rochester Americans and then Toronto will welcome Binghamton to Ricoh on Sunday afternoon.
It will be the first time this season Toronto have played these teams at home. The Marlies will be looking to replicate recent success, having beaten Rochester 8-2 in their only meeting this season and defeating Binghamton 6-1 in the last encounter.
Wed, Nov 18, 2015 – Toronto @ Rochester, 7:05 pm EST
Sat, Nov 21, 2015 – Rochester @ Toronto, 5:00 pm EST
Sun, Nov 22, 2015 – Binghamton @ Toronto, 3:00 pm EST
Toronto Marlies Player StatsAnother woman has come forward to accuse comedian Bill Cosby of rape.
Joan Tarshis, a publicist and former actress, came forward with her story in an article for the site Hollywood Elsewhere on Sunday. In the article, Tarshis claims Cosby raped her twice in 1969 when she was just 19 years old. (Cosby accuser Barbara Bowman, who wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post last week, was also allegedly raped by the comedian when she was a teenager in the late 1980's.)
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Tarshis said she was an aspiring writer in 1969, when she flew to Los Angeles from New York to write for stand-up comedian Godfrey Cambridge. It was there that she met Bill Cosby, who was already a famous television star from The Bill Cosby Show. Cosby took a liking to her and invited her out several times, giving her the nickname "Midget" and introducing her to movie star Sidney Poitier. Tarshis said Cosby was "generous" with food and drinks, always topping her Bloody Mary off with a beer (a special drink he called a "redeye").
In her account on Hollywood Elsewhere, Tarshis described the first of two times she says she was sexually assaulted by the comedian:
"One day he asked me to stay after the shooting and work on some material with him. I was even more flattered and thought this would help move my writing career along. In his bungalow he made me a redeye, and I began to tell him about the earthquake Los Angeles had just had and the sound it made. He liked my ideas for an earthquake bit. "The next thing I remember was coming to on his couch while being undressed. Through the haze I thought I was being clever when I told him I had an infection and he would catch it and his wife would know he had sex with someone. But he just found another orifice to use. I was sickened by what was happening to me and shocked that this man I had idolized was now raping me. Of course I told no one.
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Tarshis then described a second time she was raped by Cosby. She said left Los Angeles and went back home to stay with her parents. Her mother was starstruck, beaming with pride that her daughter had worked with someone like Cosby, making it almost impossible to tell her mother just what had happened.
One day, Cosby called her home and told her mother he wanted to invite her to theater performance.
"I was repulsed by the thought of seeing him again, but I saw no way out," Tarshis wrote. "I couldn't tell my mother what he had done. Or what I had let happen, feeling the guilt that rape victims often feel."
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Feeling pressured and with no way to explain to her mother why she wouldn't want to go with the famous actor, Tarshis agreed to meet Cosby again.
He sent a limo to pick me up and I was dropped off at the Sherry Netherland Hotel and went up to his suite. I remember noticing that his leather shaving kit was filled with bottles of pills, and thinking that this seemed odd. He was, of course, very friendly and I, of course, was very uncomfortable. He made me a redeye, and I, being nervous and dealing at the time with an alcohol problem (I've been in recovery since 1988), drank it. In the car I had something else to drink, but was already beginning to feel a bit stoned. When we got to Westbury and he went on, there was no seat for me. I stood in the back of the theater with his chauffeur, feeling insulted that I wasn't respected enough to be given a reserved seat. But soon after, I remember feeling very, very stoned and asking his chauffeur to take me back to the car. I was having trouble standing up. The next thing I remember was waking up in his bed back at the Sherry, naked. I remember thinking 'You old shit, I guess you got me this time, but it's the last time you'll ever see me.'
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It took more than 20 years for Tarshis to come forward with her story. "During those years as I grew into adulthood, I watched Cosby be praised by everyone from Presidents to Oprah to the Jello Corporation," she said. "It all made me ill, knowing first-hand there was something unbalanced about him."
So far Cosby has refused to address the multiple allegations of rape by several women. On Sunday, his lawyer issued a statement saying the comedian would not discuss the claims any further.
Tarshis said with more and more victims coming forward with the same or similar stories "the time is right to join them."
Advertisement"Our Android program is co-created with Google," says Ishan Gupta, managing director of Udacity India. The company didn't change the content of its courses for India, he says, but it was important to understand the motivations of Indian students. "What is it people look for in education?" asked Gupta. "In the U.S. it might be learning, then jobs. In India it's mostly jobs." And while the Indian economy is growing fast, pricing had to be different in a market where incomes are far lower.
Houzz had to learn that when it comes to home decorating, words can mean different things. "Beach" style in the United States is "coastal" in India. "Traditional" furniture is in traditional Indian style — quite different from the American version. But the "general contractors" label in the United States will be "civil engineers and contractors" on the India site. It turns out many Indian contractors have engineering degrees and are hired based on their academic qualifications.
Both Houzz and Udacity have been attracted to India by the size of the consumer market and its potential. As companies with billion-dollar valuations, they have been able to raise all the money they want in the U.S. market. Udacity has raised $163 million in four venture capital rounds. Ezetap's founders moved to India to launch their company after careers in the United States and have also raised their funding from U.S.-based VCs.
But India has its own expanding venture capital market. Venture Intelligence, which tracks VC investments in India of $20 million or less, reported that Indian VCs made 405 such deals involving $1.4 billion last year, still a small fraction of the $69 billion of VC invested in the United States in 2016.
But as Ezetap's Bose points out, the market in India is relatively young. "Everything is maturing," he says. "Everybody is in their teenage years."
— By Joel Dreyfuss, special to CNBC.comChief Justice Roberts said it was not clear that the independent commission in Arizona was above partisanship. In any event, he said, the Constitution settled the question presented in the case.
“Like most provisions of the Constitution, the elections clause reflected a compromise — a pragmatic recognition that the grand project of forging a union required everyone to accept some things they did not like,” he wrote. “This court has no power to upset such a compromise simply because we now think that it should have been struck differently.”
Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. joined the chief justice’s dissenting opinion.
In a joint statement, the speaker of the Arizona House, David Gowan, and the Senate president, Andy Biggs, both Republicans, said: “We are disappointed that the Supreme Court has decided to depart from clear language of the Constitution. The Framers selected the elected representatives of the people to conduct congressional redistricting. It’s unfortunate that the clear constitutional design has been demolished in Arizona by five lawyers at the high court.”
Paul F. Eckstein, a lawyer with Perkins Coie in Phoenix who in 2002 represented a group of Latinos seeking to make the districts created by the commission at the time more competitive, called the opinion “a ringing endorsement for the use and power of voter initiatives, which not every state has.”
In a second dissent on Monday, Justice Scalia, joined by Justice Thomas, said he would have dismissed the case because the State Legislature lacked standing to sue.
“Normally, having arrived at that conclusion, I would express no opinion on the merits,” Justice Scalia wrote. “In the present case, however, the majority’s resolution of the merits question (‘legislature’ means ‘the people’) is so outrageously wrong, so utterly devoid of textual or historic support, so flatly in contradiction of prior Supreme Court cases, so obviously the willful product of hostility to districting by state legislatures, that I cannot avoid adding my vote to the devastating dissent of the chief justice.”For the past five years, British spying nerve-center GCHQ has been port scanning internet-connected computers in 27 countries – in a exhaustive hunt for systems to potentially exploit.
That bombshell comes amid fresh leaks detailing the dragnet surveillance programs operated by the Five Eyes nations: America, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
German publisher Heise reports that the HACIENDA program scans open ports on all public-facing servers to seek out vulnerable systems – a basic reconnaissance strategy adopted by countless hackers and other curious folk.
As well as simple port scans, GCHQ also stashes the banner text sent by some server software to connecting clients, and other data.
Assuming the server is telling the truth, these banners can be useful because they typically declare the version number and name of the software – this is information that can be used to look up exploits for known vulnerabilities in the code. And we all know GCHQ et al love vulnerabilities.
The Heise report – co-written by Snowden confidantes Jacob Appelbaum and Laura Poitras – states HACIENDA sits besides GCHQ's previously exposed program of tapping trans-Atlantic fibre-optic cables:
The process of scanning entire countries and looking for vulnerable network infrastructure to exploit is consistent with the meta-goal of 'Mastering the Internet', which is also the name of a GCHQ cable-tapping program: these spy agencies try to attack every possible system they can, presumably as it might provide access to further systems. Systems may be attacked simply because they might eventually create a path towards a valuable espionage target, even without actionable information indicating this will ever be the case. Using this logic, every device is a target for colonisation, as each successfully exploited target is theoretically useful as a means to infiltrating another possible target.
The HACIENDA database is shared by the UK's GCHQ with other members of the Five Eyes spying club. And HACIENDA allows spies to set up basecamp on the networks of other countries before launching attacks. "So-called Operational Relay Boxes are used to hide the location of the attacker when the Five Eyes launch exploits against targets or steal data," Heise explains.
The article goes on to suggest various counter measures against all this port scanning. One of these techniques – TCP Stealth – has been put forward to the IETF as a draft standard.
Port scanning software, such as nmap and Zmap, are standard issue tools for hackers, developers, students and anyone else with a sense of curiosity; the only things noteworthy about HACIENDA is its scale – The Register first reported on the UK's £1bn "Mastering the Internet" surveillance project in 2009.
Internet security experts are neither surprised nor impressed by the latest news. "Five Eyes have their own non-public Shodan and they are using it," security expert the Grugq noted somewhat dismissively, referring to the well-known Internet of Stuff's search engine. ®It’s been a long time coming.
Earlier tonight, Glaswegian producer Nightwave DJed a Boiler Room broadcast from Paris.
Check it out! It’s great. But, apparently, a lot of those tuning in were not feeling it. Or, at least not feeling the fact that Nightwave is a woman. She took to Twitter to react to the nonsense.
Good to see all the experts in the Boiler Room chat! Thanks! Come clean my flat sometime😘 — Nightwave (@iamnightwave) June 29, 2016
Will say a prayer with Moët for all the haters on my next tour💓have fun hoovering your Nan’s car — Nightwave (@iamnightwave) June 29, 2016
Boiler Room has certainly had plenty of experience with this kind of talk in the chat portion of their livestreams, but seem to have finally had enough. They’ve also taken to Twitter to denounce this kind of behavior: “Talking smack on genres or tech is whatever, lame but part for the course. Misogyny / transphobia / racism / anything else personal is 10000% unacceptable.”
hey – we hear you. it’ll get better with immediate effect. apologies pic.twitter.com/QzHsIDpTt2 — BOILER ROOM (@boilerroomtv) June 29, 2016
Quick Q: why do you – yes, you! – feel the burning desire to slag off female DJs on chatrooms? — BOILER ROOM (@boilerroomtv) June 29, 2016
@MANARAxx & obviously we’re gonna keep booking people irrespective of any racegendersexbelief factor. no retreating to safe white tech house — BOILER ROOM (@boilerroomtv) June 29, 2016
They have also responded to a few personal accounts saying they have plans to hire moderators to protect the comment section and “shut down the abuse”.
FACT has reached out to Boiler Room for further comment as this story develops.
For further proof Nightwave is the shit, revisit her FACT Mix from 2015 and check out the rest of her glorious shut down of the Boiler Room chat trolls below.
Update: Gabriel Szatan, host and programmer at Boiler Room, spoke to FACT about the problems in the comment section during Nightwave’s set and in previous sessions:
“We obviously can’t just shut down any comment when someone is like, ‘They fucked up that mix, that song is shit’ but we can’t allow straight up vile transphobic, misogynistic, racist things to carry on. We’re scratching our heads on determining how to monitor it but we know that today is the line in the sand. It [will be] difficult, but that’s not to absolve ourselves. As the biggest live streaming company in the underground that should stand [up] for its liberal values, we know now that it’s our responsibility to lead the field.”
all the haters were #Brexit and shop at Fat Face and Desigual — Nightwave (@iamnightwave) June 29, 2016
next time I’ll remember to play coke house blindfolded using only telekinesis. love from Paris, yours truly Xx — Nightwave (@iamnightwave) June 29, 2016The 48-hour countdown for the lift of an Indian rocket - the first one for 2016 - with the country’s fifth navigation satellite as the sole passenger began at 9.31 am on Monday, senior ISRO officials said.
“The 48-hour countdown for the launch of rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-31) carrying Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-IRNSS-1E began in the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh,” senior official at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS.
The rocket is expected to blast off at 9.31 am on January 20 to put into orbit the 1,425 |
growth,” said Jackson. “Populations can double in size within a few years.”
The findings of 25 to 30 core scientists on the ParrotNet project, backed by EU scientific research funding, will be revealed at a conference in September. Before then, policy advice will be sent to Britain’s Non-native Species Secretariat, a state agency that will report to Defra. Jackson said ParrotNet’s recommendations would be:
■ Stricter legislation on the possession, transportation and commercial trafficking of invasive parakeets, which has already happened in Spain.
■ A new system for relinquishing unwanted pet parakeets.
■ Removal of legal and financial constraints on rapid-response eradication of new populations, especially in areas where they are currently not present.
■ Raising public awareness of the parakeet population and potential problems.
Leaving parakeets free to move and breed is an option favoured by the ecologist Chris D Thomas, however. The University of York professor argues against “irrational persecution” of non-native species in a new book, Inheritors of the Earth, to be published this week.
Thomas, who does not agree with the accepted wisdom that humans have irrevocably damaged the natural world, said: “We do not try to control species because they moved in the past, so why should we now try to police the distributions of species that are thriving in the human epoch? It makes no sense.”
Rats, rabbits and hares were “invasive” species to Britain at one time. In the United States, eight pairs of sparrows in 1850 have now become 150 million birds, with no known ill effects on the environment or the economy.
“If parakeets cause a specific problem in a specific location, we may need to control them, or preferably discourage them,” said Thomas.
“Defra should only control them in specific locations, not generally, if there is clear and evident commercial harm, and not because of some misplaced distrust of ‘foreign’ species. Judge a species by its impacts, not by its origins.”
Parakeet influx
Parrot facts
Where do they come from?
Ring-necked parakeets from the Himalayas region and Africa; monk parakeets from South America.
How did they get to Europe?
In the UK, there are several theories about ring-necked parakeets being released during the filming of The African Queen in Shepperton in 1951, or by Jimi Hendrix when he let a pair go free in London in the 1960s. Others say the 1987 storms damaged so many aviaries that many parakeets escaped. A pair were first recorded as having bred in the wild in 1855, and sightings have been steadily growing since the 1930s. Nearly 150,000 were imported into Europe as pets between 1984 and 2007, with many people releasing them from captivity.
How many are here?
Probably 100,000 or more throughout Europe. The latest official figure is “a minimum of 85,000” in Europe, but no detailed recent count has been made. The UK estimate was 32,000 in 2012.
What do they eat?
They like fruit, nuts and seeds but are wasteful eaters, pecking at part of an apple, then moving on to the next one.
Where do they live?
They nest in holes in trees, and thrive in areas of parkland, close to urban homes. Ring-necked parakeet hotspots are Ramsgate, inside the M25, central London parks, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. Monk parakeets thrive in Barcelona, Madrid and Seville.Many Nexus 5X and 6P owners were understandably annoyed after discovering that several of the headline features announced for the new Pixel and Pixel XL would not be coming to their own devices. The Nexus line had always been synonymous to getting the latest and greatest directly from Google, and suddenly realizing that wasn't entirely true in a post-Nexus era left some users with a bad taste in their mouth.
To add insult to injury, it had recently come to light that both the Nexus 6P and the Pixel shared the exact same fingerprint sensor, triggering the habitual witch hunt on Reddit because of the former's lack of fingerprint swipe gestures.
Commenting on the issue via e-mail, Ian Lake, a Developer Advocate at Google, attributed the problem to the firmware version used on the Nexus 6P's fingerprint sensor. "Same hardware doesn't mean same capabilities, alas." Despite using the same components as the Pixel, the older firmware on the 6P means that it simply does not support any kind of gesture detection on the sensor.
That's not to say that it would have been impossible to add gesture support to last year's Nexus devices — technically, it's not even impossible to install Marshmallow on a Nexus S — but at a certain point, it becomes more a matter of what is feasible than what is possible, and it is certainly understandable that Google might have wanted to direct that engineering effort elsewhere. Even existing implementations that have unofficially added fingerprint swipe gestures to the Nexus 6P do so by using an ingenious but hacky method of classifying the Finger moved too fast status as swipe.
Nick Desaulniers, another Googler, stated that adding support was "doable," but would require updating the firmware and the hardware abstraction layer (HAL). Responding to comment via e-mail, Google PR corroborated that "the fingerprint hardware is the same but the firmware is different on Pixel (eg. supports swipe gestures)." It's unclear if this means that Google is considering adding support somewhere down the road or if the implication was merely that support is theoretically possible.
In the end, it's clear that not having swipe gestures on the Nexus 5X and 6P was not just a matter of Google purposefully handicapping an older device in order to sell more of a newer one. Turns out that there's more to hardware development than just tacking on a sensor. Whodathunk?
This article was updated to clarify that the comments provided by Ian Lake were made via e-mail, and with additional comments by Google PR and Googler Nick Desaulniers.The initial public offering that is garnering the most media is Facebook’s, due to the billions of dollars in value the shareholders have. However, one in China for a company making products from bear bile is of more importance in the realm of ethics, and is angering many animal supporters. Gui Zhen Tang keeps 400 black bears in captivity to extract their bile. If they have a successful IPO, the money the receive from selling shares may be used to expand their bear population to 12,000, according to Want China Times. That a company abuses and exploits innocent animals in such a cruel manner just to make money is hideous.
Abusing 400 bears is bad enough, and bear bile farming should be outlawed, but how many potential stock purchasers would be unaware of what they supporting if they buy shares of Gui Zhen Tang? The company applied for an IPO approval from the government a year ago, when it appeared the officials were not going to allow it. Now the company’s application has moved up near the top of the applicant list and is under review again.
Last March, in Hong Kong there was a protest against their potential IPO.
One of the reasons bears in Asia are kept in cages for bile extraction is there aren’t many left after years of over hunting. Even bears in North America have been hunted and killed for their gallbladders, to support Asian demand.
Making matters worse, is the fact bear bile is not even a necessary ingredient for products sold claiming health benefits. Over fifty herbal or human-made alternatives not containing bear bile are already available for consumers, according to Animals Asia. Not only are bear bile products suspect as ‘medicine’, taking them can actually cause damage to the kidneys and liver. Last year one man died in Vietnam after using bear bile. The belief in certain ‘medicines’ having the capacity to cure hangovers or impotence is nothing more than ignorant superstition. It is the same belief driving demand for rhino horn, which is responsible for the deaths of many rhinos.
We consumers must be informed about the consequences of our investments and purchases, or we may be causing great harm.
Image Credit: Sarbajit Pal
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Bear Bile Farming Decreasing
Website Bans Bear Bile ProductsWords by Christian Sylt, video report by Sports Editor Steve Scott An investigation by ITV News has revealed that money from Formula One is being handed to a motor racing organisation in Syria which arranges events associated with President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Over the past three years motor racing’s regulator the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has handed its member club in Syria a share of the multi-million pound fees paid by the company which controls the rights to F1 as well as the teams and drivers. The FIA comprises 245 motoring and motor sport clubs across 143 countries. They all wield power because under the FIA statutes only one motor sport club, known as an Autorité Sportive Nationale (ASN), in each country can vote at its annual general meeting. It means that small countries have the same say as far larger ones. Decisions put to the clubs include approval of the budget and the election of the FIA president with the next opportunity for change coming later this year when current incumbent Jean Todt’s term comes to an end. In 2014 the FIA launched a Sport Grant Programme fuelled with the annual fees that it receives from F1. The FIA’s documents describe the grants as “a new source of funding for National Sporting Authorities" and state that the fund "is dedicated to developing motor sport and helping to strengthen ASNs." Applications are open to all FIA clubs and the Syrian Automobile Club (SAC) has taken full advantage of this by successfully applying for a grant in each of the past three years.
The money goes to an organisation linked to President Bashar al-Assad. Credit: PA
The documents state that the purpose of the first grant to Syria was to “acquire a fully functioning intensive care unit ambulance to be available for its sporting events, as well as the future rescue training programmes that the organisation would be involved in.” They add that the project “involved repairing and painting the vehicle, equipping it with all necessary medical kit and appointing and training the six drivers, paramedics and doctors – two of each – that would be needed to safely and correctly operate the vehicle at motor sport events.” The second grant was used to buy new equipment for rally drivers including helmets, overalls and seatbelts. The FIA documents state that “the aim of the programme would be to encourage more drivers and co-drivers to participate in safe rallying.” The most recent grant was for the “purchase of timing equipment and karts and associated officials training and re-launch of karting races.” The FIA documents add that this involves the organisation of two or three races each featuring 15 drivers. It isn’t clear how much money was paid out but the maximum amount available for each grant is €50,000 so the SAC could have been granted as much as €150,000. This isn’t its only source of funding. In 2014 state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that a rallycross championship on a dirt track in the Damascus countryside was organised by the SAC in cooperation with Syria’s Ministry of Tourism. The following year SANA reported that the Ministry of Tourism and the SAC joined forces again to organise Syria’s first drift championship where drivers deliberately slide cars around corners on a twisting track. SANA claimed that the event was held at a track which had been destroyed by terrorists and rebuilt by the SAC.
The FIA give out grants to a number of organisations. Credit: PA
Tourism minister Bishr Yazigi attended the event and, according to SANA, he said that it “reflects the strong will of the Syrians and their ability to be renewable and to continue their normal life.” He added that “the Ministry of Tourism supports and encourages everything that could deliver a true image about the Syrians who are still practising their works, activities and hobbies despite of the fierce war launched against them by the enemies of humanity.” The European Union has sanctions against Yazigi meaning that he is barred from entering the EU and his assets in Europe have been frozen. EU filings state that there are restrictions against him because he “shares responsibility for the regime’s violent repression against the civilian population.” Neither the SAC nor its president Walid Shaaban are subject to sanctions and there is no suggestion that the projects which receive funding are illegitimate or that the application process is improper. Indeed, the FIA documents explain the hoops that applicants have to jump through. An FIA spokesperson said: “The grants provided to the Syrian Automobile Club are part of the FIA Grant Programme which has benefited over 101 countries and have helped ASNs to develop and improve safety standards.
Credit: PASupply management protects Canadian farmers from foreign competition but producers pay ridiculous amounts of money for quotas in order to be able to operate and those quotas are limited which then limits supply, which leads to higher prices.
When I was younger and our family lived in Vancouver, we made weekly trips to the U.S. where it was cheaper to buy just about everything, including dairy products.
Researchers at the University of Manitoba figure the added cost of supply management for Canadian families can be up to $466 yearly.
The fact is, supply management in Canada is a costly problem for consumers and also hurts dairy farmers.
Watch as I explain the other practices employed by Canadian governments, left or right, that have knee capped the family dairy farm with protectionist measures for political gain.
As you know, recently these tariffs and protectionist measures have irked President Trump and now he’s calling out the Canadian government over it.
While it’s true that the states also subsidize their dairy industry, the bottom line is, Trump is after Canada over the issue and he’s right - NAFTA needs to be renegotiated.
Besides, this could be the first step towards dismantling supply management and letting the free market reign.
Family dairy farms have always been great, let’s just make them competitive again.
Something must be done about this government mismanagement that’s been going on for far too long.House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Thursday morning apologized to committee Democrats for going public with information about government surveillance on the Trump campaign before speaking to them, according to a committee aide.
The apology drew swift praise from Senate Intelligence Committee member James Lankford (R-Okla.). That panel is also investigating Russian interference in the election, but has been far less public about its progress or findings.
"I applaud Chairman Nunes' apology. Intel Cmte investigation into #Russia is nonpartisan & thorough," Lankford tweeted. "We follow the evidence wherever it leads."
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), a member of the House panel, was more restrained, telling CNN that Nunes apologized "in a generic way."
Rep. Jackie Speier: Rep. Devin Nunes apologized to the House intelligence committee "in a generic way" https://t.co/fDMHb0t3WX — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 23, 2017
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Nunes on Wednesday told reporters and the White House that he had learned from a source that the U.S. intelligence community incidentally collected information on members of Trump’s transition team and then “widely disseminated” the information internally.
But Democrats on the committee were blindsided, as were many Republicans.
Alleged surveillance of the Trump campaign became part of the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election after the president’s claim early this month that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower — making Nunes’s decision to cut out members of his own committee unusual.
The move threatened to throw the committee into open partisan warfare and sparked calls for Nunes to be removed from the chairmanship.
Nunes on Wednesday defended his decision to go directly to the president with the information because “what I saw has nothing to do with Russia and nothing to do with the Russia investigation.”
“It has everything to do with possible surveillance activities, and the president needs to know that these intelligence reports are out there, and I have a duty to tell him that,” Nunes said at the time.Dutch government officials have acknowledged the country's secret service sometimes taps the communications of lawyers who represent terrorism suspects.
Dutch government officials have acknowledged the country's secret service sometimes taps the communications of lawyers who represent terrorism suspects.
A law firm specialising in human rights complained to the interior ministry in April that it suspected its lawyers were being tapped, violating lawyer-client secrecy.
The interior ministry responded by ordering the commission overseeing the agency to investigate.
In a letter dated December 15 and published on the Prakken d'Oliveira human rights lawyers firm's website today, interior minister Ronald Plasterk said the investigation found the secret service is entitled to tap confidential communication in some circumstances and had correctly followed internal protocol in doing so.
However, the investigation criticised the secret service for, in some cases, writing up the content of lawyers' personal communications that "cannot be considered as relevant for any investigation".
Press AssociationThe Raspberry Pi has been a huge success ever since its launch in 2012. In the past five years, the microcomputer has captured the imagination of enthusiasts and educators alike. The result? As well as an interest in “real” computing, unseen since the halcyon days of the 1980s, the Raspberry Pi has also inspired a number of copycat devices.
While the Raspberry Pi 2 may no longer be the flagship model in the range, following the launch of the Raspberry Pi 3, there's no denying it can still hold its own - especially if you're just getting started.
READ NEXT: Raspberry Pi projects
The Raspberry Pi 2 has fewer bells and whistles than the Pi 3 (which adds Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to save you using up a precious USB socket), but compared to the original Raspberry Pi, the second is a great improvement with a new CPU ensuring faster overall performance.
Also, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has said that it's not releasing a fourth-generation model so you're really left with the choice of Pi 2 or Pi 3 as a long-term investment. Of course, neither are really an "investment" as such given how cheap they are. Plus, the two models are priced similarly so it's up to you how far you want to go with your projects.
You can read our full Raspberry Pi 3 review, or scroll down to read our Raspberry Pi 2 review.
Raspberry Pi 2 review: specs
See related Top 20 Raspberry Pi projects to try yourself
The Raspberry Pi 2 offers a significant upgrade in performance from its predecessor, and represents the first time the company has upgraded the CPU at the heart of the microcomputer. With the switch to a quad-core, 900MHz Broadcom BCM2836 SoC, the new Pi is now multi-core for the very first time. It's also accompanied by 1GB of RAM – double that of the B+ – and the USB ports can now supply up to 1.2A of current – perfect for more power-hungry components.
Speaking at the launch of the Raspberry Pi 2, founder Eben Upton said that the biggest challenge in developing the new device had been "hitting the price point". Yet the Foundation has managed it: although the Pi 2 represents a huge step up in computing power, it still costs only £25. The only disappointment is that the networking port remains staunchly at 10/100 speeds.
Raspberry Pi 2 review: ramifications
On the surface, the new Pi looks like a simple upgrade. It’s much faster, and has more RAM, but visibly nothing changes. The placement of the ports, pins and micro-USB power requirements are all identical, and it’s still powered via micro-USB.
By moving from the 700MHz single-core BCM2835 to the 900MHz quad-core BCM2836, however, the Pi has also moved from the ARMv6 instruction set to the more advanced ARMv7. This means the new board can support not only the Raspbian build of Debian Wheezy, but also Snappy Ubuntu Core and "the full range of ARM GNU/Linux distributions".
If you visit the Raspberry Pi website and click on Downloads you'll get an idea of what's available. There's a pair of media centre OS images for those looking to build an entertainment centre from their Raspberry Pi 2: OpenELEC and OSMC. Pidora (a Raspberry Pi version of Fedora) offers an alternative to Wheezy for Linux fans, and there's also RISC OS, a development of the operating system that first appeared way back in the ancient mists of computing time, by Acorn in 1987.
It’s also been promised that the Pi 2 will eventually also support Windows 10. Let's be clear, though: this absolutely won't be a full Windows 10 environment running desktop applications: rather, it will be a command-line environment, aimed at developers designing IoT (Internet of Things) devices. As of the time of writing, this hadn't yet appeared for general consumption, however. We'll update this review with more details, as and when we get them.
Despite the dramatic upgrade in capabilities, the Pi 2 remains backwardly compatible with existing hardware and software projects, so for upgraders, the transition will be seamless. Most most users will only need to re-download Raspbian OS to get the new ARMv7 compatible kernel.
Raspberry Pi 2 gets new official case
Since the physical design is nigh on identical, most existing third-party cases and add-on boards should also continue to work perfectly with the Pi 2. Close-fitting cases might have a problem, since some of the tiny surface mount components have moved. In these circumstances, users might want to check out the natty new official case.
Having been in production for a while now (a process detailed at length in Raspberry Pi’s news post) the new red and white case costs a mere £6 and is an incredibly snug fit. I struggled to get the Pi in and out at first, but once ensconced the Pi has never looked better.
The case leaves all major ports accessible, but for the sake of neatness covers up the GPIO with a removable panel. If you need access from the top, or just fancy peering inside, just prise the white top panel off to peer inside.
Right now there aren’t any alternative covers to clip on, but the potential is certainly there. Specific case modifiers should come along soon enough to support camera and microphone mounting, and as soon as someone figures out 3D-printed components be sure to see third-party modifications flood the market.
Raspberry Pi 2 review: performance
Thanks to its increased clock frequency and over multiple cores, the Raspberry Pi 2 is clearly more powerful than any previous Pi model. Obviously, the effective speed-up will depend on the software you’re running, and whether or not it's been optimised to run multithreaded, but at the launch, a spokesman demonstrated a Python script that calculated an approximation of Pi then displayed it in visual form in Minecraft. The original Raspberry Pi version took 47 seconds to complete the calculation; using all four cores, the new model completed the job in three seconds.
Even in single-threaded applications, using only a quarter of the Pi 2's available compute power, you can still see a big difference. We ran SunSpider on a B+ and a Pi 2, and the latter completed the test roughly three times as quickly, with a final time of 4,487ms versus the former's 14,491ms. Running Google's Octane browser benchmark brought the B+ to its knees, returning a score of 89.7; on the Pi 2 it gained a score of far better score of 327.
In practice, anyone who uses a Raspberry Pi to develop projects, learn programming, as a basic desktop or media centre will really notice the bump in performance, with general tasks feeling a more responsive within the Raspbian OS. Browsing the web is no longer a chore, and the kid-friendly Scratch programming environment really benefits from the extra zip; you can switch between tabs without having to wait seconds for them to load, and simple jobs such as importing background images complete far quicker. We tried importing a large JPEG on the B+ and the Pi 2 into a Scratch project, and found a huge difference in the amount of time it took to complete the job: on the B+ we had to wait 48 seconds before it appeared in our project; on the Pi 2 that time fell to 20 seconds.
Raspberry Pi 2 review: verdict
For those who love the Raspberry Pi and all it brings to the table, the Pi 2 is most definitely a good thing. It offers much more power, yet the price remains the same, and the package is completely backwards compatible with the previous model, so upgrading is about as painless as it gets.
Perhaps even more significant, however, is the extra flexibility that the ARMv7 instruction set brings with it. Having the potential to install and run a greater range of operating systems, including (eventually) even a derivative of Windows 10 will only broaden the appeal of the Raspberry Pi, making the company’s target of three million units shipped this year eminently achievable.
BUY NOW FROM AMAZON: Raspberry Pi 2by FIONA MACRAE
Last updated at 08:48 28 February 2008
A drug that could prevent thousands of young women developing breast cancer has been created by scientists.
If given regularly to those with a strong family history of the cancer, researchers say it could effectively "vaccinate" them against a disease they are almost certain to develop.
The drug, which attacks tumours caused by genetic flaws, could spare those who have the rogue genes the trauma of having their breasts removed.
Currently, a high proportion of women told they have inherited the rogue genes choose to have a mastectomy as a preventative measure.
Researchers hope such a "vaccine" will be available within a decade. Flawed BRCA genes, which are passed from mother to daughter, are responsible for around 2,000 of the 44,000 cases of breast cancer each year in the UK.
Women with the rogue genes have an 85 per cent chance of developing the disease - eight times that of the average woman.
Initial tests suggest that the drug, known only as AGO14699, could also be free of the side-effects associated with other cancer treatments, including pain, nausea and hair loss.
The drug, which is being tested on patients in Newcastle upon Tyne, works by exploiting the "Achilles' heel" of hereditary forms of breast cancer - which is its limited ability to repair damage to its DNA.
Normal cells have two ways of fixing themselves, allowing them to grow and replicate, but cells in BRCA tumours have only one.
The drug, which is part of the class of anti-cancer medicines called PARP inhibitors, blocks this mechanism and stops the tumour cells from multiplying.
The researchers say the drug could also be used against other forms of cancer, including prostate and pancreatic, although further tests are needed.
Researcher Dr Ruth Plummer, senior lecturer in medical oncology at Newcastle University, said: "The implications for women and their families are huge because if you have the gene, there is a 50 per cent risk you will pass it on to your children. You are carrying a time bomb."I’ve rarely been so moved by a political speech. If you haven’t heard it, don’t miss it.
I refer to the speech on May 19 by Mitch Landrieu, mayor of New Orleans. He was speaking about the reasons for his city’s removal of monuments to Confederate generals. (You can read the text, but to get the full emotional impact I recommend watching the video.) You will understand why New York Times columnist Frank Bruni called the speech a masterpiece and noted that Landrieu has been mentioned in a list of potential 2020 presidential candidates.
As Bruni observes, what makes this speech truly extraordinary in this time of vicious partisanship is that Landrieu makes his point “without vilifying anyone” or mentioning any political party. The speech acknowledges our nation’s dark sins—most dramatically in the brutality of the institution of slavery—with unflinching honesty. At the same time, it communicates a positive vision of a future that we Americans, founded in diversity, are uniquely positioned to create.
Landrieu briefly, but eloquently, summarizes our country’s history of diversity. The lands now identified as the United States were originally populated by diverse tribes, a few of which he names. For most of us it is sufficiently well known that he had no need to mention that they were subsequently dominated, disrupted, and displaced by immigrant peoples of varied races, religions, and cultural ethnicities. Many of these immigrants were themselves driven from their original homes by deprivation, injustice, and brutality. Many continued to experience deprivation, injustice, and brutality in their new homeland, though far from the magnitude of that suffered by the slaves.
As I have demonstrated in much of my own writing, this pattern of suppression and exploitation has been characteristic of most of the dominant human societies of the past 5,000 years. It continues today under the economic system we know as capitalism and is the source of the deep resentment that led to the election victory of a man Landrieu felt no need to mention.
New Orleans has historically had a widely diverse population. It has experienced tense divisions based on that diversity. Yet, Landrieu notes, this diversity has also served as a tremendous source of creativity and cultural richness. It has at times also brought community and unity. That is the vision that so captured my imagination from Landrieu’s presentation.
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Landrieu’s speech is open to a variety of interpretations. The common element is that it is evoking an extraordinary public response for a speech by a city mayor—and most of that response is positive. I believe the reaction reflects a deep hunger in this country for honesty about our collective past and for a vision of the rich, creative potential of a society of exceptional racial, ethnic, and religious diversity.
Few among our American ancestors endured hardship and injustice as great as that borne by America’s original people or the slaves brought to this continent in chains, but many endured hardship and injustice, as do many of today’s working class, that no human should at this point in our human history need, or be expected, to endure.
Perhaps by openly recognizing the hardship and injustice that so many—both past and present—endured, we can learn to celebrate the creative possibilities of our diversity even as we recognize the beauty of our common humanity.
As a now global and intensely interdependent species, we humans have a desperate need to transcend the differences that historically have divided us so we may join in common cause to create a world of peace, justice, and environmental health that works for all that it is now within our means to create.
To move beyond the brutality that many of our ancestors bore, and that many among us—though in lesser measure—still endure, we must acknowledge it and recognize, as Landrieu does, the profound wisdom of our national motto: e pluribus unum—out of many we are one.The word from Gaza on Tuesday was that residents had power for only three hours.
That latest decline sparked rumors in the Strip that Israel had already started to reduce the electricity supply, as requested by the Palestinian Authority, which is no longer ready to pay the bills for the Hamas-run Strip. In fact, however, the cause was one of the frequent technical problems in the power supply from Egypt, which also provides electricity to Gaza.
This typifies the daily reality for the nearly two million Palestinians of Gaza this past decade. Ten years have passed since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in a violent and swift coup during which 160 members of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s rival Fatah party were wiped out. Within three and a half days, the Hamas military wing defeated the military units of the Fatah-dominated PA, even though Abbas’s loyalists were four times more numerous. (The most powerful PA figure in Gaza at the time was Mohammad Dahlan, but he happened to be in Germany for physiotherapy treatment on his back.)
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Unemployment at the end of the Hamas decade is around 40%. Poverty is widespread. Two-thirds of the population in Gaza needs help from international aid organizations. The water isn’t fit to drink. And now the power is dwindling.
If anyone hopes that Hamas might reconsider its policies, and start to invest in the citizens of the Strip instead of its military infrastructure, they should forget it. Hamas remains the same cynical organization that exploits the distress of Gaza’s residents for political gain, both locally and internationally. Sometimes against Israel, sometimes against the Palestinian Authority.
The current electricity crisis is just another example. Hamas could, if it wanted to, pay for enough electricity to significantly improve power supplies. But it prefers to spend tens of millions of shekels a month digging attack tunnels into Israel and manufacturing rockets.
According to various estimates by the PA and Israel, Hamas raises NIS 100 million ($28 million) every month in taxes from the residents of Gaza. A significant part of that amount covers the wages of its members. But a large portion is diverted for military purposes. Estimates say Hamas is spending some $130 million a year on its military wing and preparations for war.
Hamas could easily step in to pay for the electricity from Israel that Abbas is no longer willing to cover. But it adamantly refuses to do so. It stubbornly insists that the PA should pay the entire bill, without clarifying why.
Ten years after the revolt that drove it out of Gaza, the PA has decided to sever economic ties with the coastal enclave. It is doing so in stages, but that’s where it is heading: economic separation. Or, in other words, making Hamas pay for its coup.
This process raises the possibility of another war between Israel and Hamas. Some see the Israeli cabinet’s agreement to the PA’s request to reduce electricity supplies as a step that could pave the way for another round of violence.
But Israel didn’t have too many options. It can’t decide of its own accord to deduct Gaza’s electricity costs from the tax revenues it collects on behalf of the PA. And Israeli funding for electricity in Gaza is also not a realistic option.
Meantime, everyone is blaming everybody else. Hamas is trying to put the blame for the power crisis on the PA (and Israel); the PA is putting the blame on Hamas; and in the middle of it all, up pops Dahlan.
In the past few days, those close to Dahlan have leaked details of meetings he recently held in Cairo with a Hamas delegation led by the terror group’s new Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar. Dahlan’s camp is trying to sell a story that he reached an understanding with Egypt and Hamas on a formula to resolve the crisis — without restoring PA rule in Gaza.
Egyptian sources adamantly deny this, but it seems that Dahlan and Hamas are doing everything they can to give Gazans the feeling that all their woes are caused by Abbas. According to his people, Dahlan, a sworn opponent of the PA president, could solve the crisis, while Abbas, professing to seek Palestinian unity, is seeking to abuse the Gaza population by exacerbating it.
Make no mistake, both the PA and Hamas are maneuvering at the expense of the Gaza population — which amounts to real collective punishment. And still, the bottom line is clear: Those who took control of Gaza in a military coup and since then invested more than $1 billion in their military infrastructure, could have easily directed their resources to resolve Gaza’s problems. But what is the value of another few hours of electricity for the people of Gaza, compared to another few tunnels or rockets?
The absurdity continues
Some more food for thought about the Palestinian Authority, this time regarding its activities in the West Bank.
The Palestinian security services are making an ongoing, serious effort to prevent terror attacks against Israeli targets.
The security cooperation with Israel is excellent, perhaps unprecedentedly so, partly because it is out of sight of the general Israeli and Palestinian public.
Hundreds of members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Islamic State and other groups have been arrested by the Palestinian security services to prevent terror attacks on Israelis.
The absurdity is, if a member of one of those terror groups manages to slip under the radar of the PA security apparatus or the Israeli security services, and carries out an attack, then the Palestinian Authority will pay a monthly allowance to the assailant and to his family members if they are arrested by Israel — defying the US, Israel, and much of the international community.Under the Annshri Yojana scheme around two lakh families will receive a monthly cash transfer of Rs 600.
The amount will be transferred to the senior-most female member of the family.
The Delhi government has announced the launch of its ambitious Annshri Yojana from October 2.
Under this scheme, around two lakh families will receive a monthly cash transfer of Rs 600 per month. This will be transferred to the senior-most female member of the family.
"We believe that this would go a long way in making Delhi a hunger free state," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said on Sunday, while laying the foundation stone of a community centre in Kishangarh.
Dikshit also said her government is considering to offer an alternative to four lakh BPL and Antodaya families in the city. "We want to give them a choice to either take the PDS ration or take a monthly cash assistance of Rs 1,000," she said.
She also reiterated that her government was committed to regularising the remaining illegal colonies in the city.Rats are one of the most reviled (and successful) urban-wildlife nuisances. One route into your home? The toilet.
Rats don’t crawl up toilets with regularity in Seattle, but for those unlucky enough to experience it, the memory bites.
“I now feel utterly unsafe in my own home,” wrote a Magnolia resident in a note to the King County Public Health Department.
“It’s a life-changing experience if it happens to you,” said Don Pace, a rodent-control specialist for King County’s Public Health Department. “It does freak you out, because you’re not expecting it.”
King County provided a log of about 400 complaints about toilet rats over the past decade, and Pace said the department deals with between 50 and 80 toilet-rat scenarios each year.
Spreaders of disease, rats are one of the most reviled (and successful) urban wildlife nuisances. They certainly don’t help their reputations by invading the privacy of your bathroom.
“We try to tell people not to panic — all you have to do is close the lid and flush. The rat will try to swim (back down) or get tired and drown,” Pace said.
It might take more than one flush to exile the furry intruders, typically Norway rats about 6-8 inches long (12 inches if you include their tails).
Pace has been helping people vanquish toilet rats for more than 20 years in King County.
“I feel like a superhero because everyone’s happy when they see me,” he said.
Usually |
robertgrimes.comVANCOUVER (Reuters) - British Columbia on Monday unveiled a historic agreement to protect a massive swath of rainforest along its coastline, having reached a deal that marries the interests of First Nations, the logging industry and environmentalists after a decade of often-tense negotiations.
Under the agreement, about 85 percent of forest within the Great Bear Rainforest would be protected, with the other 15 percent available for logging under the “most stringent” standards in North America, environmental groups involved in the talks said.
The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the world’s largest temperate rainforests and the habitat of the Spirit Bear, a rare subspecies of the black bear with white fur and claws. It is also home to 26 Aboriginal groups, known as First Nations.
“The Great Bear Rainforest, there’s no question, it’s a jewel in the crown of magnificent landscapes in British Columbia,” Premier Christy Clark said at an event on Monday.
She added that the “landmark agreement” would protect more old and second growth forest, while still ensuring economic opportunities for local Aboriginals and communities. The province is expected to enshrine the new measures into law in the spring.
The Great Bear rainforest, which includes forests, waterways and mountains, covers 6.4 million hectares of the province’s coast. More than half its surface is forest, including 2.3 million hectares of old growth, which stores high levels of captured carbon.
In the 1990s, frustrated over what they saw as destructive forestry practices on their traditional lands, First Nations partnered with environmentalists to fight back against logging companies, blockading roads and protesting.
By the early 2000s, environmental groups and industry players, including Interfor Corp, Western Forest Products Inc and Catalyst Paper Corp, had started talks. At the same time, the government began negotiating with the Coastal First Nations and Nanwakolas Council.
The final agreements, reached more than a decade later, “will deliver certainty for coastal forests, local communities and jobs for years to come,” Rick Jeffery, chief executive of industry advocate Coast Forest Products Association, said in a statement.
The deal would also end of the commercial grizzly bear hunt within Coastal First Nations territories, though other existing tourism-related businesses will not be affected.
“Our leaders understand our wellbeing is connected to the wellbeing of our lands and waters,” said Chief Marilyn Slett, president of Coastal First Nations.
“If we use our knowledge and our wisdom to look after our lands and waters and communities, they will look after us into the future.”
The announcement comes nearly two years after a landmark Supreme Court decision that granted title to a vast swath of British Columbia’s interior to the Tsilhqot’in First Nations, who had gone to court to stop logging in their traditional lands.
That decision has bolstered First Nations across the province, who now have a legal precedent for fighting development on their territories.2003 soundtrack album by Midnight Syndicate
Dungeons & Dragons is a studio album by the American musical group Midnight Syndicate, released August 12, 2003, by Entity Productions. The album is designed as a soundtrack to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and was produced by Midnight Syndicate at the request of Wizards of the Coast, the company that owns the rights to the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. Midnight Syndicate was approached by game designers at a gaming convention where they had set up stall, and they agreed to produce the album.
After an initial meeting with Wizards of the Coast, the two members of Midnight Syndicate—Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka—were left to write and produce the album themselves. They went their separate ways and produced tracks independently of one another, but came back together to arrange the album and master the tracks. The album was a change in style for Midnight Syndicate, because most of it had a fantasy feel, whereas their earlier works had been almost entirely horror-based. Artwork within the album booklet came from Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks, including works from prominent game designers such as Skip Williams. The album was well received by Wizards of the Coast, with positive reviews from music critics and the gaming community. It is reputedly the only official Dungeons & Dragons soundtrack.
Conception and production [ edit ]
According to Bob Ignizio of Utter Trash, an ezine featuring "music, movies and more",[6] Midnight Syndicate's older albums had already been used as background music to role-playing sessions for many years.[7] Wizards of the Coast described the band's music as "the perfect accompaniment to role-playing game sessions".[8] Support for Midnight Syndicate's music as a role-playing aid grew so much that the band decided to set up stalls at gaming conventions. At their first convention, Midnight Syndicate was approached by Wizards of the Coast, which subsequently asked if they would be interested in recording an official soundtrack, to which they agreed.[9][10]
Before the band started writing or recording music they sat down with the Dungeons & Dragons designers, who informed them of several elements that were essential on the album.[7] According to Ed Stark, the special project manager of Wizards of the Coast, this consisted of "a chase scene and a fight scene and things like that".[11] This was new to the band who had never written music to fit someone else's ideas before.[7] Stark said, however, that "they really got that. We were very impressed, because we're in sort of a niche industry, and we're not always used to people getting exactly what we need right away".[11] After this, the band was mostly left to deal with the music themselves.[7] The designers were already familiar with Midnight Syndicate's music and knew what to expect from the album.[7] As inspiration for earlier albums had sometimes come from Dungeons & Dragons gaming sessions, Douglas said that writing the album came very naturally.[9]
After the initial meeting with game designers, the album was written in the same way Midnight Syndicate conventionally write. First, Douglas and Goszka agreed on the setting they were trying to create with the album and then filled in details about the setting. Once this was done, they worked on music separately, in their own different studios.[9] They remained in contact throughout the writing process to ensure that their work was cohesive and appropriate for the album.[9] Once writing was complete, they worked together on arranging, mastering and mixing the tracks.[9]
Douglas said that, for him, instrument choice came naturally and that "sounds and sometimes even melodies fall in line themselves".[9] The band had a wide number of instruments at their disposal, as all the music is produced on synthesizers.[12] To ensure Douglas stayed true to creating the musical landscape he intended, his studio was covered with Dungeons & Dragons artwork and module covers throughout recording.[9]
Joseph Vargo, the executive producer on Midnight Syndicate's albums Born of the Night and Realm of Shadows, has said that he was the one who initiated the first contact between Wizards of the Coast and the band. Vargo claims that, in 1999, he sent a copy of Born of the Night to Dungeons & Dragons game designer Jason Carl,[13] at the time employed by TSR, who described the album as "terrific gaming music".[14] Vargo also says that he sent a copy of Realm of Shadows to Carl a year later, and this communication helped forge the link between the band and Dungeons & Dragons game designers.[13]
First soundtrack [ edit ]
Wizards of the Coast claimed that the album was the first official Dungeons & Dragons soundtrack,[8] and this was repeated by other groups, including Metropolis Mail Order,[15] GamingReport.com,[16] and Skirmisher Game Store.[17] It was not, however, the first official Dungeons & Dragons music. Years earlier, another album, First Quest: The Music, was released by Filmtrax and licensed by TSR, then-owners of Dungeons & Dragons, for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.[18][19] The album was released both as a cassette and a record and came with a pre-printed module. Both formats proved unpopular and are difficult to find today.[19] The music on First Quest was keyed specifically to the module that came with it, rather than as a soundtrack to the game in general.[19]
Musical style [ edit ]
According to Mario Mesquita Borges of AllMusic, Midnight Syndicate typically create "darkly blended compositions", described both as "gloomy" and "brooding".[20] Leonard Pickel of Haunted Attraction Magazine stated that "each year, the band's music becomes more a part of America's Halloween culture", and stated that the band had "literally formed their own musical genre".[21] For Douglas, however, Dungeons & Dragons was a different style of music from other albums and soundtracks that the band had produced. Originally, he had described Midnight Syndicate's music as "Gothic Nightmare Soundtracks", but claimed that Dungeons & Dragons had a more fantasy feel than previous releases, which focused more on horror, meaning that he now describes the band's music as "Gothic Fantasy Nightmare Soundtracks".[9] Chris Harvey of Movement Magazine—a magazine supporting "underground" music and arts[22]—described the album as being symphonic, which he claimed added to the feel of the album.[12] Sounds were also sampled, including the sounds of battle on "Final Confrontation",[12] and spoken words in "Craft of the Wizard".[23]
Peter-Jan Van Damme, the owner of the alternative music ezine Darker than the Bat, described Dungeons & Dragons as going more in the direction of contemporary classical composers such as Trevor Jones, while still retaining the horror sound typical of Midnight Syndicate.[23] The album has been categorized into a range of genres by reviewers, including neoclassical,[24] gothic ambient,[15] ethereal,[15] and gothic rock.[2]
Reception [ edit ]
Wizards of the Coast were happy with the resulting album, with Anthony Valterra, the company's RPG category manager, saying that Midnight Syndicate "have succeeded at capturing the magic of D&D through music".[8] Numerous critics picked up on the idea that new subject matter had resulted in a new feel for the music, with reviewers claiming that the fantasy influence had given the album a different sound to Midnight Syndicate's gothic horror soundtracks.[12][25] An unnamed writer for the now-defunct Living Dead Girls ezine said that Dungeons & Dragons "brings a wider range of songs than Midnight Syndicate produces for their Gothic horror soundtracks", meaning that the album "displays for the first time the diversity and musical craft [of which] Midnight Syndicate is capable".[25] GamingReport.com claimed that the album "furthered the band's establishment as the leading producer/supplier of music to the hobby game industry".[26] Dungeons & Dragons became the best-selling role-playing game soundtrack ever in its first month of release,[21][26] and Leonard Pickel of Haunted Attraction Magazine claimed that the album helped spread the band's popularity to Europe where "Halloween and Haunted Attractions are just beginning to take hold".[21]
The album was criticized by Marc Shayed, of the hobby gaming news site GamingReport.com, for focusing too much on combat and ambiance. He explained that there was only one track that felt triumphant and no tracks suitable for traveling or character "down time", which are standards in fantasy gaming. Despite these perceived gaps, he did call it the "ultimate" gaming soundtrack.[16] The album was further criticized by Gene Vogal of the National Gamers Guild who said that it lacked a lot of the "oomph" that Vampyre had, and thought Wizards of the Coast may have been to blame for it. He did think that the album's being composed explicitly for D&D made it superior to music not specifically composed for games (e.g., film soundtracks) as a gaming aid. He criticized the soundtrack for being less original than Vampyre, and sounding much like The Lord of the Rings soundtracks.[27]
Personnel [ edit ]
The album was written and produced by Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka,[5] the only two members of Midnight Syndicate.[28] The album's graphical design was executed by Mark Rakocy and Jeff Visgaitis, with "additional design" credited to "Stan!"[5] The album heralded a change in production for Midnight Syndicate, as it was the first album for which the band hired a professional writer for descriptions in the album booklet and the blurb. Before this point, the descriptions had been written by Douglas or by Vargo, who had also been responsible for artwork in some earlier albums.[9] Artwork for the album was taken from Dungeons & Dragons role-playing sourcebooks. Douglas said that he was "a huge fan of Dungeons & Dragons artwork, so having free reign [sic] on that material was fun".[9] This artwork was praised by Gene Vogal, who described it as "one plus to the possible Wizards of the Coast interference" and said that the "CD jacket was done very nicely and has some cool artwork throughout".[27] The album contains artwork by the game designers Todd Lockwood and Skip Williams, as well as from the artists Scott Fischer, Brian Snoddy, Lars Grant-West, Wayne Reynolds, Mark Tedin, and Sam Wood.[5]
Track listing [ edit ]
No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Prelude" [29]) (Described as sounding similar to Danny Elfman's music. Gavin Goszka 2:14 2. "Troubled Times" [29]) (Described as sounding similar to Danny Elfman's music. Goszka 4:37 3. "Ride to Destiny" Edward Douglas 4:11 4. "The Fens of Sargath" Douglas 1:30 5. "Descent into the Depths" Douglas 3:27 6. "Stealth and Cunning" Douglas 1:16 7. "Behind Door #1" [23]) (Unusual in that it was worked on by both members. Douglas; Goszka 0:37 8. "Skirmish" [29]) (Contains "subtle sword clangs". Goszka 4:30 9. "Eternal Mystery" [29]) (Features the sound of a mantra being spoken. Goszka 3:55 10. "Heroes' Valor" Douglas 3:09 11. "Relic Uncovered" Douglas 1:47 12. "Deep Trouble" Goszka 1:48 13. "Chant" Goszka 0:11 14. "Craft of the Wizard" [23]) (Has the sound of spoken words. Goszka 3:23 15. "Beasts of the Borderlands" Conan the Barbarian.[12]) (Compared to the opening of Douglas 2:57 16. "Secret Chamber" Douglas 2:04 17. "Lair of the Great Wyrm" Douglas 3:29 18. "Ancient Temple" Douglas 2:43 19. "How Strange" Goszka 1:43 20. "Army of the Dead" Goszka 4:08 21. "Final Confrontation" [12]) (Features the sounds of battle. Douglas 4:47 22. "Ruins of Bone Hill" [5]) (Bonus track. Douglas 2:23 23. "City of Sails" [5] Described as the only song with a "triumphant feel".[16]) (Bonus track.Described as the only song with a "triumphant feel". Goszka 3:31 Total length: 64:56[2] (approximate)[3]
There is a final 36-second bonus track, which sometimes receives no title,[2] and sometimes is named "BOTCH!"[3] The Midnight Syndicate website does not mention the track at all.[5] It is a joke track in which a hapless D&D player summons something from the game into the real world. Chris Harvey of Movement Magazine found the dice-rolling sound effects "hilarious".[12]The world of television, much like the real, meat world we live in, is populated almost entirely with unlikeable people. And television, especially modern television, is built on the back of unlikeable, odious characters. Now, this is not to say these characters are not likeable as characters. It is to say that, were they to be real people, they would be worthy of contempt and scorn, if not outright hatred. Instead, because they are on TV, we love them.
This is not just a matter of dramas, what with all their “difficult men” and, occasionally, “difficult women.” Sitcoms work within the same parameters. And this is not a bad thing either, mind you. Homer Simpson is the greatest character in the history of pop culture. He’s also an unrepentant alcoholic, prone to raging violence. Not all shows that are filled with unlikeable characters are willing to steer into that curve either. Seinfeld wore the awfulness of its characters on its sleeve, but Friends is really just Seinfeld without the courage of its convictions, and New Girl is a show that works much better as a Seinfeld than a Friends, even if it always seems to lean more toward the latter.
These are just a couple of examples, but watching television mostly means spending time with a lot of unlikeable folks. That can be a tremendous amount of fun, but variety is the spice of life, some (presumably unlikeable) person once said. Which is why something new and exciting happened when Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt plopped down into our world. It was a break from tradition, and not just as a sitcom streaming on Netflix. The titular Kimmy Schmidt is just about the most likeable damn character in the history of television. Perhaps even the most likeable.
It’s a big claim, sure—the kind that seems to be dripping with both hyperbole and recency bias, the two ogres of internet commentary. However, it stands up to some deeper introspection. Kimmy Schmidt is a great character; funny and weird and charming and, yes, very likeable. If television gave out a Miss Congeniality award, Kimmy would win, hands down. (Also, this would just be a very weird thing to actually happen.)
Obviously, Kimmy’s plight to make it on her own, Mary Richards-style, makes her struggle something worth rooting for. It’s hard not to be on Kimmy’s side, to some degree. However, she’s more than just a woman who was rescued from a doomsday cult that was living in a hole in the ground. She’s an incredibly nice person, eternally helpful and is, generally speaking, a warm presence. She did punch a dude in the face, but in her defense, she’s just had her backpack (and ALL of her cash!) stolen, and was approached by two strange men in the club.
One reason so many TV characters are unlikeable is because it’s so easy to mine both drama and comedy out of people behaving poorly. If Basil Fawlty was a chill dude, where would the humor be derived from?
But the other tentpole comedy is built upon is stupidity, and that’s where a lot of the humor from Kimmy comes. Her life has left her ignorant to many things, making her the classic fish out of water. It’s tremendously funny to watch her navigate life, but, all the while, she has that positive energy that makes her a delightful presence on the computer screen. Plus, the fact that her ignorance is so excusable, given the circumstances, she’s not an object of ridicule and derision like, say, Andy on Parks and Recreation was.
And speaking of Parks and Recreation, a lot of people would probably proffer up Leslie Knope for the title of most likeable character on television. Yes, the exceedingly warm and positive world of Parks and Rec did offer up some fairly likable folks. However, Leslie’s intensity, while often justified, also pushed her over the edge, occasionally into an unlikeable realm. This is fine, and necessary from a storytelling perspective—and you could also argue that it is more believable. Certainly, verisimilitude is not the goal of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. If it was, it would be a very horrifying show, instead of a very funny one. Leslie Knope is frequently charming in her own right, but Kimmy Schmidt takes it to another level of likeability.
It’s also important to note that having a very likeable main character does not necessarily make the character good, or even all that interesting. Kimmy is a great character because Tine Fey and company wrote her in a complex, fantastic way, and because Ellie Kemper is awesome and should probably win the Emmy (even though Amy Poehler will be getting her final crack at it, and even though Julia Louis-Dreyfus is unlikely to stop being amazing in this upcoming season of Veep). Still, if nothing else, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has created a character whose warmth and innocence is as delightful as the show’s supremely catchy theme song. Likability is hard to come by, although it should also be said that Titus is not without his positive traits, and, you know, that Reverend Richard doesn’t seem like that bad of a guy, either. But Kimmy Schmidt has it in spades. Hopefully that won’t change in the second season.
Chris Morgan is an Internet gadabout who writes on a variety of topics and in a variety of mediums. If he had to select one thing to promote, however, it would be his ’90s blog/podcast, Existential Parachute Pants. (You can also follow him on Twitter.)Revealed: Florida AG paid $60,000 for Rekers’ testimony against gay adoptions
The case of a Christian leader who claims the male prostitute he hired to accompany him on a ten-day European vacation was only along to carry his luggage grew more complex on Thursday, as Family Research Council cofounder and anti-gay activist George Alan Rekers threatened to bring a lawsuit for defamation against the Miami New Times.
The New Times, which originally broke the story of Rekers’ trip on Tuesday, quickly struck back by revealing that Rekers has been advising his traveling companion, “Lucien,” to keep quiet about their encounter.
In addition, it was reported early on Friday that the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum had paid at least $60,900 to for Rekers’ “expert testimony” in a case defending that state’s ban on gays adopting children. A judge later rejected Rekers’ testimony, saying it was “far from neutral” because of his “strong ideological and theological convictions” and that she could “not consider his testimony to be credible nor worthy of forming the basis of public policy.”
On Thursday afternoon, Washington Post blogger Dave Weigel reported that the Miami New Times was being threatened by Rekers with a lawsuit. “I have been advised to retain the services of a defamation attorney in this matter,” Rekers wrote in an email to Weigel, “because the fact is that I am not gay and never have been.”
In his response to the New Times story, Rekers asserted, “My travel assistant called me this afternoon earnestly asking me to clarify on my website that he worked for me as a travel companion and not as a prostitute.” This was followed by a series of statements from Rekers, allegedly based on that phone call, saying “Together we agreed that I in fact hired him to lift luggage … that my travel assistant did in fact lift my luggage … that I did not hire him as a prostitute for any sexual purpose … that I explained the Christian faith to my travel assistant in conversations on several days.”
Just a few hours later, however, the New Times casually demolished Rekers’ claim that his “travel assistant” supported his version of events with an article headed, “Things Rekers Said To Lucien When He Didn’t Think We Were Listening.”
“Lucien” is the name being used by the New Times to refer to the young man, whose family does not know he is gay.
“What the minister … likely didn’t realize is that Miami New Times reporters were sitting beside Lucien during a candid conversation over speakerphone,” Penn Bullock and Brandon K. Thorp explain. “During that talk — which took place at about 1 a.m. Thursday in a Fort Lauderdale home — Rekers told Lucien several times not to talk to the press.”
According to the Bullock and Thorp, Rekers told Lucien that a “friend in the media” had advised him to avoid contact with the press. “Tell them you don’t want to do interviews,” Rekers urged. “Just say ‘no,’ and just say ‘I’ve already [indecipherable] to the press and that’s it.'”
Rekers also suggested that the uproar over his trip was being created by “activists with an axe to grind” and would die down if Lucien just kept quiet. He told Lucien not to make a statement to the press because “it just causes more harm,” adding, “We have to deal with the situation that we have, and make sure it doesn’t get worse.”
By the end of the call, Lucian was becoming increasingly upset, despite Rekers’ assurances that the scandal would just die down. “I’m getting pressured out of the gay community!” he told Rekers. “If I ever wanted to be with someone — it wouldn’t work out! … I’m 20 years old! If you’ve been through this, you shouldn’t have gone to that website, you shouldn’t have hired me — why did you make so many choices [for me]?”
“The conversation was too sad, by then, and we couldn’t bear to follow it,” the New Times reporters concluded. “The whole thing felt pornographic. One of us took a bathroom break; the other of us left the couch and stood by a window.”Re: Recall our conversation that I surprised you with this as it was a key step to VP running (you were going to check into)
From:MElias@perkinscoie.com To: cbaker@hillaryclinton.com, dcheng@hillaryclinton.com CC: john.podesta@gmail.com, re47@hillaryclinton.com Date: 2015-10-16 12:30 Subject: Re: Recall our conversation that I surprised you with this as it was a key step to VP running (you were going to check into)
The list originated with Obama for America. Nice the election two entities – Organizing for Action and, more recently, the DNC were given the list as well. So, they aren’t co-owned, each entity owns a version of the same base list. Organizing for Action clearly can’t give the list to a campaign (its a c4). The DNC shouldn’t be able to — since it would be an inkind. The campaign could — because it would be a transfer to an affiliated committee — Obama for America was an authorized committee of Biden for VP, so it can transfer assets to Biden for President. However, because the WH won’t want to own the politics of doing so, they will likely try to get the DNC to do it anyway. This of course has implications for DNC neutrality as well—which the DNC is aware of. Who decides? The campaign list is owned by the legal entity — Obama for America Inc. It has a treasurer and board, just like HFA. And they decide whether to transfer the list. It is not Biden’s by right, rather its permissible for the Obama campaign to give it if they choose to. As I mentioned, Kerry Edwards 04, Inc chose not to honor the request of John Edwards for that list. SI, basically the WH/POTUS decides. -- Marc E. Elias Perkins Coie LLP 700 13th St, NW Washington, DC 20005 202-434-1609 (ph) 202-654-9126 (fax) melias@perkinscoie.com<mailto:melias@perkinscoie.com> @marceelias<https://twitter.com/marceelias> And doesn't the DNC co-own? On Oct 16, 2015, at 8:18 AM, Dennis Cheng <dcheng@hillaryclinton.com<mailto:dcheng@hillaryclinton.com>> wrote: So technically Obama owns the list and Biden has no ownership or part ownership? On Oct 16, 2015, at 7:19 AM, Elias, Marc (Perkins Coie) <MElias@perkinscoie.com<mailto:MElias@perkinscoie.com>> wrote: Also--the press is reporting this as automatic. It's within the discretion of the president to give or not give. After 2004 John Edwards wanted the ke04 list and was told no. I do t believe that McCain gave his list to palin. -- Marc E. Elias Perkins Coie LLP 700 13th St, NW<x-apple-data-detectors://0/1> Washington, DC 20005<x-apple-data-detectors://0/1> 202-434-1609<tel:202-434-1609> (ph) 202-654-9126<tel:202-654-9126> (fax) melias@perkinscoie.com<mailto:melias@perkinscoie.com> @marceelias<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_marceelias&d=CwMFaQ&c=XRWvQHnpdBDRh-yzrHjqLpXuHNC_9nanQc6pPG_SpT0&r=mJZthOcamSml7FV7KXYLE6P2EQrjV525p9lKVucDNWI&m=9SXbYsdIWSMBFfaNwPzFKzlCNB3FJC_F5CZXFFYe8kY&s=m0bX1EL4vmV9tu-CtmyBIayJfw0jS1lJiCm9aUB_UNY&e=> Sent from my iPhone On Oct 15, 2015, at 7:42 PM, Elias, Marc (Perkins Coie) <MElias@perkinscoie.com<mailto:MElias@perkinscoie.com>> wrote: We need to discuss. This isn’t exactly this simple. -- Marc E. Elias Perkins Coie LLP 700 13th St, NW Washington, DC 20005 202-434-1609 (ph) 202-654-9126 (fax) melias@perkinscoie.com<mailto:melias@perkinscoie.com> @marceelias<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_marceelias&d=CwMFaQ&c=XRWvQHnpdBDRh-yzrHjqLpXuHNC_9nanQc6pPG_SpT0&r=mJZthOcamSml7FV7KXYLE6P2EQrjV525p9lKVucDNWI&m=9SXbYsdIWSMBFfaNwPzFKzlCNB3FJC_F5CZXFFYe8kY&s=m0bX1EL4vmV9tu-CtmyBIayJfw0jS1lJiCm9aUB_UNY&e=> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Per CNN story just published: Biden would have full access to the vaunted Obama campaign email list, since he is effectively a part owner since he was on the ticket in 2008 and 2012. ________________________________ Disclaimer: Visit www.32advisors.com/disclaimer<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.32advisors.com_disclaimer&d=CwMFaQ&c=XRWvQHnpdBDRh-yzrHjqLpXuHNC_9nanQc6pPG_SpT0&r=mJZthOcamSml7FV7KXYLE6P2EQrjV525p9lKVucDNWI&m=R1lpuSw7zXmEJ4VnZ4zdnNSW5F7tErVrPEgfU7miolo&s=0CuW00MvEIj-0dq_8vManCMMiV2peEZirwn-Qv3sp9U&e=> for information about this email. ________________________________ NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you have received it in error, please advise the sender by reply email and immediately delete the message and any attachments without copying or disclosing the contents. Thank you. ________________________________ NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you have received it in error, please advise the sender by reply email and immediately delete the message and any attachments without copying or disclosing the contents. Thank you.Image copyright Netflix
While Marsha P Johnson may not be a household name, a fiery digital debate has started about who is "allowed" to bring her story to the screen.
Johnson was a black transgender woman and outspoken advocate for transgender rights in the 1960s. Most famously, she was a key participant in the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City. Many see those events, which broke out after a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a prominent gay bar, as the start of the gay rights movement in the United States.
Johnson's story is the subject of a new Netflix documentary by David France, an established filmmaker who's also gay and white. But France is not the only one who's been looking into the story. Reina Gossett, a black transgender filmmaker, claimed in an Instagram post that France's film used her research without permission. He has vehemently denied these allegations.
Gossett's post received thousands of likes and shares on social media, sparking a wider debate, with many arguing that France should not have made a film about Johnson - or at least that he should have backed Gossett's efforts to bring the story to light.
What happened to Marsha P Johnson?
Johnson is receiving a small flurry of attention right now, but in the early 1970s, some in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community tried to distance themselves from Johnson and other transgender and drag queen activists.
In 1992, Johnson went missing and her body was found six days later in the Hudson River. Police at the time called it a suicide, a ruling which many in the community disputed - citing high levels of violence against transgender women.
Gossett and France have approached telling Marsha P Johnson's largely forgotten history in very different ways.
Gossett is working with filmmaker Sasha Wortzel on "Happy Birthday Marsha", a fictionalised short film on the hours leading up to the Stonewall riots. Whereas France's "The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson" is a documentary following trans activist Victoria Cruz as she investigates the circumstances of Johnson's death.
However, some on social media have argued France should have stepped aside and let Gossett, a member of the trans community, tell Johnson's story.
Others, though, were happy that an Oscar-nominated director had brought Johnson's story to a mainstream audience.
Lourdes Hunter, founder of the Trans Women of Color Collective, a grassroots organisation based in Washington DC, described France's documentary as "compelling," but felt that France should have used his position as an established filmmaker and a white man to promote the work of those in the black trans community.
"Stories about black trans women should be told by black trans women," she tells BBC Trending.
Hunter added that France's proclaimed support of Gossett's film is not enough.
"People who have access to resources, have access to social capital, access to finances, their role in the movement is to leverage their access so that the people who are supposed to be telling these stories... who are actually living these lives, [their] voices can be elevated."
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France, however, said he felt creating this documentary was a way of atoning for some of his community's past mistakes. His production company gave money to Gossett and Wortzel, and he says he supported their project independently of his own film.
"For me to not go back, for me to not revisit that story about which I knew so much already, would align me with the people who were eliminating their narrative from our history," France says, adding that the stories of historically important figures belong to all of humanity.
Gossett did not respond to BBC Trending's questions, but recently expanded on her initial post.
"As France's documentary starts to make its way to large audiences, I can't stop thinking about the voices that have been pushed aside in the process," she wrote in an article for Teen Vogue.
"Too often, people with resources who already have a platform become the ones to tell the stories of those at the margins rather than people who themselves belong to these communities." The feminist site Jezebel has since published a comprehensive rebuttal to Gossett's initial allegations.
France's documentary has received positive reviews from the mainstream media. According to Gossett, her film is still scheduled to premiere next year. But the online debate continues around who has the right to tell Marsha P Johnson's story.
Blog by Elizabeth Cassin and Ritu Prasad
Next story: Happy bot-day, Mr President
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When President Vladimir Putin turned 65 on 7 October, he was not short of online well-wishers. But how many were real? READ MORE
You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.WikiLeaks allegedly revealed EU plans to destroy vessels used to transport migrants and refugees from Libya.
© AP Photo / Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA Mogherini Rules Out Military Action in Libya to Tackle Migrant Smuggling
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — WikiLeaks published two classified documents on EU plans for military intervention against migrant boats coming from Libya to Italy.
The documents, revealed Monday, outline a military operation endorsed by the European Union Military Committee against cross-Mediterranean refugee transport networks and infrastructure.
The papers detail plans to carry out military actions to destroy vessels used to transport migrants and refugees from Libya.
The documents, also attributed to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, say that the European Union runs the risk of receiving negative publicity if casualties are attributed to action or inaction by EU forces.
To mitigate reputation risks, the papers recommend adopting an information strategy to "facilitate expectation management."
© AP Photo / EU Calls for Military Action to Combat Migrant Smugglers in Libya
The documents recommend caution while acting within Libyan water or ashore in order to avoid |
fact that we were a union shop as a benefit,” Glessner said. “But once he saw our studios, he realized they were definitely nicer. The union shop was a pretty easy sell.”
Local 4 Business Manager Michael Pendergast agrees it’s an unusual marriage, but one that unions should celebrate. That’s because they need all the friends they can get in Missouri, which has narrowly avoided passing right-to-work legislation in recent years.
Republicans have a veto-proof majority in the state’s General Assembly. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed right-to-work legislation that passed last year and 20 Republican members of the state House crossed party lines and voted no on the override attempt, leaving it 13 votes short. The matter is expected to come up again in this year’s legislative session.
Faughn, however, says he’s against it. The more self-described conservatives like him come out against it, the better the chances it gets beat back again in the legislature, Pendergast said.
“We all know businesses that are really good at creating messages and lobbying groups,” Pendergast said. “For us to find someone with that type of background that isn’t against organized labor is really refreshing.”
“It’s important to bring some recognition to people like this because there’s probably a lot of employers that feel the same way as Scott Faughn, but are reluctant to come out from behind the bushes,” he said.
Glessner said he’s optimistic the addition of Faughn’s show will lead to more work for Local 4 at the studio. Once he sits down with prospective clients, they quickly realize that union workers come at the same price and are better trained, he said.
“It’s important for me to say we’re a union shop and get the word out any way we can,” Glessner said. “We’re going to be competitive in costs and we’re going to give you a quality product.”
For his part, Faughn plays it down the middle during most of his shows, which features in-depth conversations about current events that usually includes two Democrats and two Republicans. He says he’s against right-to-work because it’s another example of big government at work telling someone how to run his or her business.
“My determination was that my previous studio did a great job,” Faughn said. “First Rule has just been better, for a fair price, and yes, I enjoy the confidence in union labor.”Why Are Y Combinator And Andreessen Horowitz Backing A Drive-By Toolbar/Adware Installer?
from the reddit,-Airbnb,-Dropbox,-Groupon,-Instagram,-Skype-and...-InstallMonetizer?? dept
Many people in the technology startup community have very high regards for Paul Graham and Y Combinator, the exclusive seed accelerator program in Silicon Valley which has under its belt acclaimed successes like reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox. There’s equal standing for Andreessen Horowitz, a private equity investment company with notable alumni such as Groupon, Instagram and Skype.
Now those people and companies have put their most valuable support – money, experience and brand – behind “InstallMonetizer“, a company that describes itself as a “windows based software monetization platform”. Very carefully selected words.
Consumers Receiving Product Recommendations- We review the consumer’s pc for existing software. This is done to provide the consumer an advertiser software which they currently do not have installed on their computer. This information is not stored in order to maintain consumer’s privacy. We gather personally identifiable and may include information regarding your geo-location, ip address, operating system, language setting and information regarding whether recommended advertiser software has been accepted, downloaded, installed and any reason for failure installing. None of his information is personally identifiable.
We endeavor to take security measures to guard against unauthorized access to the systems where we store your data. This includes internal reviews of our data collection, storage, and processing practices and security measures and physical security measures.
I’m not going to delve into the technical aspects of crapware – its effects on system performance, reliability and satisfaction are pretty well documented. The fact that there is a thriving ecosystem of “crapware, adware, spyware” removers is enough evidence it’s a significant issue.
Perhaps more importantly, I strongly believe crapware installers among other foul practices have eroded the trust of the Windows app ecosystem as a whole.
What used to be a fairly standard flow of app discovery has turned into a minefield of misleading download links on websites, defaulted checkboxes or sneaky install crapware buttons in position of “next” in wizards and browser homepage overrides. And it just takes one wrong click to have irreversible consequences.
Last but not least, disregarding the moral factor of this investment, I’m puzzled why such visionary investors would invest in a process that is slowly being phased out by changing industry practices...
I admit every person and company has the right to set their own moral compass, but it’s genuinely disappointing to see such respected and influential people and companies put their weight behind a practice that has undermined and continues to undermine the credibility of the Windows app ecosystem.
Raise your hand if you love bundled toolbars and other assorted suspiciously-acting software installing itself on your computer when all youyou were installing was a Java update or some other unrelated program. No, go ahead. Yeah... that's none of us.Bundled toolbars and the like are considered "necessary evils" by those hoping to monetize something they're otherwise offering for free. But to the average computer user, they're annoying, devious bits of software that do fun things like hijack your default search or plant a row of links you'll never use in your Favorites bar. And that's when they're not doing more nefarious things, like delivering all sorts of browsing data to who knows where or, worse yet, running an unasked for "virus scan" and holding your computer hostage until you purchase the software from some shady third party.Knowing the preceding to be an actual, provable fact, why on earth would respected entities in the tech community like Y Combinator and Andreessen Horowitz get in bed with a startup whose sole purpose is to "monetize" installs by bundling unwanted adware, toolbars or worse with its clients' programs?Now, there's nothing wrong with being a "software monetizer" who bundles products for clients with the software of others, other than the fact that your business method is highly unpopular with most computer users and that your financial success is usually dependent on the ignorance of those on the receiving end of opt-in/opt-out dialog boxes. In and of itself, not illegal or evil... justNo, the problems begin when your privacy policy can't even agree with itself as to whether InstallMonetizer is providing personal information to its clients, something Rafael Rivera discovered when reading through the company's typo-laden fine print But that statement seems to be false, on top of being nearly unintelligible. As Long Zheng points out, its own website clearly states (with pictures!) that it gathers IP and MAC addresses and makes them available to its clients.So, all this information is/isn't gathered and is/isn't turned over to InstallMonetizer's clients, so there's nothing to worry about because the company takes rigorous security precautions...and sends your unencrypted login data to you via a third party mailer...Long doesn't question the fact that some software developers will find services like this a useful way to generate some additional income. What he does want to know is why respected entities like Y Combinator would back a startup that actively makes computing worse.It's a good question. While no one expects VCs and accelerators toback conscionable startups, no one really expects those with stellar reputations to back a startup whose product is indistinguishable from hundreds of other shady installer packages standing between the end user and the product he or shewants.InstallMonetizer claims it turns down 95% of applicants in order to keep it free of adware, spyware and malware, but just because the Yahoo! toolbar (to use one example) is none of the above doesn't make its uninvited presence in a string of opt-in/opt-out dialog boxes any more welcome. There are many ways to earn income while still providing a free product and there will be even more ways in the future. What's going on here isn't innovative. It's just another, slightly shinier version of something people are already sick of, and its questionable privacy policy quite possibly makes it no better (or different) than the others that have preceded it.
Filed Under: adware, misleading, monetization, toolbar
Companies: andreessen horowitz, ycombinatorUpdate: In the hopes of clarifying a whole lot of confusion, existing customers on grandfathered or Classic plans seem to be confused about whether or not they can use customer care and/or third-party channels to upgrade. I have been unable to confirm if you can contact customer service to upgrade — regardless, there seems to be success with third party national retailers and authorized dealers.
Just as we first promised, T-Mobile’s new Value Plan only environment is now live through all company-owned channels. Along with the new Value Plans in all corporate and company-owned channels, the brand new one-size-fits-all Classic Plans are now available at national retailers and authorized dealers as well. All of T-Mobile’s new Value Plan options include Unlimited Talk, Text and 500MB of data for just $50. Kick in another $20 and take advantage of Unlimited Data, or add $10 for every extra 2GB of data. This move is T-Mobile’s largest “UNcarrier” action to date and works to cut the subsidized phone model that has exhausted for years in the wireless industry. With Tuesdays event set to formally unveil the new rate plan sets to the public, as well LTE and possibly some (fingers crossed) iPhone news, today marks a reinvention of T-Mobile as a brand and company.
T-Mobile continues to face an uphill battle as it works to close the gap between its closest competitor in Sprint even as the MetroPCS combination closes in. The competition has promised to keep an eye on T-Mobile’s new “UNcarrier” approach toward rate plan subsidies, but so far have remained skeptical that the wireless consumer audience is ready for a brand new way to buy phones. How consumers will react to T-Mobile’s “UNcarrier” approach is something we should learn in swift order, so long as the company can work toward explaining the value — something they’ve had trouble doing in the past. T-Mobile’s marketing needs to tread carefully and work toward simplifying the explanation to offer concise reasons how T-Mobile’s move to a Value Plans only environment will save in the long run as well as upfront. In my eyes, T-Mobile’s success with this plan will rest considerably on the backs of their marketing department. It’s going to take far more than calling AT&T’s network “crap” to convince customers this new method for purchasing smartphones is the way to go.
There’s plenty of detail in our earlier posts as well some pretty pictures, diagrams and a full breakdown of all current handset pricing available here.
T-MobileThe first dinosaur fossil described from Washington state (left) is a portion of a femur leg bone (full illustration right) from a theropod dinosaur. Theropods are a group of meat-eating, two-legged dinosaurs, including T. rex and Velociraptor. The fossil was discovered by Burke Museum paleontologists at Sucia Island State Park in the San Juan Islands. (Illustration courtesy of PLOS ONE, modified by the Burke Museum.)
Washington just became the 37th state to find a confirmed dinosaur fossil -- and it may be the last.
Burke Museum Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Christian Sidor, one of the leaders of the new study published Wednesday in PLOS ONE that announces the find, didn't think his team would ever be able to identify the bone in question. The fossil, found in hard inter-tidal rock in Sucia Island State Park in 2012, was big enough to get noticed at nearly 17 inches long -- but it was just one fragment of one bone.
[50 years after finding its giant arms, scientists have put this strange dinosaur’s pieces together]
"In the year and a half that it waited in the museum queue to be prepared, I was pretty dubious about our being able to identify it as anything more than a large bone," Sidor said.
But then he saw the side of the bone that the attached rock had been hiding, and he changed his tune.
The part of the bone that had been embedded in rock has a muscle ridge found in land animals. Most of Washington state was covered in water at the time of the dinosaurs, which is probably why none had been found before. But if the fossil wasn't part of a marine creature, that meant there was a chance. And when Sidor and his team realized that the bone was hollow -- a trait that birds inherited from their dinosaur ancestors -- it was time to go compare it with known dinosaur bones.
Christian Sidor, Burke Museum curator of vertebrate paleontology, and Brandon Peecook, University of Washington graduate student, show the size and placement of the fossil fragment compared to the cast of a Daspletosaurus femur. (Burke Museum)
"We went to museums with fossils of the same age and compared them," Sidor said, "And that's when I became really convinced that what we had was the upper part of a carnivorous dinosaur's thigh."
Because the fossil is such a tiny piece of the dinosaur, any further identification is impossible for now. Sidor is certain it's a theropod -- the group that includes carnivorous dinosaurs like T. rex -- and it lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 80 million years ago. But that's all we can say.
[First ever evidence of a swimming, shark-eating dinosaur]
According to Sidor, his team's big first may be the nation's last. Washington was pretty much the last state with a reasonable hope of dinosaur fossils that hadn't had any turn up yet. The remaining 13 all have pretty good excuses. Hawaii, for example, is only 6 million years old, which is way past dino time. Other states, like Florida and Louisiana, were probably totally underwater at the time. And in a lot of Northeastern states, Sidor explained, all the rocks from the dinosaur era were scraped away by glaciers long ago.
"We may actually be the last state to find its first dinosaur," he said.
Want more dinos? Give these a click:
Newly discovered dinosaur, Dreadnoughtus, takes title of largest terrestrial animal
This tiny dinosaur may have had wings like a bat
Perplexing ‘platypus’ dinosaur discovered in ChilePlay Facebook
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Despite the escalating animosity between GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in recent weeks — due to everything from accusations of lies and philandering to name-calling and shots at their wives — the two men had always begrudgingly agreed on one thing: to support the GOP nominee no matter who would be representing the party come November.
But during a Tuesday night town hall broadcast on CNN, Trump pulled out of that promise.
"Honestly he doesn’t have to support me," the real estate mogul said of Cruz. "I’m not asking for his support. I want the people’s support."
Related: Rubio Is Making Unprecedented Bid to Keep His Delegates
When pushed again by moderator Anderson Cooper about whether he’d respect the so-called "Loyalty Pledge" a stage full of then-candidates agreed to during the very first GOP debate in Cleveland last August, Trump was more direct: "No, I don’t anymore. No. We’ll see who it is. And he was essentially saying the same thing."
Cruz has been more slowly backing away from the pledge for the last week after Trump retweeted a supporter who attacked the appearance of Heidi Cruz compared to Melania Trump.
At the time, Cruz pointed at the camera, called Trump a "sniveling coward" and said he should "leave Heidi the hell alone." But Cruz stopped short of saying he wouldn't support Trump in the general election.
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"I'm going to beat him for the nomination," he told NBC News last Thursday. "Donald Trump will not be the nominee."
Cruz was similarly cagey Tuesday night when asked again about backing Trump, but seemed to be pulling out of the pledge.
Related: The GOP Got Donald Trump's Pledge. So What?
"I'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and attacks my family," Cruz said on the stage in Milwaukee. "I think that is going beyond the line. They don't belong in the attacks. And, listen, I'm not an easy person to tick off, but when you go after my wife, when you go after my daughters, that does it."
He continued to slip the question posed by Cooper, but held fast to his “solution” to the pledge of defeating Trump.
"We're going to beat him," Cruz reiterated.2016 GOTY Awards Along with our group-selected 2016 Game of the Year Awards, each member of the PC Gamer staff has independently chosen one game to commend as a personal favorite of the year. We'll continue to post new Staff Picks throughout the rest of 2016.
New Hitman is my favourite Hitman. Its levels are some of the most intricate, well-designed puzzle-boxes on PC, with countless entertaining ways to solve them. I love those early moments where you're wandering the level in disguise, learning its patterns and mechanisms, working out how to complete your objective. Then attempting something, inevitably screwing it up, and improvising to dig yourself out of a hole.
My favourite games are the kind that encourage and reward creative thinking, and that's something Hitman does brilliantly. If you have an absurd idea, the game will almost always accommodate and react to it. And even if your plan is hopeless, it's still fun to experiment, poking and prodding at the systems until they fall apart.
And the levels look beautiful. IO Interactive has some of the most talented environment artists in the business, and Agent 47's world tour in Hitman takes him to some amazing places. There's Sapienza, of course, which sees him travelling to Italy's sun-soaked Amalfi Coast. I love the upmarket spa and high-end hospital combo in Hokkaido too, and the jarring presence of the ultra-modern Swedish embassy in Marrakech. The variety of countries and locations you visit to cause trouble is very James Bond.
It's a game with a sense of humour, and there are numerous cruel and ironic ways to deal with your targets.
I wouldn't say the AI is smart exactly, but IO has definitely done a better job of making them feel like people. So if you get caught trespassing in a restricted area, you won't be immediately shot on the spot. A guard will warn you to leave, then guide you patiently to the exit if you refuse. It’s more forgiving in general, and the optional ‘opportunities’ to point out possible ways to complete the mission are a welcome addition.
These little AI touches make the NPCs around you feel a lot more organic and reactive. Although they are a little too eager to drop whatever they're doing, no matter how important, to follow the sound of a thrown coin. There's a cyclist in the Sapienza level writhing on the ground after an accident who will suddenly stand bolt upright, miraculously healed, if you drop a coin nearby.
But quirks like this are, weirdly, a part of Hitman's charm. It's a game with a sense of humour, and there are numerous cruel and ironic ways to deal with your targets. The forgettable storyline is told through cinematic, self-serious cut-scenes, but then you get into the game and suddenly you're killing people with explosive golf balls and dressing up in silly outfits. Hitman is at its best when it embraces the absurdity of its assassinations—especially in the brilliant bonus missions, which cleverly remix a few levels, including turning Sapienza into a B-movie set.
Hitman's level setups aren't quite as imaginative as those in Blood Money. That game still has the new one beat in terms of interesting premises. But in every other respect it's a much better game. The systems are richer, the AI is sharper, the controls are more refined, and the addition of side missions like elusive targets and escalations keeps you coming back for more long after finishing it.
After the disappointing Absolution (which had some great levels hidden among all the forced cinematic nonsense, to be fair), it's great to see IO Interactive realising and doubling down on what people really love about their most famous series: namely big, open sandboxes full of possibilities, amusing ways to kill people, and a variety of ludicrous costumes to wear while doing it. I can't wait for the next season.The weakening economy and housing sales notwithstanding, wealthy buyers are still seeing Cape Town’s blue chip property locations such as the Atlantic Seaboard as a good store of wealth, according to Ian Slot of Seeff Properties.
Slot, Seeff’s managing director for the area said that about R1bn worth of R20m-plus trophy homes sales have already sold across the city for this year, most in suburbs such as Clifton, Camps Bay, Bantry Bay and Fresnaye.
This includes a recent record R111m (including VAT) sale of a luxury home in Nettleton Road, Clifton to a Johannesburg buyer. The previous highest price for a house in the suburb was R60m paid for a Nettleton Road property in 2010.
This is also one of only three agency sales to have ever topped the R100m mark, two of which were sold by Seeff.
The Stefan Antoni designed home is built over several levels, offering a massive 1 381 square metre in floor space served by an elevator. The views are spectacular, with miles and miles of ocean to the front and mountain to the rear.
Clifton home interior
Large glass stack doors open the main floor and living areas to a terrace and rim-flow swimming pool that is suspended mid-air over the ocean. The master bedroom suite covers an entire floor.
There is also a house manager/butler’s apartment, high-tech 10-seater cinema, gymnasium, store rooms, a multi-media and electronics control room and top class finishes including state-of-the-art underfloor temperature control (heating and cooling) throughout.
Image source: SAOTA (original designers)
This sale follows the sale of a 2 500 square metre tract of vacant land that fronts onto Victoria Road for the record price of R70m last year. This price is also the highest ever paid for a residential plot in the country.
Clifton is now so sought after that land prices have doubled in just five years, said Lance Cohen, the agent behind both record sales. A 1 242 square metre plot in Nettleton Road sold by the agent for R35m about three years ago, resold within a year for almost double at R68.3m. Cohen said a client declined an offer of R140m late last year for a 40 00 square metre tract of land in Nettleton Road.
The average house price for Clifton now stands at R19.7m, the highest in the country and about R5m more than five years ago, said Cohen. The average rate per square metre too is up year-on-year by 20% from last year’s high of R100 000/sqm to R120 000/sqm, still the highest in the country.
So far this year, four properties in Clifton were sold above the R20m mark, while Bantry Bay saw seven properties, Fresnaye two and Camps Bay one going for above R20m.
About 60% of top-end buyers are Capetonians, with Johannesburg, KZN and foreigners snapping up the rest, mostly holiday and investment homes.
The Cape property market is enjoying some of the highest confidence levels in the country. It has been a strong performer over the past two years with the R20m-plus trophy sector of the market surging ahead in price and value, said Slot.
Fin24
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Inside South Africa’s most expensive houseFrom The Comics Journal #134 (February 1990)
It’s accurate enough to refer to Jack Kirby as an American original, but it’s hard to know where to place the emphasis — on American or original. He’s certainly both, in spades. Renowned as one of the handful of true artistic giants in the history of comic books, it’s difficult to come up with encomiums that have not become commonplace. Although I had known Jack for some time and spoken to him not infrequently prior to conducting this “formal” interview, it was not until I read over the transcript that I understood just how thoroughly Jack is a child of his time and place. Growing up on the Lower East Side shaped his life and his work which, combined with a robust imagination and seemingly inexhaustible energy, substantially shaped the trajectory of the American commercial comic book. A dubious contribution to the American comic book, you may think, until you realized that it wasn’t Kirby’s fault that hacks and no talents, aided and abetted by opportunistic publishers, have been ripping off his work and plagiarizing him wholesale for decades. Though the refined eyes of the aesthete may consider Kirby’s work crude, ornery, and anti-intellectual, the fact remains that he combined the virtues and limitations of his class with a stubborn genius to produce a body of comics work that has remained consistently true to its source and is unparalleled both in quantity and quality. This interview was conducted in three different sessions over the summer of 1989 at the Kirby’s comfortable home in Thousand Oaks, a suburb of Los Angeles. Jack’s wife, Roz, sat in on the interviews and helped recall with precision key points in Jack’s career. My thanks to them both, specifically for helping assemble artwork illustrating this interview, and more generally for their friendship over the last half dozen years.
All images written and drawn by Kirby unless otherwise noted.
GROWING UP ON THE EAST SIDE
JACK KIRBY: I don’t know where your father comes from, but where I came from, everybody was an immigrant. My people were from Europe. My family came from Austria, both my mother and my father. We lived on New York’s Lower East Side. The value of money was different then. We paid $12 rent a month, and a nickel was worth maybe the equivalent of a dollar today. It was very hard for a young man to get a nickel from his mother, but somehow you managed. When I visited New York, somebody thought it would give me a big thrill if he took me down there where I grew up, and I’d be thrilled by the sight of my humble origins, and I hated the place. I wanted to get out of there! [Laughter.]
GARY GROTH: Now this is the Lower East Side. Exactly what street?
KIRBY: It was on Suffolk Street. It was right next to Norfolk Street, and I went to school at P.S. 20.
GROTH: Why did you hate the place?
KIRBY: I hated the place because I... Well, it was the atmosphere itself. It was the way people behaved. I got sick of chasing people all over rooftops and having them chase me over rooftops. I knew that there was something better, and instinct told me that it was uptown, and I’d walk every day from my block to 42nd Street where the Daily News was, where I could be near the Journal, the Hearst newspapers. I’d run errands for the reporters. My boss was playing golf [in the office], and he was shooting golf balls through an upturned telephone book, see? That’s the kind of job I wanted! [Laughter.]
GROTH: Was this a poor neighborhood?
KIRBY: Where I came from, Suffolk Street? It still is, and Norfolk Street next to it still is. The whole area is extremely poor.
GROTH: What did your father do?
KIRBY: My father worked in a factory like everybody else’s father.
GROTH: And your parents were immigrants?
KIRBY: My parents were immigrants. And the place for all immigrants was the factories. They were the source of cheap labor. The immigrants had to make a living. They had to support their families, and they did it on very little, and so we had very little... You know, we couldn’t wear the best of clothes. I always wore turtleneck sweaters and knickers when I could get them. There were two of us, my brother and I. My brother is gone. He passed away, so I’m the only one left in the family. He was a younger brother. He was five years my junior. He was bigger. He was about 6’ 1”, very broad kid, and when I came out of school, I’d be jumped by all these guys, and he’d see my feet sticking out of this pile and dive in. And he’d pull me out from under this pile, and he’d whale in to them.
GROTH: Now, when you say you were jumped and your feet were sticking out of a pile of bodies, it sounds amusing now, but I assume it wasn’t amusing then.
KIRBY: It’s not even amusing now that I think about it. You know, the punches were real, and the anger was real, and we’d chase each other up and down fire escapes, over rooftops, and we’d climb across clotheslines, and there were real injuries.
GROTH: This was a tough neighborhood.
KIRBY: This was the toughest!
GROTH: Can you explain what you mean by that? Were there gangs?
KIRBY: Yes, there were gangs all over the place. Some of my friends became gangsters. You became a gangster depending upon how fast you wanted a suit. Gangsters weren’t the stereotypes you see in the movies. I knew the real ones, and the real ones were out for big money. The average politician was crooked. That was my ambition, to be a crooked politician. I’d see them in these restaurants, and they’d all hold these conferences. I’d see politicians who were supposed to be on opposite sides of issues all together at one table.
GROTH: Did this disillusion you about morality or politics in America?
KIRBY: If America gave anybody anything it is ambition. Bad things would come out of it because some guys are in a hurry, but that doesn’t mean they’re evil or anything, it just means they fall into bad grace somehow. It was hard to find work. A friend of mine was going to go out to get a job because his mother told him to get a job, so he said, I’ll go out and draw pictures and they’ll pay me for them. And his mother said, “No son of mine will become an artist. You’ll sit around with berets in Greenwich Village and talk to loose women.” Of course, mothers were very conventional, everything was very conventional. You had to have approval.
GROTH: There were very strict social conventions.
KIRBY: Very strict social conventions, and you adhered to it, and I think it gave you a lot of character. When a man said something, he meant it. He wasn’t kidding around. There were no jokes involved. Nobody was in the mood to joke unless you hit a guy with a baseball bat.
GROTH: Can you describe the social context a little more? The kid gangs that were running around: did they have their own turf? Did they run in real gangs?
KIRBY: They ran in gangs because they lived in certain places. Everybody who lived on Suffolk Street would be the Suffolk Street Gang. Everybody who lived on Norfolk Street would be the Norfolk Street Gang.
GROTH: Were there ethnic divisions?
KIRBY: Well, there were ethnic divisions, yes. Yes. Italians were predominantly Catholic. Some gangs were Irish, some gangs were black.
GROTH: Why was there such violence?
KIRBY: There was violence because first of all, there were ethnic differences and names. If you were small, they called you a runt, and you had to do something about that even if there were five other guys. There were a lot of ethnic slurs, there had to be, and I think in that respect that through the fighting, through the adversity, we began to know each other. I had never seen an Irishman. I’d never seen an Italian. My family had never seen an Italian. My family came from Central Europe, see, and they saw Germans and Austrians. You had to grow up sometime. The fellows who grew early, they were in jeopardy. They became the cops and the crooks, and the crooks became the gangsters. The crooks became the Al Capones.
GROTH: Were crooked politicians and gangsters looked on with disfavor?
KIRBY: They were looked on as acceptable, but with fear. Gangsters —
GROTH: Why were they —?
KIRBY: — it wasn’t a matter of morals. It was what they wanted, how fast they wanted it. Now Capone ran Chicago. He ran the politicians. He ran the entire city. Yet his mother would come out and slap him around for not going to church on Sunday.
GROTH: Were they actually looked up to?
KIRBY: Yes, they were looked up to and feared. I think you can be looked up to out of fear just as much as you in look up to a man because of his ability or his promise. Adolf Hitler. I wouldn’t call Adolf Hitler a corporal, OK? Adolf Hitler was looked up to. He was revered almost like a God because he was feared. Adolf Hitler took all of Europe, and my generation had to confront Adolf Hitler.
GROTH: Did you yourself get in a lot of fights when you were a kid?
KIRBY: Yes. They were unavoidable.
ROZ KIRBY: And your brother got into a lot of fights.
KIRBY: Yes. As I said. my brother was a big kid.
GROTH: A tough kid?
KIRBY: He was as tough as anybody else, but he was young. He was five years younger than myself. My mother wanted my brother to wear nice clothes and be a big style kid. Well, can you imagine a big style kid with a lace collar and velvet pants and long, curly hair — blonde hair that came down to his shoulders? I’d get into fights because of my brother, and I got into fights because of his velvet pants and his lace collar, and my brother being a younger boy did the best he could, but I had to whale into these guys. I had to really whale into ’em, and I did. And it was a common, everyday occurrence. Fighting became second nature. I began to like it. And I love wrestling. When I went into the Army. I took judo. Out of a class of 27, just me and another fellow graduated. There was nothing wrong with me. I loved it.
GROTH: Now these fights in your neighborhood — these were serious, knock-down, drag-out fights.
KIRBY: Oh yes, they were. Not only that, but they were climb-out fights. There was a monument store. There was a store that built funeral monuments, and we used to run over those monuments. We used to hop from monument to monument chasing each other. For all I know, the may still be on Suffolk Street.
GROTH: Now, what do you mean by a “climb-out fight”?
KIRBY: A climb-out fight is where you climb a building. You climb fire escapes. You climb to the top of the building. You fight on the roof, and you fight all the way down again. You fight down the wooden stairs, see? And, of course, I didn’t win all of them. You fought fair. If the other guy wants to fight and you knocked him out, you did your best for him. You didn’t want to hurt him any more. There was one time they knocked me out and laid me in front of my mother’s door. And in order for my mother not to be shocked they readjusted my clothes and they saw that nothing was rumpled and I looked very comfortable next to the apartment door, so when my mother would open the door it wouldn’t be that much of a shock.
GROTH: Were you actually knocked unconscious?
KIRBY: Well, yes.
GROTH: Were you ever seriously injured? Broken bones, or...
KIRBY: No, I don’t think so. I was pretty good, to be frank with you, but against five guys…you know, it didn’t really faze me.
ROZ KIRBY: You were like Captain America.
KIRBY: Yes. Captain America would try to fight 10 guys. 1 said, How do you fight 10 guys? The fights in Captain America were very serious. If you looked them over. they’re real fights. I’d say, “What happens to this guy while Cap fights the other four?” And I would figure it out like a ballet. It would really be a ballet.
GROTH: Do you feel that your immersion in this violent world as a kid shaped these themes in your drawing and moved you in that direction?
KIRBY: Well, it helped me live. It helped me stay alive.
GROTH: I mean, do you think it affected the way you drew and the way you...
KIRBY: Oh, yes. You can judge it for yourself. You can see my early books on Captain America. I had to draw the things I knew. In one fight scene, I recognized my uncle. I’d subconsciously drawn my uncle, and 1 didn’t know it until I took the page home. So I was drawing reality, and if you look through all my drawings. you’ll see reality. When I began to grow older, I grew less... You don’t really grow less belligerent.
GROTH: [Laughing.] Right.
KIRBY: It stays inside you, somehow, and it always has its uses.
GROTH: What kind of recreational activities did you engage in as a kid? I mean, did you play stickball, or…?
KIRBY: Yes, I played everything. I played stickball. I played baseball. 1 played left end on my high school team.
GROTH: What was your relationship with your parents like?
KIRBY: My parents loved me. My father used to carry me around on my shoulders. I know my father loved me. All families love their children, and we were good boys.
GROTH: Did you enjoy school? Were you a good student?
KIR |
Production-sharing Agreement in February 1997, just 10 weeks before the signing of the Khartoum Peace Agreement between the government and the Southern independence and defence groups.
After bringing OMV, Petronas and Sudapet on board, Lundin began seismic acquisition, and Khartoum sent in troops and the air force to keep the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF) from controlling the oilfields. The peace deal soon collapsed.
In May 1999, the Lundin Consortium suspended its operations after an attack on its oil installations by the SSDF, though it soon after announced “a significant new oil discovery” comparable with the finds in Blocks 1 and 2 that contained an estimated 500 to 800 million barrels of reserves.
In the second stage, while operations were officially suspended, Lundin pushed on with building an all-weather road to the oilfield with the help of a major government offensive to protect road construction.
The completion of a pipeline from Blocks 1 and 2 to the Red Sea in July 1999 led to huge oil revenues flowing into Khartoum’s coffers, which allowed the government to increase its offensives in Block 5A using newly purchased large-calibre artillery, helicopter gunships, and armoured combat vehicles.
The road was completed in January 2001, when Lundin began drilling, and by March it announced a major oil strike with the field reportedly containing recoverable reserves of 149.1 million barrels of oil.
In the third stage the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudan People’s Defence Force (SPDF), who had reunified following a cease-fire agreement in August 2001, declared oil operations a legitimate military target. Khartoum responded by launching a final major offensive to control Block 5A and to clear the oil areas of civilians.
In January 2002, Lundin was again forced to suspend operations after an attack on its installations. In March 2003, after announcing that it would resume activities, Lundin Petroleum and OMV sold their rights in Block 5A to Petronas and ONGC Videsh Ltd (India) respectively.
In September 2003, the Naivasha Agreement on Security Arrangements was signed by the Khartoum government and the SPLA (representing the Southern ruling elites), as a prelude to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the parties signed on January 9, 2005, bringing to an end two decades of civil war in which some 2 million people died—mostly due to starvation—and 4 million people lost their homes.
The CPA called for a future (2011) referendum on Southern independence and the sharing of oil and non-oil revenue. It made the SPLA the de facto ruling group in the South and a partner to rule in Khartoum. Under the wealth-sharing agreement all revenue was to be shared between Khartoum and the SPLA, with each receiving at least 2 percent of oil revenue.
The main impetus for settling the dispute has been pressure from Europe and the United States, because the 20-year civil war hampered their ability to extract the enormous oil reserves that lie predominantly under the border region. Southern Sudan produces over 80 percent of all the country’s oil, which contributes around 70 percent of total Sudanese exports. US oil companies felt that they have been hampered by Washington’s uncompromising stance on Sudan, and felt marginalised by other foreign oil companies that were working more closely with the Khartoum regime.
In the five years since its signing, the oil revenue generated did not find its way to the wider population, where poverty and sporadic starvation are the norm. Nor was money spent on much needed infrastructure projects.
In addition, the shaky alliances that went into signing the CPA have disintegrated, with Northern and Southern partners within the Government of National Unity at loggerheads, and divisions re-emerging within the Southern parties as the referendum approaches. The SPLA government was accused of corruption, and along with the Khartoum government, of fraud during the recent elections.The UK’s tax policy is effectively dictated by companies and not ministers, according to a leading barrister and adviser to the Treasury on its recent “Google tax”.
Philip Baker QC said policymakers and tax experts had learned over recent decades that the mobility of companies and jobs meant there was “no question [countries] have to be competitive to survive”. As a consequence, governments had to provide the tax policies that international corporations wanted.
Speaking to an audience of tax planners, academics and HMRC officials at the Centre for Business Taxation, part of Oxford University’s Said Business School, Baker said: “I don’t think in the last 20 years or so one can say that governments have driven corporation tax policy. It’s the large companies that have driven the direction of corporate tax policy.”
His comments add to claims two years ago from WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, who said corporation tax payments were “a question of judgment” for multinational companies, weighed against corporate reputation as much as the risk of challenge in the tax courts.
In 2008, Sorrell had switched the advertising group’s headquarter functions from London to Dublin to escape a tightening of UK tax rules for offshore subsidiaries. When, four years later, this crackdown was reversed, Sorrell promptly returned WPP’s HQ activities to the UK.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Martin Sorrell described corporation tax payments as a question of judgment. Photograph: Francois G. Durand/Getty Images
Baker, who is one of Europe’s leading authorities on international tax law and advised the government on its “Google tax”, said the influence corporations exert over tax policy was inevitable unless there was more coordination between EU member states on tax, such as measures proposed by the European commission last week.
Known as the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), these new proposals were set out by commissioner for tax Pierre Moscovici in answer to the LuxLeaks scandal, which last year laid bare the extent to which some smaller EU countries had set their tax policy to routinely facilitate tax avoidance by multinationals, eroding tax receipts beyond their borders.
Baker told the tax conference he thought it regrettable that the UK appeared to have immediately rejected such plans out of hand. “I understand why the UK will not join in implementing CCCTB, but it’s a great pity because until you’ve tried something you don’t know if it might actually work,” he said. “It is conceivable that perhaps with the enhanced cooperation of a number of countries it works and we do have a genuine alternative.”
Commenting on George Osborne’s diverted profits tax — commonly known as the “Google tax” — Baker said it was no different in effect from the tax reforms being developed by a G20 initiative, of which the UK was part. He said the chancellor had moved ahead of that process, introducing the measure early for political reasons.
“The impending election meant that the UK couldn’t wait,” he explained, though he stressed he was speaking personally and not for ministers. “The government would have been criticised for not doing anything about corporate tax avoidance.” More broadly, however, he insisted companies were driving corporate tax policy, not ministers — though he accepted this was a controversial claim some would dispute.
The Centre for Business Taxation is funded by donations from many of Britain’s largest corporations including Diageo, GlaxoSmithKline, Alliance Boots, SABMiller and Pearson. Past donors have included Vodafone, WPP Group, Shire Pharmaceuticals and ICAP. Many of these companies have been involved in high-profile controversies about tax in the past.
Also speaking at the conference, Edward Troup, HMRC’s tax assurance commissioner, said he too felt recent decades of globalisation had brought a shift away from the “high-water mark of what you might call statism” in terms of tax treatment of multinationals.
The conference was organised by Michael Devereux, an economist who heads the Centre for Business Taxation at the Said Business School and who is also an adviser to the Treasury, sitting on the department’s business forum for tax and competitiveness.
As long ago as 1999, Devereux had told the House of Lords he believed corporation tax collection was doomed. “If I can make a bold prediction, I would say that corporate taxes will eventually just wither — there will be no corporate tax at all, partly because of the process of competition between states and partly as companies can organise their affairs effectively to reduce their corporation tax,” he told peers.
Devereux told the conference, which marked 50 years of corporation tax in the UK, that he stood by his long-held belief that countries would eventually compete this tax out of existence. He said that with its ambition to become the most competitive tax regime in the G20 the UK had made strides in that direction – including the lowering of the statutory tax rate for large businesses from 28% to 20% in the last parliament – but there was more that he would like to see done.A SWAT training exercise mounted by the Broward Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, and the FBI portrayed “native born” Americans carrying out a terrorist attack on Port Everglades, part of the accelerating demonization of American citizens as domestic extremists.
The drill was based around “sovereign citizens” attempting to steal a shipment of ammunition traveling through the facility by seizing hostages and planting bombs as part of their wider agenda to overthrow the government.
“These weren’t foreign-born America-hating terrorists. These were native-born America-hating terrorists. And they were making things difficult for the good guys,” barks a dramatic Florida Sun Sentinel report.
The whole spectacle was basically an opportunity for the Fort Lauderdale Police SWAT team to show off its arsenal of militarized gear, including “Two Bears -- massive armored vehicles with turrets for automatic weapons fire -- a beefed up front-end loader that lifted an overturned car like a toy and Hummers packed with serious firepower.”
The exercise ended with the seven terrorists – being played by FBI agents – “neutralized” and all the hostages rescued.
“It’s all about being prepared,” said SWAT chief Capt. Eddie Grant. “South Florida is a hot area, we have a stadium, two major ports. We have a lot of high-profile targets.”
As we have documented, the trend of the federal government portraying American citizens as terrorists in both training exercises and promotional material has gone hand in hand with the increasing militarization of law enforcement.
Last month, former Marine Corps Colonel Peter Martino, who was stationed in Fallujah and trained Iraqi soldiers, warned that the Department of Homeland Security is working with law enforcement to build a "domestic army," because the federal government is “afraid of its own citizens.”
Speaking in relation to a decision on whether the Concord City Council would accept a $260,000 Homeland Security grant on behalf of the Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit to purchase a BearCat armored vehicle, Martino cautioned, "What's happening here is we're building a domestic military," adding that police are now "wearing the exact same combat gear that we had in Iraq, only it was a different color."
Characterization of politically motivated Americans as domestic extremists has become a familiar practice for the DHS.
A Homeland Security-funded training exercise in Boston dubbed "Operation Urban Shield" that was delayed due to April's marathon bombing revolved around a terrorist cell dubbed "Free America Citizens."
Back in March, Arkansas State Fusion Center Director Richard Davis admitted that the federal agency spies on Americans deemed to be "anti-government," noting that the DHS concentrates on, "domestic terrorism and certain groups that are anti-government. We want to kind of take a look at that and receive that information," so-called threats which included people, "putting political stickers in public bathrooms or participating in movements against the death penalty."
Last year, a DHS-funded study produced by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland characterized Americans who are "suspicious of centralized federal authority," and "reverent of individual liberty" as "extreme right-wing" terrorists.
The DHS also stoked controversy in 2011 when it released a series of videos to promote the See Something, Say Something campaign in which almost all of the terrorists portrayed in the PSAs were white Americans.
The 2009 MIAC report, published by the Missouri Information Analysis Center and first revealed by Infowars, also framed Ron Paul supporters, libertarians, people who display bumper stickers, people who own gold, or even people who fly a U.S. flag, as potential terrorists.
_
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.
Image: Wikimedia CommonsA win alone in the Abu Dhabi season finale will not be sufficient for Hamilton to clinch the 2016 drivers' title, as the Brit also needs Rosberg to end up off the podium.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner suggested earlier in the weekend that, if Hamilton finds himself leading his teammate in the race, he would be "smart" to hold up Rosberg to allow other drivers to attack - claiming it would be "the only way the result could fall his way".
However, in the pre-event press conference, Hamilton indicated he does not agree with that suggestion.
"Nico has been on pole here for the last two years here, he has been very quick," Hamilton said. "This has been a relatively strong circuit for me, but [I was] not delivering the last two years, so my sole goal is to do so.
"In terms of tactics in the race, that has to come on Sunday, that has never been my thought process. If I am ahead, I want to be as far ahead as possible.
"When you have a 18-30 seconds' lead, that is as painful a blow as you can give to the guy you are fighting.
"If you look at last race [Brazil] with no red flag, I would be 30 seconds ahead. That is more of an achievement than backing up your teammate.
"While here it sounds like it makes sense, it is not very practical to do. You have two long DRS zones, it wouldn’t be easy or wise to do so."
Abu Dhabi title permutations:January 13, 2014 WATCH: Lake Michigan Waves Birth Giant Ice Balls
By by Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer January 13, 2014, 5:35:39 AM EST
Visitors to the shores of Lake Michigan were greeted by an interesting sight this week, as waves lapped against hundreds of massive ice balls.
The balls, or boulders, as some have called them, are formed when water from the lake begins to freeze and is pushed ashore by wave action, according to AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Jim Andrews.
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As the waves lap the shore, the ice is tumbled, smoothed and frozen into a round shape.
"It's possible that the ice is accreting like a snowball or like a hailstone, and that they keep growing," Andrews said.
While the process does require specific conditions, it's definitely not an abnormal event, he said.
Lake Michigan turns into a sea of ice balls. (Original Video/Glen Arbor Facebook page and Glen Arbor Artisans)
Report a TypoI’ve criticized evolutionary psychology more than a few times, and usually my arguments rest on their appallingly bad understanding of the “evolutionary” part of their monicker — proponents all seem to be rank adaptationists with a cartoon understanding of evolution. But what about the “psychology” part? I’ve mentioned at least one dissection of EP by a psychologist in the past, but here’s another one, a paper by the same author, Brad Peters, that explains that evolutionary psychology is poor neurobiology and bad psychology.
The paper points out that EP uses evidence inappropriately, ignores the range of alternative explanations to set up false dichotomies (“if you don’t accept evolutionary psychology, you must also deny evolution!”), plays rhetorical games to dodge questions about its assumptions, and basically is pulling an ideologically distorted version of neuroscience out of its institutional ass.
Evolutionary psychology defines the human mind as comprising innate and domainspecific information-processing mechanisms that were designed to solve specific evolutionary problems of our Pleistocene past. This model of the mind is the underlying blueprint used to engage in the kind of research that characterizes the field: speculating about how these innate mechanisms worked and what kinds of evolutionary problems they solved. But while evolutionary psychologists do engage in research to confirm or disconfirm their hypotheses, the results of even the most rigorous studies have been open to alternative, scientifically valid means of interpretation. What constitutes “evidence” would seem to vary in accordance with the theoretical assumptions of those viewing it. Arguments about, or appeals to, “the evidence” may thus involve little more than theoretical bible-thumping or pleading for others to view the “facts” from their preferred theoretical perspective. When theoretical paradigms are unable to agree on what it is that they are looking at, it reminds us that the data are anything but objective, and gives good reason to question the theoretical blueprints being used. This paper argues that evolutionary psychology’s assumptive definitions regarding the mind are often inconsistent with neurobiological evidence and may neglect very real biological constraints that could place limits on the kinds of hypotheses that can be safely posited. If there are problematic assumptions within evolutionary psychology’s definition of the mind, then we also have reason to question their special treatment of culture and learning, since both are thought to be influenced by modular assumptions unique to the paradigm. It is finally suggested that the mind can be adequately understood and its activities properly explained without hypothetical appeal to countless genetically pre-specified psychological programs, and in a way that remains consistent with both our neurobiology and neo-Darwinian evolution. While some of these critiques have been previously stated by others, the present paper adds to the discussion by providing a succinct summary of the most devastating arguments while offering new insights and examples that further highlight the key problems that face this field. Importantly, the critiques presented here are argued to be capable of standing their ground, regardless of whether evolutionary psychology claims the mind to be massively or moderately modular in composition. This paper thus serves as a continuation of the debate between evolutionary psychology and its critics. It will be shown how recent attempts to characterize critiques as “misunderstandings” seem to evade or ignore the main problems, while apparent “clarifications” continue to rely on some of the same theoretical assumptions that are being attacked by critics.
Another valid criticism is how evolutionary psychologists seem to be unaware of how the brain actually develops and works. Anybody who has actually studied neurodevelopment will know that plasticity is a hallmark. While genes pattern the overall structure, it’s experience that fine-tunes all the connections.
The current consensus within the neurobiological sciences seems to support a view where much of the brain is thought to be highly plastic and in which an abundance of neural growth, pruning, and differentiation of networks is directly influenced by environmental experience. This is especially the case for secondary, tertiary, and associational areas, which make up the majority of the brain’s neocortex and are primarily involved in the kinds of complex, higher-order, psychological processes that appear to be of greatest interest to experimental psychologists. These particular areas seemingly lack characteristics indicative of innate modularity, though, with experience and use, they may build upon the functional complexity of adjacent primary cortices that perhaps have such characteristics.
I also like that he addresses a common metaphor in EP — floating free of good evidence, much of the field relies on glib metaphors — that we can just treat the brain like it is a computer. It may compute, but it’s not very analogous to what’s going on in your desktop machine or phone. We aren’t made of circuits hard-printed by machines in Seoul; there is a general substrate of capabilities built upon by the experiences of the user. Further, we’re not entirely autonomous but rely in the most fundamental ways on by growth and development, sculpted by culture.
We can see the problem from a different perspective using evolutionary psychology’s favored computer analogy. While it is true that humans have some engrained and preprogrammed biological circuits, all evidence would suggest that, unlike modern computers, our environmental experiences can cause these mental circuits to become edited, hi-jacked, intensified or lessened, inhibited, and so on. How else might we explain a person acquiring a phobia of hats, a fetish for shoes, or having an apparent indifference to what might be an evolutionarily relevant danger (e.g., cliff jumping)? If we accept this is true, we must also accept that it becomes difficult to say what might have been there at birth, or instead shaped by common environmental experiences that we all share. Modern computers cannot be re-programmed without a human; they do not function like the human mind. We are the ones who effectively tell computers what the binary ones and zeros of their programming language will represent. We give symbolic meaning to the code, which allows us to even say that computers processes information. Now let us turn to the human mind. Evolutionary psychologists want to say that meaning and information are objectively pre-programmed by our inherited biology. However, it would appear that we extract much of our information, and the meaning it contains, from a sociocultural cloud of symbolic representations that belong to a shared human subjectivity, or something Raymond Tallis refers to as the community of minds. Our subjective mental states are thus socioculturally structured and shaped through our reliance on an agreed-upon language and agreed-upon sets of subjective human meanings. The brain is only one part of the picture: it facilitates the mechanistic activities of the mind, but it does not solely cause them. Human meanings, which belong to the collective community of minds, will thus often transcend the underlying mechanisms that represent them.
Wait. If the “evolution” part is crap, and the “psychology” part is bullshit, what’s left in evolutionary psychology to respect?
Peters, BM (2013) Evolutionary psychology: Neglecting neurobiology in defining the mind. Theory & Psychology 23(3) 305–322.The concept of `cultural process' has been of interest to anthropologists since the late 19th century. Franz Boas indicated that investigating cultural processes was central to anthropology, but his failure to define the concept set a disciplinary precedent. Process has seldom been discussed in theoretical detail because the basic notion is commonsensical. A.L. Kroeber provided a definition in 1948 and distinguished between short-term dynamics of how cultures operate and long-term dynamics resulting in cultural change. Leslie White conflated the two families of processes. Archaeologists working before 1960 focused on processes resulting in the diachronic evolution of cultures; many of these involved cultural transmission. Initially, processes involving the synchronic operation of a culture were conflated with diachronic evolutionary processes by processual archaeologists. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Lewis Binford, David Clarke, and Frank Hole and Robert Heizer all discussed cultural processes within the framework of systems theory. Simultaneously, growing concern over the formational processes that created the archaeological record shifted attention from the original conception of cultural processes. Models of the temporal duration, scale, and magnitude of cultural processes illustrate their complexity and suggest avenues for further conceptualization.
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.)
6) "Philosophical idealism is... a road to clerical obscurantism." (Ibid., p. 84.)
In order to appreciate the tremendous part played by Lenin's book in the history of our Party and to realize what theoretical treasure Lenin safeguarded from the motley crowd of revisionists and renegades of the period of the Stolypin reaction, we must acquaint ourselves, if only briefly, with the fundamentals of dialectical and historical materialism.
* * *
Enver Hoxha
"With Stalin"
Second and Third Meeting
«How many religious beliefs are there in Albania,» Comrade Stalin inquired, «and what language is spoken?»
«In Albania,» I replied, «there are three religions: Moslem, Orthodox, and Catholic. The population which professes these three faiths is of the same nationality — Albanian, therefore the only language used is Albanian, with the exception of the Greek national minority which speak their mother tongue.»
(Enver Hoxha, "With Stalin", Second Meeting, March, April 1949, page 121
* * *
During the talk with Stalin I pointed out to him the stand of the clergy, especially the catholic clergy in Albania, our position in relation to it, and asked how he judged our stand.
«The Vatican is a centre of reaction,» Comrade Stalin told me among other things, «it is a tool in the service of capital and world reaction, which supports this international organization of subversion and espionage. It is a fact that many catholic priests and missionaries of the Vatican are old-hands at espionage on a world scale. Imperialism has tried and is still trying to realize its aims by means of them.» Then he told me of what had happened once in Yalta with Roosevelt, the representative of the American catholic church and others.
During the talk with Roosevelt. Churchill and others on problems of the anti-Hitlerite war, they had said: «We must no longer fight the Pope in Rome. What have you against him that you attack him?!»
«I have nothing against him.» Stalin had replied.
«Then, let us make the Pope our ally,» they had said. «let us admit him to the coalition of the great allies.»
«All right,» Stalin had said, «but the anti-fascist alliance is an alliance to wipe out fascism and nazism. As you know, gentlemen, this war is waged with soldiers, artillery, machine-guns, tanks, aircraft. If the Pope or you can tell us what armies, artillery, machine-guns, tanks and other weapons of war he possesses, let him become our ally. We don’t need an ally for talk and incense.»
After that, they had made no further mention of the question of the Pope, and the Vatican.
«Were there catholic priests in Albania who betrayed the people?» Comrade Stalin asked me then.
«Yes.» I told him. «Indeed the heads of the catholic church made common cause with the nazi-fascist foreign invaders right from the start, placed themselves completely in their service, and did everything within their power to disrupt our National Liberation War and perpetuate the foreign domination.»
«What did you do with them?»
«After the victory,» I told him, «we arrested them and put them on trial and they received the punishment they deserved.»
«You have done well,» he said.
«But were there others who maintained a good stand?» he asked.
«Yes,» I replied, «especially clergymen of the Orthodox and Moslem religion.»
«What have you done with them?» he asked me.
«We have kept them close to us. In its First Resolution our Party called on all the masses, including the clergymen, to unite for the sake of the great national cause, in the great war for freedom and independence. Many of them joined us. threw themselves into the war and made a valuable contribution to the liberation of the Homeland. After Liberation they embraced the policy of our Party and continued the work for the reconstruction of the country. We have always valued and honoured such clergymen, and some of them have now been elected deputies to the People’s Assembly, or promoted to senior ranks in our army. In another case, a former clergyman linked himself so closely with the National Liberation Movement and the Party that in the course of the war he saw the futility of the religious dogma, abandoned his religion, embraced the communist ideology and thanks to his struggle, work and conviction we have admitted him to the ranks of the Party.»
«Very good,» Stalin said to me. «What more could I add? If you are clear about the fact that religion is opium for the people and that the Vatican is a centre of obscurantism, espionage and subversion against the cause of the peoples, then you know that you should act precisely as you have done.
« You should never put the struggle against the clergy, who carry out espionage and disruptive activities, on the religious plane,» Stalin said, «but always on the political plane. The clergy must obey the laws of the state, because these laws express the will of the working class and the Working people. You must make the people quite clear about these laws and the hostility of the reactionary clergymen so that even that part of the population which believes in religion will clearly see that, under the guise of religion, the clergymen carry out activities hostile to the Homeland and the people themselves. Hence the people, convinced through facts and arguments, together with the Government, should struggle against the hostile clergy. You should isolate and condemn only those clergymen who do not obey the Government and commit grave crimes against the state. But, I insist, the people must be convinced about the crimes of these clergymen, and should also be convinced about the futility of the religious ideology and the evils that result from it.»
(Enver Hoxha, "With Stalin", Third Meeting, November 1949, page 154 - 157)
* * *
Pravda 1940: "Lenin and Stalin on Religion (Russian language)
«Известия»
№01 сентябрь 1943
ПРИЕМ товарищем И. В. СТАЛИНЫМ МИТРОПОЛИТА СЕРГИЯ, МИТРОПОЛИТА АЛЕКСИЯ И МИТРОПОЛИТА НИКОЛАЯ
4 сентября у Председателя Совета Народных Комиссаров СССР товарища И. В. СТАЛИНА состоялся прием, во время которого имела место беседа с Патриаршим Местоблюстителем Митрополитом Сергием, Ленинградским Митрополитом Алексием и Экзархом Украины Киевским и Галицким Митрополитом Николаем.
Во время беседы Митрополит Сергий довел до сведения Председателя Совнаркома, что в руководящих кругах Православной Церкви имеется намерение в ближайшее время созвать Собор епископов для избрания Патриарха Московского и всея Руси и образования при Патриархе Священного Синода.
Глава правительства товарищ И. В. СТАЛИН сочувственно отнесся к этим предположениям и заявил, что со стороны правительства не будет к этому препятствий.
При беседе присутствовал Заместитель Председателя Совнаркома СССР тов. В. М. Молотов.
(«Известия», № 210, от 5 сентября 1943 г.)By By Katerina Nikolas Feb 7, 2012 in World Oslo - Mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik appeared in an Oslo court on Monday, where he demanded his freedom. He also told the court that he deserved a medal of honour for combating "Islamic colonisation." The Norway Post reported that the Tingrett Court remanded Breivik in police custody for a further 12 weeks. Before a huge media audience who attended the hearing, Breivik also demanded his freedom, saying his killing spree had been an act of self-defence. Breivik said his actions constituted a "preventive attack against state traitors" who supported immigration, according to the The Australian reported that Breivik said those who support immigration promote “an Islamic colonisation of Norway.” He then told the judge that he deserved a medal of honour for the attacks. If found guilty at his trial in April Breivik could face 21-years in prison for murder of 77 people. Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, who has admitted killing 77 people in the 2011 July 22 massacre in Oslo and on Utøya, appeared in an Oslo court on Monday to attend the final hearing before his scheduled trial in April. A smug smirk appeared on his face as he was led into the court in handcuffs.The Norway Post reported that the Tingrett Court remanded Breivik in police custody for a further 12 weeks. Before a huge media audience who attended the hearing, Breivik also demanded his freedom, saying his killing spree had been an act of self-defence.Breivik said his actions constituted a "preventive attack against state traitors" who supported immigration, according to the Telegraph. He went on to add "I acknowledge the acts but I plead not guilty. I do not accept imprisonment. I demand to be immediately released. We, the Norwegian resistance movement, will not just stand by while we are made a minority in our own country."The Australian reported that Breivik said those who support immigration promote “an Islamic colonisation of Norway.” He then told the judge that he deserved a medal of honour for the attacks.If found guilty at his trial in April Breivik could face 21-years in prison for murder of 77 people. More about Anders Bering Breivik, Norway killer, Islamic Colonisation, medal of honour, tingrett court More news from Anders Bering Breivi... Norway killer Islamic Colonisation medal of honour tingrett courtIt is often an allegation that progressives have no scriptural authority to determine that women can be ministers, that divorcees can be leaders, and that LGBT persons can be clergy or be partnered.
Unfortunately for those that allege such things, there’s a huge scriptural authority that is given by Jesus himself in the Gospel of Matthew.
One of my Lutheran friends reads this blog and passed on a fascinating premise: the Church, not the Bible, determines sin. The primary writing on this topic comes from Mark Allan Powell, a New Testament professor at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. I’ll be referencing his article in Ex Auditu (19:2003, 81-96).
Jesus gives the Church the power to define Sin
In Matthew 16:19, Jesus says to Peter “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven.” He gives this same power to the gathered Disciples in 18:18, including “and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Powell states that binding/loosing referred to the Jewish practice of interpretation of the law. The rabbis would “bind” a law when it applied to a situation, and “loose” a law when, even though the commandment was eternal valid, it was not applicable under certain circumstances.
To Matthew’s community, the final authority to identify which behaviors are classified as “sin” (and thus require cessation and repentance) lies not with the letter of the Law but with the community of faith that interprets the Law. Let’s be clear: this isn’t about dismissing Scriptural authority. By no means! Rather, the issue was “discernment of the law’s intent and of the sphere of its application” (Powell, 83).
Powell outlines many examples in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus applies this power.
Jesus binds the law against swearing false oaths (5:33-37), binds the laws against adultery to include lustful thoughts (5:27-28), and binds the commandment to love your neighbor as applicable to enemies (5:43-48).
Jesus looses the law against Sabbath work (12:1-14), looses the law against hand-washing (15:1-2,10-20) and looses the law against paying Caesar taxes (22:15-22).
Thus, Jesus exemplifies what it means to bind/loose a law found in the Bible, and by his actions at the end of his human life he confers that ability to the Disciples who would become the Church. Wherever Christ is present in a body of believers (Matthew 18:20), they (we) have this authority to express with plausible fidelity.
How this Helps the LGBT Debate
When you think about it, probably every hue of denomination and sect and tradition comes from disagreements over what in the Bible ought be loosed and what ought be bound. Free Methodists split over too loose of prohibitions against pew taxes in the Methodist Church. Baptists bind the prohibition of women from the ministry whereas Episcopalians loose it. And many denominations bind the prohibition against LGBT clergy and same-gender relationships, whereas an exponentially increasing number has loosed that prohibition in the past 2 decades. The variety of denominations and binding/loosing decisions is mind-boggling.
Given the variety of today’s Christian church, the obvious retort to applying Matthew’s method to the church today is that we have no monolithic entity to turn to. We have no standard body that all our denominations can look to for ethical disputes. While this could be a factor, history shows that Matthew was well aware of divisions in the first century biblical world. Written many decades after Jesus’ death, the Gospel had to have been written with full awareness of the diversity of the early Christian faith.
Thus we are called to apply this method to our churches and denominations. But how?
Time and time again, Jesus’ way of interpreting the Law is in conflict with the Pharisees. Quote:
“The Gospel offers both good and bad examples of with regard to how [binding and loosing] out to be done. Jesus consistently exemplifies the right way to bind and loose the Scriptures while the scribes and Pharisees consistently exemplify the wrong way to do so.” (Powell, 85)
As well, Powell outlines that the Church is not without a guide to making these binding/loosing decisions: In Matthew, Jesus gives many principles for interpretation, including the Golden Rule (7:12), preferring mercy over sacrifice (9:13;12:7), priority of love for God and neighbor (22:34-40), and priority of the law towards justice, mercy, and faithfulness (23:23).
So the question is not “is it in the Bible or not?” The answer is not “The bible says it, I believe it, that settles it!” Rather, the answer is more WWJD: How would Jesus interpret a Commandment, a Leviticus quote, and even a New Testament Timothy quote? Each community of faith is called to reflect Jesus’ principles for interpretation. Perhaps ultimately each church and denomination should ask themselves “What Would the Pharisees do?” and likely do the opposite.
Traditionalists who love LGBT persons but feel that the church has no biblical authority to “contradict God’s word” should be heartened by this practice of binding and loosing. This gives them biblical authority to decide, as a body, whether the prohibitions against same-gender behavior in the Scripture are applicable to same-gender relationships today. May we use it with plausible fidelity.
Thoughts?
This is part one of this discussion. The Good News is today that we are empowered to live out this ability and that Christian communities can authentically decide that the prohibitions against LGBT inclusion are loosed and do not apply to today’s world. Some Christian communities have loosed the prohibitions against women in the pulpit, and some have loosed the prohibitions against divorce. How they chose to bind and loose those ancient laws is no less the method by which communities can authentically do this today.
There is some Bad News about this method, but it will be a topic of discussion later in the week.
Thoughts?
Do you think denominations have the biblical authority to make those decisions?
If not, how does that authority clash with Matthew’s authority outlined above?
Thanks for reading and commenting…and sharing!
For further reading: A short look at the binding and loosing verses in Matthew is found here, an article about Powell’s speech at Trinity Lutheran Seminary is found here, and most of Powell’s article is found in the Free Library with several annoying ads to scroll past. Also an article by a professor at Pepperdine engages his argument well.PrimeFaces 5.2.Final Released
It is once again PrimeTime!!! PrimeFaces Team is proud to announce the all-new 5.2 major release, featuring over 270 improvements, new components, new features, significant quality enhancements, accessibility improvements and more. All provided free and open source under Apache License. Note that almost all these features and defect fixes were already available to Elite Subscribers via 5.1.x Elite Releases.
New Components
Diagram and Steps are the two new additions to the suite and PhotoCam has been reimplemented.
Diagram
Steps
New Features
Here are the significant new features;
Responsive DataTable
Vertical PickList
Dynamic Columns for TreeTable
Expand mode for DataTable resizable columns
GeoCoder for Gmap
Ajax events for OrderList and PickList
New options for AutoComplete
Skin for simple uploader
XLSX support for Exporter
Confirmation support for Menuitem
DataTable rowHover without selection
FontAwesome Integration
PartialSubmitFilter for Ajax API
Dynamic columns support inside ColumnGroups
ColumnGroup support for Frozen Columns
Resize feature for ColumnGroups
New javascript callbacks to certain components
Ability to control default state of PanelMenu
Improvements to ColumnToggler
Configurable sort order for null values in DataTable
Defect Fixes
We’ve fixed and resolved over 100 reported tickets. 5.2 now joins PrimeFaces Elite and development will continue for a greater level of quality and featureset starting from 5.2.1.
Accessibility
Various components such as tree, tabview and accordion has received accessibility enhancements including keyboard navigation and screen reader support.
Mobile
PrimeFaces Mobile has been updated with touch optimized DataGrid and DataTable components along with general maintenance.
Push
Special thanks to our good friend Jeanfrancois Arcand and his company Async-IO for the improvements in PrimeFaces Push.
Liferay
There are many compatibility improvements for Liferay, thanks to Neil Griffin and team for their collaboration.
Migration
As PrimeFaces is a stable product, there are no breaking changes and event nothing to document for migration. Upgrade from 5.1 should be simple as replacing the jar file.
Downloads
5.2 is now available at Maven Central, manual download is also available, refer to downloads page for details.
Roadmap
Next major community release is 5.3 due mid september 2015 and Elite for 5.2.x will join bi-weekly release cycle soon. We plan to add exciting new features and maintain the existing functionality. In parallel, our team will continue working on Premium Layouts&Themes.
Always bet on Prime!8th episode of the tenth season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
"To the Boy In the Blue Knit Cap" is the eighth and final episode of the tenth season of the American police procedural television drama series Law & Order: Criminal Intent. This episode is the final episode of the series. It first aired in the United States on the USA Network on June 26, 2011. In this episode, detectives Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames investigate a case centered on Parker and Thomas Gaffney, a set of wealthy twins, who file a lawsuit against a social networking site due to allegations of stealing copyright claims.
"To the Boy In the Blue Knit Cap" was written by Julie Martin and Chris Brancato, although uncredited, it was extensively re-written by René Balcer with Warren Leight writing the final scene of the episode, and it was directed by Jean de Segonzac. The story and the characters in the episode were highly influenced by the real-life lawsuit against Facebook made by Tyler Winklevoss and his brother Cameron Winklevoss, as well as the film adaption to the event, The Social Network. Critics reacted to the episode with mixed reception upon airing, with much criticism stemming from the cultural references and the episodic plot. Upon its original airing, "To the Boy In the Blue Knit Cap" was watched by 3.75 million viewers, and it achieved a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic according to the Nielson ratings. It featured guest appearances by James Van Der Beek, Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill, and James Brandon.
Plot [ edit ]
Goren and Eames investigate when the bodies of twins Parker and Thomas Gaffney are found in the offices of popular dating website Kizmate. The Gaffneys were apparently seeking information to use in a lawsuit against Kizmate's founders, Danielle and PJ Edwards. The Gaffneys apparently had the idea for Kizmate first and asked Danielle to help code the site. Danielle claims the algorithm used on the site was one she devised herself after she met PJ and was trying to track him down, leaving a message for "the boy in the blue knit cap".
No security cam footage is available. Goren thinks Thomas's body was already unconscious and Parker was trying to drag him across the floor. Parker was himself attacked while occupied with his brother's body.
The twins' father says Kizmate was the twins' idea; when the site launched, they realized Danielle had stolen their idea and asked her for their share of the site's profits. She refused, and the twins sued. PJ confirms Danielle's alibi of being at home, but the detectives are unconvinced. She was spotted arguing with business partner Rex Tamlyn at a club that night. Goren speaks with Rex, who says that Parker was the man behind the lawsuit, but he does not think the twins have proof. Deodorant residue is found on Parker's hands, and it matches the type found on Thomas's body. Parker broke into the Kizmate offices to find proof Danielle stole their idea. Thomas went to stop him, and they fought. After Thomas was injured, Parker dragged him and sought help. He was interrupted and stabbed.
The detectives learn Hildy Whitmore's key card was used. Hildy, Danielle's assistant, tells Goren and Eames she did not give her card to anyone and becomes huffy when the detectives press. Meanwhile, one of the computer techs at Major Case discovers Danielle used the same algorithm for Kizmate as she did for the Gaffneys' site. Danielle denies taking the twins' idea, and Samir, a business partner with the Gaffneys, says Danielle was with him all night, working on an out-of-court settlement for the lawsuit. He did not want the twins or PJ to know about it until he was sure Danielle was on board.
PJ is upset that Danielle brokered a deal outside of court, but Rex reminds him they are still the public face of the company and they cannot have a public falling out. The detectives confront Rex about his alibi, suggesting that he was with Hildy that night, which Rex denies. Rex shows them a picture from a hidden camera in the office, and they notice a blue knit cap covered the lens. During questioning, Hildy admits she and PJ turned off the cameras to hide an affair. Parker used the affair to blackmail her into allowing him access to the office.
Samir says he was aware what the twins were up to and how Parker got into the Kizmate office. Goren uses Samir's phone to set up a trap for Danielle in Central Park. They accuse her of informing Thomas about the affair. Then he told Parker about it, which Parker then used to blackmail Hildy. Danielle also had feelings for Thomas, so she warned him, and Thomas said that he was going to try to stop his brother. She was at the office and spotted Parker with Thomas's body. Parker blamed her for making Thomas go soft and turning against him and he went to attack her. Danielle stabbed Parker with a pair of scissors in self-defense.
Meanwhile, Goren attends his final mandated therapy session with Dr. Gyson. She says that he is able to do his job, but he has anger and trust issues that will need ongoing treatment. She refers him to several therapists, but Goren doesn't want to begin with a new therapist when he already works well with her. Gyson insists that he will do fine, but Goren returns the cards and requests another session with her next week, which she agrees to.
The episode ends as Goren leaves Gyson's office and seems surprised to find that Eames awaits him on the street, standing outside of her familiar black SUV. Eames asks if Goren still has his job, to which Goren replies in the affirmative. Eames informs him that news of a bank robbery has just come over the com line and that the pair could catch the case if they can "get there before the feds do." Goren looks at Eames wordlessly but searchingly as she gets in the driver's seat; Eames does the same as Goren gets in the passenger seat and buckles his seat belt. Goren breaks the silence by glancing at Eames and saying "Well, let's go," and the two drive off toward the crime scene.
Guest stars [ edit ]
James Van Der Beek as Rex Tamlyn:
The ruthless, drug-addicted CEO of a social networking site. This is the only Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode that Van Der Beek has appeared in. [1]
Thad and Trent Luckinbill as Parker and Thomas Gaffney:
Wealthy identical twins who file a lawsuit against a social networking site, claiming that the idea was stolen from them. The characters were largely inspired by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who filed a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that creator Mark Zuckerberg had breached over copyright claims.
Production [ edit ]
"To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap" was directed by Jean de Segonzac, in his third episode of the season. This was the first Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode under the direction of Segonzac since the season ten episode "The Last Street in Manhattan". "To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap" was co-written by Julie Martin and Chris Brancato, and rewritten extensively by the series' creator René Balcer, with the final scenes written by former show runner Warren Leight. Martin previously wrote "Icarus", while this would be the first episode that Brancato has written for the series since the season ten episode "The Consoler".[2][3] Dick Wolf, the creator of the Law & Order franchise, served as the executive producer for the episode alongside Chris Brancato and Peter Jankowski.[4] Guest appearances on the episode include an appearance by James Van Der Beek, who was portrayed as Rex Tamlyn.[1][5] Thad Luckinbill and Trent Luckinbill made an appearance on the episode, playing the roles of Thomas and Parker Gaffney, a set of wealthy twins.[6] Brandon Jacobs, a running back for the New York Giants, also make an appearance as a bouncer.[7]
"To the Boy In the Blue Knit Cap" features several references relating to music, film, literature and other pop culture phenomenon. The plot and several character featured were largely inspired by the controversial event involving the suing of Facebook by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, as well as the theatrical adaption to the event, The Social Network.[8][9]
Reception [ edit ]
The Social Network, Goren and Eames are called into the offices of a social networking site, an online matchmaking service. Aryan-looking twins, like the real life Winklevosses, are suing the site's founders, claiming they helped develop it. It wasn’t the best or most challenging case Goren ever tackled, but it served its purpose, which was to show that Goren's intuitive skills didn’t diminish as his psyche healed." "The final episode was less campy, but no less topical. In a nod to the creation of Facebook, or at least as it was portrayed in the movie, Goren and Eames are called into the offices of a social networking site, an online matchmaking service. Aryan-looking twins, like the real life Winklevosses, are suing the site's founders, claiming they helped develop it. It wasn’t the best or most challenging case Goren ever tackled, but it served its purpose, which was to show that Goren's intuitive skills didn’t diminish as his psyche healed." —Alessandra Stanley, of The New York Times.[8]
"To the Boy In the Blue Knit Cap" first aired on June 26, 2011 in the United States on the USA Network. Upon its original airing, it was viewed by 3.75 million viewers.[10] The episode garnered a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielsen ratings.[11] The total viewership for the episode slightly increased from the previous episode, "Icarus", which was watched by 3.25 million viewers during its initial airing.[12] Ratings were steady from the previous episode, however, as it also garnered a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic.[13]
Television critics were largely polarized with the episode. Kate Ward of Entertainment Weekly stated that she was disappointed with the delivery of the episode.[14] Ward criticized the writing, deeming it as a "lazy episode".[14] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times felt that the episode was "less campy, but no less topical."[8] Phil Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode a 'C+', but opined that it was an improvement from the previous episode.[9] Nugent felt that Van Der Beek's acting was not particularly outstanding, opining: "It kind of got lost in the shuffle, partly because none of the characters seemed especially passionate [...] about anyone: not the people they were supposed to be having affairs with or the people they were suspected of having murdered. If that was meant to be the point, it was a self-defeating one."[9]
Liz Kelly Nelson of Zap2it reacted negatively toward "To the Boy In the Blue Knit Cap". Nelson exclaimed that the episode was "downright unemotional", and expressed that "beyond the step-by-step as we follow Goren and Eames through the clues, there isn't much in the way of hints that this is [...] a series finale."[15]
After confirming "To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap" was Law & Order: CI's final episode on USA Network; co-president Jeff Wachtel commented on the finale when Goren (D'Onofrio) emerged from his final mandatory shrink session and headed off to a new crime scene with Eames (Erbe); "We felt that was a great place to leave things", he said. "It was a good series finale."[16]The 21 Bitcoin Computer, which was unveiled this week, is one of the most highly anticipated products in the Bitcoin world. The company behind it, 21 Inc., has raised $120 million from prominent investors like PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and the well-known firm of Andreessen Horowitz. According to this list of Bitcoin investments, that makes it the most lavishly funded Bitcoin startup ever.
So this week's announcement left a lot of people confused. For $399, you can get a tiny computer with a customized chip that allows you to generate bitcoins. An incredibly small quantity of bitcoins, in fact — according to one back-of-the-envelope calculation, it will generate around 10 cents' worth of bitcoin per day if run constantly. And depending on where you live, the electricity required to power the device could cost more than the value of the bitcoins generated.
The backers of 21 believe that the ability to generate small quantities of bitcoins is going to become a standard component in digital devices — just as a wifi chip is today. They envision a future where digital currency serves as a lubricant for a wide variety of electronic transactions that aren't possible with today's computers. If 21's technology works, it could deliver something technologists have dreamed about for decades: a practical system for paying for content and online services with tiny payments. For example, 21's technology could be used to power a jukebox that plays ad-free music, or a camera that automatically rents its own online storage.
And 21 has built some impressive technology to help realize this vision. But the vision itself seems to have some gaping holes in it — holes so big that I'm skeptical 21's technology will take off.
21 is selling a chip to turn electricity into money
You've probably heard advertisements telling you to text to a certain number in order to make a $10 contribution to a particular charity. In this transaction, the phone company acts as the middleman, putting the $10 charge on your next monthly phone bill. That makes things more convenient for customers, who don't have to pull out a credit card at the time of donation — or worry that the credit card might get misused.
The technical details of how the 21 Bitcoin Computer works is complicated, but at a basic level, you can think of it as a clever hack for putting charges onto your electricity bill. Inside the 21 Bitcoin Computer is a chip that can efficiently engage in "mining": performing difficult mathematical operations that can generate new bitcoins. These bitcoins have real financial value, but the process isn't free — the chip consumes a lot of power.
The 21 Bitcoin Computer isn't designed for people who want to become professional Bitcoin miners — there are more sophisticated products for that already. Rather, 21 believes that the ability to generate a few pennies' worth of bitcoins per day will open up totally new types of markets that don't exist right now.
Imagine a jukebox that pays for its own songs
The device 21 is selling right now isn't the version of its technology that will eventually be offered to the general public. Instead, it's a proof of concept aimed at developers who — 21 hopes — will begin creating applications that use the 21 chip's capabilities. Over the next few years, they expect the chip will get smaller and dramatically cheaper, to the point where it can be built into a wide variety of third-party devices, much as chips from Intel are today.
You can think of the 21 computer as a clever hack for putting charges onto your electricity bill
Imagine, for example, buying a small speaker that acts as an ad-free jukebox system. You plug it in, name any song, and the device starts playing it. And you never have to pull out a credit card. Instead, the jukebox is generating a fraction of a penny for each song it plays and sending it to the relevant copyright owner. Average consumers never have to think about it — or even understand how it works.
Other 21-enabled products could work in a similar way. There could be a camera that automatically purchases enough online storage for the pictures and videos you take. There might be a tablet that automatically detects wifi networks that are willing to rent out anonymous access for a few pennies' worth of bitcoins. And maybe entrepreneurs can think of other clever ways to use small amounts of digital cash to make our lives more convenient.
As the number of connected devices in our homes and offices grows, 21's technology could help avoid an orphan device problem. That's a situation where companies stop supporting these connected devices, leaving them in a broken or — even worse — insecure state. If each device is able to generate a small Bitcoin maintenance fee each month, it could provide manufacturers the funds they need to continue supporting devices long after they were created.
21 hopes to enable practical micropayments
At this point, you might be wondering why anyone would want to buy a weird money-printing chip instead of making payments through the regular financial system. There are two basic reasons.
One is that for many applications it will be a hassle to input credit card information into a special-purpose device. The Bitcoin jukebox I mentioned in the previous section might not have a keyboard or screen, for example, and it would be convenient if you could just plug it in and have it start playing music.
The more fundamental issue, though, is that the transaction fees of traditional financial networks make very small financial transactions impractical. The overhead of credit card networks means that the smaller transactions get, the larger the fraction that gets eaten up by fees. This is why you rarely see online goods that are cheaper than the 99-cent songs in the iTunes store. Below a dollar, the economics of credit card payments don't work very well.
This is the real magic of 21's platform: The standard Bitcoin network isn't a great platform for micro payments either, but it's an open software platform. And 21 has apparently developed technology to use the Bitcoin network to make very small payments more efficiently than is possible with other payment technologies.
Why users probably won't like Bitcoin micropayments
Technologists have been dreaming of building practical micropayments for a very long time. There have been a number of attempts to build micropayment systems, and so far, none of these systems have really taken off. The investors behind 21 are making a big bet that Bitcoin is the technology that will finally make the concept work.
People have been trying to make micropayments work for so long that the internet theorist Clay Shirky wrote an article way back in 2000 explaining why the micropayment experiments of the dot-com boom hadn't taken off. More recently, as others have tackled the concept, he's written multiple follow-up articles on the topic since then.
In a nutshell, Shirky's argument is that micropayment systems fail because users find them annoying. "There is a certain amount of anxiety involved in any decision to buy, no matter how small, and it derives not from the interface used or the time required, but from the very act of deciding," he wrote. "Micropayments, like all payments, require a comparison: 'Is this much of X worth that much of Y?' There is a minimum mental transaction cost created by this fact that cannot be optimized away."
On the surface, it might seem like 21's micropayment technology actually could optimize away these transaction costs. After all, when consumers buy new household appliances, they don't spend much time worrying about how much power they'll consume. Why should customers worry about a new generation of devices that take a bit of extra power and convert it into money?
But if you think about how this would work in practice, it becomes clear that there would be some serious difficulties. Imagine a future where you have a dozen devices in your house with 21's bitcoin mining chip in them. One month, your electricity bill is suddenly $20 higher than you expected.
Maybe it was just a hot month and your air conditioning was running on overtime. Maybe some of your |
deeper likenesses. Anyone can think of examples among both popular and literary writers. Lovecraft’s defining works portray a variety of monsters. Mine seldom do. What’s the difference? Not much on the deepest level. But monsters are a great literary hook and there is necessarily a surface adventure in dealing with them. If asked to name the definitive image in Lovecraft, one might likely say its tentacles flailing from the body of a monster. For me it would be probably be puppets, manikins, and clown‐like things, even though these are more often a matter of metaphor than a literal presence of a monstrous type. Nevertheless, if Lovecraft’s tentacle monsters and my puppets and so on fought each other, I think the monsters would win.
How did you feel when Conspiracy Against the Human Race started to draw more readers and buyers over the past year or so? Are you concerned that some readers otherwise unfamiliar with your work will only know you as the author of CATHR?
I’ve said for quite a while that I’ve been luckier in the publication of my writing than I’ve had any reason to expect. I think this may be an instance of that. Either way I’ll take it, as I always have. I don’t know if it matters whether I’m ultimately known for the stories or the notorious breviary of nihilism. Oddly enough, I’ve always thought of The Conspiracy against the Human Race as a kind of inspirational, quasi‐self‐help book. Seriously. And for my pains, a number of readers and reviewers have blithely said that having written The Conspiracy Against the Human I would be a hypocrite and all around inauthentic being not to kill myself. Something similar was said about J.-K. Huysmans following the publication of his novel A rebours. I believe it was Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly who, in a newspaper review of A rebours, wrote that Huysmans had but two options after publishing that book: the muzzle of a gun or the foot of the cross. Huysmans choose the foot of the cross, but not until he published a novel focusing on Satanism. Barbey d’Aurevilly wrote the same thing about Baudelaire in an earlier essay, but the author of Fleurs du mal didn’t make a move either way. Naturally, plenty of critics and biographers have asserted a deathbed confession of Catholic faith by Baudelaire. They were wise to the fact that no one could prove them wrong, of course. In nineteenth‐century France, Catholic writers were given considerable latitude in purveying what otherwise might be consider fairly degenerate subject matter. They were Catholic, after all, so they had license to depict the ravages of the most titillating sinfulness. Of all the French Catholics, I admire the horror writer Petrus Borel, also known as The Lycanthrope, who said he was a papist because he couldn’t be a cannibal. I’m not sure if those who said that as the author of Conspiracy I should commit suicide knew that such a statement was long famed. However, I did know the game, so their observation or demand failed to faze me.
What was your reaction upon finding out that you had joined a small cadre only ten living authors included in the Penguin Classics U.S. lineup?
I didn’t know that was the case. Now that I do know, I can’t help thinking of Steven Millhauser, whose work I admire very much for its weird imagination and superfine writing in which I hear echoes of familiar voices, including those of Vladimir Nabokov and Bruno Schulz, that moved so many of my own stories in the direction they took. I remember reading about the day he was informed in the middle of a course he was teaching that his novel Martin Dressler had been awarded a Pulitzer Prize. The anecdote continues that he told his class a terrible mistake had been made and that needed to excuse himself to put things right. I’m fairly sure that I have neither the reason nor the right to be nonplussed as Millhauser was that day.The FBI is actively investigating a member of the hacker collective that claimed responsibility for recent high-profile cyberattacks on Microsoft and Sony properties, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation and the attacks.
A member of the Lizard Squad hacking group, who goes by the alias “ryanc” or Ryan, allegedly garnered the attention of a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation after speaking with the media about Lizard Squad’s Christmas-day attacks on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network (PSN).
Ryan is said to be 16 or 17 years old and lives in Finland, according to sources who spoke to the Daily Dot. The sources requested anonymity, fearing backlash from Ryan and the FBI. Ryan refused to confirm his age or other personal details with the Daily Dot.
Due to Ryan’s alleged age and country of residence, it may be difficult for U.S. law enforcement to extradite Ryan for his alleged role in the attacks.
Lizard Squad took down Xbox Live and PSN on Dec. 25, causing outages that lasted over 24 hours for some gamers. The group’s attacks have dominated headlines worldwide, and the Lizard Squad Twitter account has ballooned to more than 125,000 followers since the attacks.
Lizard Squad used a common attack known as “distributed denial of service,” or DDoS, to shut down Xbox Live and PSN. DDoS floods a network with more traffic than it can handle, rendering it inaccessible to genuine users. The attack is considered to be unsophisticated and can be carried out using widely available software.
Ryan spoke with major news outlets following the attack. On Saturday, Ryan and a fellow Lizard Squad member known by the alias Vinnie Omari spoke on BBC 5 live with radio journalist Stephen Nolan. The following day, Ryan gave an on-camera interview with Sky News.
Ryan confirmed to the Daily Dot that it was him on Sky News. Some speculated that the person interviewed on the show was not a member of Lizard Squad.
“I look like I have cancer. I got that short haircut in prison,” Ryan told the Daily Dot. “That, plus a black shirt and a shit camera, didn’t play out well.”
The FBI special agent said to be assigned to the Lizard Squad case did not respond to multiple email requests for comment. The agent also refused to speak to the Daily Dot during a phone call.
Ryan, who has formerly gone by the aliases “zee” and “zeekill,” says he is not concerned about the FBI’s investigation. They will not apprehend him, he says, at least while he remains in Finland—and he may be right. Finnish citizens have a right to refuse extradition to other countries. Finland also reserves the right to refuse extradition due to a suspect’s age, and can stipulate that Finnish citizens may not be prosecuted even if they are extradited.
Ryan also claims to be protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a 1966 treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that emboldens certain civil rights for citizens of signatory countries. The U.S., which ratified the treaty in 1992, does not necessarily view the Covenant as legally binding. It is unclear how the treaty would factor into potential legal action against Ryan.
Finnish law enforcement authorities may still pursue action against Ryan for Lizard Squad’s attacks on Xbox Live and PSN. Polisi, the police of Finland, were not immediately available for comment.
Ryan told the Daily Dot he spent three months in a maximum security prison in Finland earlier this year, after he allegedly made a bomb threat to American Airlines. President of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley was aboard the flight threatened by Ryan through Lizard Squad’s Twitter account.
Despite his willingness to speak to members of the media and appear for on-camera interviews, Ryan says he actively works to keep his identity unknown. “I don’t have any accurate personal information out there, and I’d like to keep it that way,” he says.
This is not Ryan’s first brush with the FBI. In 2013, Ryan says he and a friend ordered hot wings and pizza using stolen credit cards at the Rio hotel in Las Vegas, while they were attending the annual Defcon hacker conference. Shortly after placing their order, six armed law enforcement officers and two FBI agents raided the hotel room, a source with knowledge of the encounter told the Daily Dot. Ryan claims the FBI raided the hotel room because they suspected him to be behind “thousands of hacks.” Ryan says he was never detained, but a source familiar with the raid disputes that claim saying Ryan posted bond and fled home to Finland.
The family of the FBI agent assigned to Ryan’s case has allegedly been on the receiving end of “swatting” attacks. Ryan allegedly called law enforcement claiming that he was a family member of the special agent, saying he just killed someone and had multiple hostages, according to sources, one of which has direct knowledge of the investigations. The call allegedly resulted in a heavily armored SWAT team raiding the home of the agent’s family member.
For now, Ryan remains in Finland, where he continues to participate in Lizard Squad activities.
Ed. note: Due to the alleged age of the Lizard Squad member said to be under investigation by the FBI, as well as potential safety concerns, we have removed Ryan’s legal name from this report.
Photo via Janitors/Flickr (CC BY 2.0), FBI/Wikimedia Commons | Remix by Andrew Couts‘Hereditary’ is not quite the right term – but it comes close, as this report by the Commonwealth Foundation makes clear: “…a closer look at how unions run their own organization reveals a stunning lack of accountability by union leadership toward union members. For example, in Pennsylvania, fewer than 1 percent of public school teachers voted for the union representing them. In nearly every case, the original election authorizing a particular union, usually the Pennsylvania State Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers-Pennsylvania, took place some 40 years ago.” What happens here is simple: the Left has done its level best to make the system one-way. Once a district does unionize, then there’s no mechanism later to revisit the issue. And thus we end up with a situation where one percent of current Pennsylvania teachers have ever voted to join the teachers union.
Does it make a difference, though? Well, let’s take a look at Wisconsin. In 2011 Scott Walker and the GOP-controlled Wisconsin legislature passed comprehensive public sector union reform (colloquially known as ‘Act 10,’ although the law has many profane nicknames). One of the key elements of that law – the one that the Left fought tooth and nail, right down to the bitter end – was the ending of forced union membership for public employees. Since ACT 10 passed, general public sector union membership in Wisconsin dropped 18% by 2014 – and the two major teachers unions’ membership dropped by a third and in half, respectively.
…Wisconsin is not impossibly different from Pennsylvania. At any rate, even if you don’t think that unions are inherently bad (note: my late father was a blue-collar union local president) all reasonable people can at least agree that forcing workers to participate in unions is not a morally good act. If the union is that excellent, it will have no trouble keeping its membership. If it is not… well, negative feedback is a wonderful thing.
Image via Shutterstock.
Moe Lane
PS: The Pennsylvanian legislature has a bill in the works that would emulate Wisconsin’s reforms. You should, however, fully expect it to be vetoed by Democratic Governor Tom Wolf, assuming that he can find someone in his staff who can get it to him before getting indicted on corruption charges. Because that’s what Democratic governors do: they place special interests before the needs of kids. On the bright side, the Supreme Court may very well decide to end forced unionization dues nationwide. Which would be lovely, really. Not least because the screaming from that decision would probably be audible from low Earth orbit…The Australian Greens this weekend announced a target of 90% renewable electricity by 2030 – pledging to go further than Labor, which has already backed a target of 50%. How hard is it to reach these targets?
The Abbott government made plain its dislike of renewable energy by reducing the renewable electricity target (RET) for 2020 to 33 terawatt hours (TWh) of new renewable electricity.
Under this target, about 24% of electricity will come from renewable sources in 2020, comprising existing renewables (mostly hydro-electricity with some biomass) and new renewables (mostly wind energy and photovoltaic (PV) solar energy). It’s straightforward to calculate the annual additions (gigawatts, GW) of wind and PV required to hit a 50% or 90% RET in 2030.
First, let’s assume that Australia’s electricity demand remains static at about 200 TWh per year. Demand has been falling or static since 2008, caused by improving energy efficiency of buildings and appliances, reduced demand from heavy industry, and increased price of retail electricity, together with the rise and rise of behind-the-meter rooftop PV systems.
Second, let’s assume that wind and PV will each constitute half of new generation. These two technologies constitute virtually all new generation capacity in Australia, and together are being installed at a greater rate worldwide than the combined amount of new fossil and nuclear capacity. They are set to dominate the world’s energy future because they are effectively unconstrained by energy resource, raw materials, greenhouse gas emissions, local pollution, security concerns, or price.
Third, let’s assume that the “capacity factors” of these technologies remain at their current typical values of 25% for tracking PV and 40% for wind. (Capacity factor is the effective proportion of time that an electricity generator operates at nominal full load.)
Under these assumptions, we would need about 3 GW of new PV and 2 GW of new wind power capacity each year to reach a 90% renewables target by 2030. This is about 5% of the current worldwide installation rates, which themselves are increasing at 10-20% per year.
The corresponding figures for Labor’s target of 50% by 2030 are 1.2 GW of PV and 0.8 GW of wind per year.
An achievable prospect
Labor’s target is a straightforward prospect. In years gone by, Australia has installed this much PV and wind in a year, and can readily do so again. It is not much more than the installation rate needed to meet the 2020 RET.
The Greens’ target, meanwhile, is about 2.5 times more challenging than Labor’s, but still readily achievable. The Australian Capital Territory and South Australia have shown the way by adding new renewable electricity capacity equivalent to 90% and 40% respectively of their annual electricity consumption – mostly over a period of about 5 years. There are no practical constraints in terms of land because of Australia’s vast solar and wind resources.
Australia’s electricity system is becoming increasingly renewable. From the greenhouse point of view, natural gas should be pushed out of the market in favour of electrically driven heat pumps for the supply of water heating and space heating and cooling. This may happen anyway for economic reasons.
Similarly, conversion of land transport to electric vehicles will eliminate another substantial source of greenhouse gas emissions. As heat pumps and electric cars are about three times more efficient than gas heating and petrol cars, only a few years of extra building of PV and wind would be required to meet the extra electricity demand. A combination of existing hydroelectric power stations, new off-river pumped hydro energy storage, and battery storage, allows stabilisation of a 100% renewable electricity system.
The most straightforward mechanism to achieve a 50% or 90% renewables target by 2030 is simply to extend and uplift the existing 2020 RET. However, recent experience shows how easily governments can create investment risk by seeking to reduce the target, and how this can inhibit investment. Various other mechanisms can be introduced to confer investment certainty, including reverse auctions to lock in prices for 20 years (as pioneered in Australia by the ACT Government).
How much will it cost?
This question is difficult to answer. At present, wind power costs about 8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), and PV about 12 cents per kWh in Australia when constructed on a moderate scale (less than a gigawatt per year). PV in particular is falling rapidly in price, and both are likely to reach 6-8 cents per kWh by 2020 when constructed at a scale greater than a gigawatt per year.
The overall wholesale price of electricity is currently 3-4 cents per kWh, but this is mostly from old fossil fuel generators for which the capital cost has already been repaid, and for which there is no longer a carbon price. Energy from new-build gas or coal generators would cost 8-12 cents per kWh – so it could potentially end up being more expensive than new renewables.
Most of Australia’s existing coal power stations will be retired over the next two decades in the ordinary course of business, perhaps replaced by cheaper PV and wind. In this sense, the conversion to renewables would cost nothing extra.
One way of measuring whether a rapid phase-out of fossil fuel generation will affect the economy is to observe that the carbon price during 2012-14 was 2.5 cents per kWh, and that this constitutes most of the difference in cost between old (sunk-cost) fossil fuel generators and the 2020 cost of electricity from PV and wind. That carbon price did not noticeably affect the economy.Peruvian slang accommodates a whole bunch of different words and phrases; very original to the country that nobody else uses. Here, I will introduce you to 10 of the most used slang words in Peru.
1. Pata
Literally this word means, the leg or paw of an animal. This word is very commonly used in Peru and it’s used informally to refer to almost anyone. It can be used to refer to a friend similar to, “my man” or “my bro“, “guy“, “dude“, etc.
Example:
“¡Mañana me va a hacer orgulloso mi pata!”
“Tomorrow my friend is going to make me proud!”
“Ese pata no entiende”
“That guy doesn’t understand”
You’ll hear “Pata” used a few times in the Gritty Spanish Audio Stories. Here is a very short clip from the beginning of episode #15 (Bodega Chat) of Gritty Spanish Original, you’ll hear a Dominican character joyfully greet a friend/customer as he enters his store, saying “Qué lo qué“, which means, “What’s up” in Dominican Spanish…
The customer in this scene is from Peru, so he respond with his Peruvian accent: “Hola, mi PATA Sebastián, estuvo bien…“(Hello, my bro Sebastián, it was okay…)
Do you hear the Dominican music playing in the scene? Little details like that is one of the MANY great things that makes Gritty Spanish so unique and engaging! After reading this post, be sure to sign up for some Free Gritty Spanish audios!
2. Jato
This word means “house”. This one is exclusively from Peru and it’s very commonly used by everyone in that country. This is an example of the cultural diversity in Peru.
Example:
“¡Estamos en tu jato!”
“We are at your house!”
“Cuando terminemos vamos a mi jato”
“When we finish lets go to my place”
3. Grifo
This one means really means “tap“, like where you can get a drink of water. But Peruvians also use it to name a gas station. I think you can see the relationship between the words a little. When someone says I need to go to a tap, then you know it’s a gas station he or she is talking about.
Example:
“¿Ya no tengo gasolina, sabes donde hay un grifo?”
“I’m out of gas, do you know where there’s a gas station? ”
“Después del grifo, vas a encontrar una tienda.”
“After the gas station, you gonna find a store”
4. Choro
This one can be used as a noun and modified as a verb. By itself it means “thief”, so you can call a thief a choro. If you modify it to chorear, it becomes a verb that means, “to steal” and it can be conjugated to the different forms, such as choro, chora, choramos, choreó, etc.
For an example:
“¿Como lo consegui? ¡Me lo chorie!”
“How did I get it? I stole it!”
“¡Ese pata es un gran choro!”
“That guy is a big thief!”
5. Huasca
Huasca means drunk. It is a funny word and I think nobody else in the world says it. Peruvians use it all the time when talking about parties or drunk people.
For an example:
“¡En esa fiesta me puse recontra huasca!”
“I got really drunk in that party!”
“Cada vez que salgo contigo, ¡Termino huasca!”
“Every time I go out with you, I end up drunk!”
6. Jale
Jale means pull, and people from Peru use it also to say “sex appeal”. So, if somebody has “jale” it means he or she is very attractive or has something that catches the attention of the people. It is a very common word and it may or may not have sexual connotation, it depends on the context.
For an example:
“Yo siento que Jimena tiene jale”
“I feel Jimena has sex appeal”
“¡Yo tengo mucho jale!”
“I am very sexy!” (I have a lot of sex appeal!)
7. Monse
This is kind of like a small insult. If you call someone a Monse, it’s like calling him/her an idiot or dumb. It is not too offensive and depending on the context not offensive at all. If you add a little tone, it can get a little offensive but in the end it’s just kind of like a joke.
Example:
“Que monse eres, ¿como no sabías eso?”
“You are so dumb, how you didn’t knew that?”
“No seas monse, ¡así no se hace!”
“Don’t be silly, that’s not how it is done!”
8. Causa
This one is another way of saying friend, and its also a food, kind of like a potato dish. It is very common to use causa when talking about a really close friend, its more personal than pata.
For an example:
“¿Como estas causa?”
“How are you pal?”
9. China
The literal meaning is of course, “China”, that huge Asian country, but in Peru, they use it when talking about their fifty-cent coin. Peruvians can use it either way, so be aware of the context.
For an example:
“-¿Cuanto por la vuelta?
“-How much for the ride?
“China…”
“50 cents…”
10. Al toque
This means “Right now”. Peruvian people are known to always be in a hurry, so this word should be extremely useful when visiting.
Examples:
“¡Vámonos al toque!”
“Let’s go right away!”
“Tenemos que terminar esto al toque…”
“We have to finish this right away…”
Hope you enjoyed! Please check out our Spanish slang madness article here where you’ll learn a few others from 12 different Spanish speaking countries!Chen Si (simplified Chinese: 陈思; traditional Chinese: 陳思) is a Chinese man who has stopped more than 300 people from committing suicide off the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing, China.[1][2][3][4]
Activities [ edit ]
Since 19 December 2003, Chen Si has spent every weekend on the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, a notorious spot from which to commit suicide.[2] Chen patrols the bridge on foot and on his motorbike, looking for people who might be contemplating suicide. To Chen, these are people "who look depressed, those whose psychological pressure is great" and whose "way of walking is very passive with no spirit, or no direction."[2] He then approaches them and tries to talk to them; sometimes they are already over the railing, and he has to grab them and pull them back over.[2]
In his talks with these people, Chen seeks to learn about their troubles and then find a solution. For example, Chen helped Shi Xiqing, a man who tried to commit suicide because of the $15,000 bill for his daughter's leukemia treatment, by phoning him every week and talking to his creditors.[2]
Media response [ edit ]
Chen and his activities have received ongoing attention from the media, both in China and abroad. Louisa Lim of NPR called him an "unlikely guardian angel."[2] The "Galileo Big Pictures" a German entertainment TV-program moderated from Aiman Abdallah has also report 17.03.2018 in ProSieben (TV channel at satellites Astra 19.2°E) from Chen Si accessory before the fact. He was there before you could say Jack Robinson with her bike to protect people lives.
Feature documentary [ edit ]
Filmmakers Jordan Horowitz and Frank Ferendo released a documentary film about Chen in 2016 called Angel of Nanjing. The documentary won over 13 awards at prestigious[citation needed] festivals, including seven for Best Documentary.[citation needed]
See also [ edit ]US President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott shake hands following a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on June 12, 2014 in Washington, DC.
US President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott shake hands following a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on June 12, 2014 in Washington, DC. Mandel NGAN - AFP Photo
IT WAS time to draw a line in the tar sands. Blindsided by Barack Obama's renewed push for action on global warming, the conservative Prime Ministers of Canada and Australia are making a stand.
The United States President's drive to spark international momentum ahead of next year's climate summit in Paris poses a direct threat to their preferred route to prosperity.
Stephen Harper and Tony Abbott's shared ideology includes a desire for an emissions-packed future where Canada's dirty tar sands and Australia's coal fuel their nations' respective economies for decades to come.
When they met in Ottawa this week, both claimed to be serious about tackling climate change, but without hurting big emitters like the coal or oil industries.
"I don't believe the best way to improve the environment is to clobber the economy," said Abbott before yesterday's meeting with Obama.
"And I'm not going to take climate change action which does clobber the economy."
The PM also disagreed with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, who considers the issue the world's number one priority.
It was neither "the only or even the most important problem the world faces," Abbott told Ban, before declining an invitation to UN climate talks in New York later this year. Abbott is also refusing to bow to American pressure to add the issue to the agenda of the G20 leaders meeting in Brisbane in November.
The PM's faux sincerity on climate change, something he not so long ago regarded as "crap", is well documented. But on his first official trip to North America, the nature of his public language around the issue has raised eyebrows.
It led in part to speculation that he and Harper want to forge an alliance of like-minded countries to stymie the prospect of any international accord on reducing CO2 through emissions trading schemes and carbon pricing.
Widespread caps on emissions would choke the exports of fossil fuels and minerals that have underpinned Australia's modern prosperity, and Abbott bristles at the thought of leaving vast remaining reserves of coal in the ground.
"I can think of few things more damaging to our future," he told industry executives last month. "It is our destiny in this country to bring affordable energy to the world."
By affordable energy, Abbott is primarily referring to coal and gas. By contrast, clean renewable alternatives are under siege.
The Coalition's first Budget last month wielded an axe to agencies and initiatives that have propelled the growth of a A$20 billion ($21.7 billion) clean energy sector, which employs 24,000 people.
The PM is also desperate to abolish the previous Labor Government's carbon tax, and is confident of securing required support from incoming senators led by balance-of-power MP and billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer. He is a key player in massive new mining projects approved by the Abbott Government, and the development of one of the world's biggest coal ports near the Great Barrier Reef.
Funding for the tax's replacement - the Government's widely-criticised Direct Action plan - has been slashed from A$2.55 billion to just A$1.15 billion over the next four years.
There are also growing concerns over Australia's longstanding commitment to produce 20 per cent of its domestic electricity consumption from renewables by 2020.
Just before the Coalition took power last September, the Renewable Energy Target was reviewed by the Climate Change Authority, an independent statutory agency established under Labor.
Abbott, who is trying to close down the authority, has asked a group of former oil, coal and gas industry executives to conduct another review.
It's being led by former Caltex chief Dick Warburton, who is openly sceptical that carbon emissions contribute to climate change. One of his fellow panellists doesn't believe CO2 is a pollutant. Another previously lobbied for the target to be scrapped.
That would prove popular with energy utilities hit by a fall in demand for "poles and wires" electricity, fuelled in part by increased household use of solar.
The uncertainty has prompted a collapse in confidence - and share prices - across the renewables sector, alongside fears of investment drying up and expertise heading overseas.
Unlike many in Australia, Abbott views recent record-breaking heatwaves, bushfires and other weather events as nothing unusual in his "land of drought and flooding rains".
He insists he is committed to Australia's modest goal of reducing emissions by 5 per cent on 2005 levels by 2020, but critics believe the real commitment is to shoring up entrenched interests, particularly coal exports most at risk from co-ordinated global action.
"An important part of Abbott's agenda, as it was with John Howard refusing to ratify Kyoto, is to sabotage the international effort to put a price on carbon," says energy economist Barry Naughten.
Obama's move to cut carbon emissions from US power plants by 30 per cent by 2030 has raised hopes of a break in the global impasse.
Republican and Tea Party opponents - gearing up for the American mid-term elections - will be heartened by the forthright response from Australia and Canada.
"It's very dangerous," adds Naughten. "If you take human-caused climate change seriously, you have got to take really seriously the political moves Abbott and Harper are taking."(Adds quotes)
By Lizbeth Diaz
OJO DE AGUA, Mexico, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A Mexican drug suspect has confessed to dissolving the bodies of 300 rivals with corrosive chemicals near the U.S. border, in a claim highlighting the brutality of Mexico’s drug war.
Santiago Meza, known as "The Stew Maker," told journalists he did away with bodies in industrial drums on the outskirts of the violent city of Tijuana.
More than 700 people died in Tijuana last year as rival gangs battled for control of the city’s lucrative drug trade. Many others are missing and believed dead after being abducted.
The suspect, who was paraded before journalists by the army on Friday, said he was paid $600 a week by a breakaway faction of the Arellano Felix cartel to dispose of slain rivals with caustic soda, a highly corrosive substance.
"They brought me the bodies and I just got rid of them," Meza said at a construction site where he said he dissolved 300 corpses last year. "I didn’t feel anything."
The bodies took 24 hours to dissolve but left some remains that were dumped in a nearby pit, Meza said.
A high-ranking army officer told Reuters he believed Meza, who was arrested with three other people on Thursday, was telling the truth.
Police have previously recovered human remains burned with acid in and around the city.
Meza, 45, said he had been getting rid of bodies for 10 years.
"May they forgive me," he said, surrounded by heavily armed soldiers.
The spiraling violence of Mexico’s drug war has cast a pall over the country and presents a huge challenge to President Felipe Calderon, who has deployed thousands of troops to crush the cartels.
The drug war claimed 5,700 lives across Mexico last year, more than double the number of victims in 2007. (Editing by Peter Cooney)New Study Says Vegetarians May Live Longer Than Omnivores
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A new study from researchers at Loma Linda University in California suggests that vegetarians and vegans may outlive their omnivorous friends.
A group of 70,000 people participated in the study, and findings showed that those who passed on meat had a 12% lower risk of death. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, isn’t conclusive, but one only has to look at the countless other studies that show vegans and vegetarians have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes, hypertension among other health issues, to see the links between living a longer life and choosing plants instead of animals.
Michael J. Orlich, program director of the preventive medicine residency at Loma Linda University, said, “We can’t tell from this current paper with certainty, but one of the most plausible potential reasons contributing to this beneficial association is perhaps the absence or reduction of meat intake.” According to Time Health and Family, Orlich also said, “It could also be that consumption of various plant foods may be beneficially associated with reduced mortality, so we definitely want to look at those things on the food level in the future.”
Plant based foods like blueberries, broccoli, garlic (and pretty much any vegetable we can think of) have incredible benefits. From helping with blood pressure to reducing one’s chance of cancer, plant based foods are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants making them perfect to help prevent disease.
One interesting piece of the study suggested that men had more to gain than women by going vegetarian or vegan. Orlich wasn’t sure why men had a lower risk of heart disease and death than women, but said, “I don’t have any strong speculations, but it could be that the diet is playing out differently due to biological factors in men and women.”
Either way, this study reinforces the many that have come before. There are many health benefits to giving up animal products. The promise of lower risk of disease and therefore enjoying a longer life might just convince some omnivores to give up the steak and embrace a plant based diet.
Photo Credit: ShutterstockREDDING, Calif. — In a speech in which he promoted the backing of Chinese-Americans in Los Angeles and called protesters at a rally in San Jose “thugs,” Donald J. Trump on Friday sought to project support from African-Americans for his campaign on a single man in the audience.
Mr. Trump, at a rally here, began speaking about a previous rally in Arizona in which a black supporter was arrested after punching a protester.
“We had a case where we had an African-American guy who is a fan of mine,” Mr. Trump said of an event in Arizona in March. “In fact I want to find out what’s going on with him.”
As his voice trailed off, Mr. Trump noticed a man in the crowd.
“Oh look at my African-American over here,” Mr. Trump said. “Are you the greatest? Do you know what I’m talking about?”“A strange, triangular craft surrounded by a hazy field hovered behind the open bay doors of the space shuttle while an alien being interacted with two NASA astronauts. It was a tall creature, about 8 to 9 feet tall. It had a humanoid body shape with two arms, two hands, two legs, two feet, a slim torso and a normal size head for its size.”
“The helmet was not as large as our two NASA Astronauts, and had a viewport to look forward.”
Millions of people around the globe have wonder whether or not our planet was visited by advanced alien beings. While many remain skeptical and conservative when it comes to alien life and visitations on Earth, millions are convinced that not only are we being visited by aliens today, we have been visited by different extraterrestrial races for millennia.
These so-called new-age beliefs have led to a revolutionary change in the scientific community who has come to accept the possibility that we might not be alone after all.
Director of Operations for Bigelow Aerospace, Mike Gold said it best when he stated that ‘our Universe is most likely teeming with intelligent extraterrestrial life.’
Interestingly, the change in mainstream science has led to top U.S. Astronomers testifying in front to f Congress that extraterrestrial life in the universe exists without question.
In fact, astronomers appeared in front of the Congressional House Science and Technology Committee for a hearing regarding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence where they said that alien life most certainly exists.
“In the last 50 years, evidence has steadily mounted that the components and conditions we believe necessary for life are common and perhaps ubiquitous in our galaxy. The possibility that life has arisen elsewhere, and perhaps evolved intelligence, is plausible and warrants scientific inquiry. If you extrapolate on the planets they discovered, there are a trillion planets in the galaxy. That’s a lot of places for life. We know the majority of stars have planets, but what fraction of stars have planets that are more like the earth? It might be one in five.” – Dan Shostak
Interestingly, many other people including, astronomers, researchers, astronauts and government officials have been telling the world for years that we are not alone in the universe. No matter how skeptical you may be, it is impossible to think we are the only living species in the universe.
Roscoe Hillenkoetter, former head of the CIA was quoted saying: “Behind the scenes, high-ranking Air Force officers are soberly concerned about UFOs. But through official secrecy and ridicule, many citizens are led to believe the unknown flying objects are nonsense.” (source)
But lets not stray from the main subject of the article.
Clark C. McClelland is a former ScO of the Space Shuttle Fleet program who has testified that he PERSONALLY observed an 8 to 9-foot tall Alien being on his Monitor while he was on active duty at the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Controls.
According to McClelland, the extraterrestrial being was standing upright in the Space Shuttle’s Payload Bay while –somehow—having a discussion with two tethered Astronauts.
McClelland also claims that the observed the Extraterrestrial Spacecraft as it entered orbit following the Space Shuttle.
Interestingly on his website, McClelland states:
How did it communicate? |
150U. Subsequently, in Jan 2006 I've sold the system. The new owner said he'll set up a Web site for it soon. You can look at what I sold on this Web page.
X and Y values are two's compliment 8 bits (-127 to +127) Byte 1 - 10000LMR (bits, three buttons L, M, R) byte 2 - change in X, 1 byte 3 - change in Y, 1 byte 4 - change in X, 2 (add to X,1) byte 5 - change in Y, 2 (add to Y,1)
These mice are likely supported by a serial input interface. I'm looking for details on the Web, but here's some initial findings. Baud rate may be 1200 baud 8 bit no parity, and a 5-byte sequence. Five volts is needed and the output line may need a 1kohm? pullup resistor. We cannot guarantee this info.
Sun or SGI optical mousepad These are optical "grid" patterns on aluminum plates, read by the optical mice above. A few marked "Mouse Systems", most not marked. Numbers on back vary. These are used and scuffed, some are scratched, condition varies. Size from 11 X 9, 8 X 7, 9 X 8 inches. Price depends on size and condition, ask.
Sun / Mouse Systems reflective mice. Sun 370-1170-01, Mouse Systems 401162-035. Three button which uses LED reflection from a mousepad grid. 8-pin miniDIN connector, for serial 5-volt interface. Cosmetics vary, most marked "Sun". Sun mouse starting at $19 each plus shipping.
To see my prices for 72-pin SIMMs check my Macintosh memory prices at this Web link. Of coruse the SGI's need parity RAM, and typically are 60ns or 70ns speed. and FPM memory (not EDO).
Many people specify "gold leads" or gold pins. This is apparently due to concerns about corrosion and good contact between the SIMM and its socket pins. Some say that clean contacts and occasional maintenance of tin-lead SIMMS will provide satisfactory service.
Note: we do not warrent the information below to be complete or accurate. It is up to the buyer to determine fitness for THEIR use for any memory bought. There are other Web sites available with more and specific information; a Web search will find them. I'd appreciate any corrections.
References
L.R. of PA. said: "I received the SGI Indy yesterday. Everything was very well packed and arrived intact, and the condition "was as you described it. I was able to swap over my hard drive and RAM, and everything works great. Thanks a lot!"
M.A. from CO said: "I received the SGI Indigo case today. It looks great! Thanks so much for your courteous and professional service."
G.F. of VA said "Just wanted you to know that I got the SGI mouse today and it is working great. Thanks very much!"
A. Z. from Switzerland said: "...Nearly unbelievable: your oversea parcel has arrived today after only 5 days. Excellent wrapping (mechanical & electrostatic protection). The [SGI O2 R10000 CPU] board & CPU both work well - except the old CPU-fan that we can easily order from a local company. So our system is running again - during 1-2 days a little bit on the hot side.... Thanks again for all your efforts!" G. N. from CHILE says: "The SGI [Indigo 2] High Impact gfx plus the MGV1 [graphics boards] arrived today, works great!, now i have something to do with the indycam that I had stored since the old indy passed away, besides the High Impact exectuted flawlessly the IDE 6.2 tests, thanks You dear Sir for the great service You give these days."
D. B. from MA wrote: "Finally got a test bed set up and successfully tested the [Data General] EC-10 board we purchased. Thanks for all your efforts.".
S.C. from the UK wrote: "Hi Herb. Just letting you know that the [SGI] O2 [audio/video] module arrived safely and is working fine. Thanks.."
M.Y. from OR ordered an SGI Indigo 2 R4400/250 processor. He says: "... got the stuff yesterday, Installed the cpu module and writing this from the Indigo2- really screams!!! Very happy with the order. Mozilla actually launches within seconds after clicking on the icon. Gimp is livable. Blender is really great at the rendering. Going from 150MHz to 250 with 2mb L2 cache - I can start some apps with what seems like skipping main memory. Thanks again!"
J. H. of MA said: "Herb, the [mother]board arrived yesterday - fast shipping! I installed it today and my [SGI] 320 is now back up and running, thanks so much for the part and I will certainly keep you in mind for any future purchases. Thanks again for saving my sanity!"
S. M. of Australia said: "Great news Herb - my [SGI] O2 arrived today! I've no way of ever knowing where the holdup was, but I guess it's all academic now anyway. I'd given up on ever actually seeing it, but it's here happily accepting an installation of IRIX at the moment. You were right of course - it was superbly packed and arrived in perfect condition, I can't help but be impressed. Thanks very much again for the sale and thanks also for being so willing to help with advice and assistance when it looked like [its delivery was] going to go "pear shaped" (as the British say). Very best wishes to you and I'll be in touch again one day I'm sure."
A. J. G. from NC ordered an O2 Processor/PCI module. He says: "Hi Herb, I got my order today, and it works perfectly in the O2. Thanks for your great service."
S. H. of BELGIUM said: "the [Indigo GE7 graphics] chips have arrived safe and sound. Thanks a lot. It was a pleasure doing business with you. Should I require any further parts, I will make sure to stop by your site again."
Zs Zs of Hungary said: "I have picked up R5000 proc and PROM yesterday in very good condition and put it into my Indy....I tested the new processor with prom diagnostic and it completed successfully. THank you."
S.M. of AUSTRALIA ordered a 24-bit graphics card for Indy. He said: "I've carefully plugged it in and since it requires a re-installation of IRIX for all of the 64-bit libraries (which I've not got time for today), I've run the PROM-based diagnostics and they all completed perfectly. That to me, seems to be about as much as one can ask for. I did boot the current installation and it's fully functional. Thanks very much indeed Herb, I'm very happy with everything....I was particularly impressed with the detail and precision of your payment and shipping procedures - just the sort of thing that inspires confidence, excellent!
T.C. of SINGAPORE said: "The parcel [with the Indy graphics and processor] arrived safely today. And I have installed the boards as well just now. All is well. Thank you very much! great service! Cheers.."
R.v.d.K of HOLLAND said:" My order (Indigo XS-24Z graphics board) arrived yesterday, and in great condition! Inserted the card, tested it, and it worked like a charm. Still some software to reinstall, but i'll save that for the rainy days. Thanks again..."Film and cinema union Bectu will drop its affiliation to the Labour Party following a decision to merge with specialists’ union Prospect.
Bectu members voted by 83 per cent for the merger, which will see it operate as a wing of Prospect, which has never been affiliated to the Labour Party.
The move will see Prospect’s remit expanded to represent those working in media and entertainment – as well as their current role for professionals in engineering, science and other technical specialists.
Bectu will also drop its affiliation to CND – partly as a result of Prospect’s role representing many Ministry of Defence and Trident workers.
The ballot took place over two months and will see Prospect’s membership to grow to 140,000, with the wing representing former Bectu members becoming its biggest wing with 40,000 members.
Gerry Morrissey, Bectu’s General Secretary said: “Today’s decision by BECTU members will strengthen the new BECTU sector going forward. The pooling of our resources and experience with those of our new colleagues in Prospect will enable BECTU to provide an even better service for members; we’ll also be able to reach out to even more of the 1000s of creative sector workers across media and entertainment who need advice and representation.”
Bectu has not endorsed either Jeremy Corbyn or Owen Smith in the leadership contest and did not declare support for any candidate in 2015’s leadership election.We all know Julian Casablancas is a politically engaged man – his Cult Records website has a section for articles dissecting current affairs. So it’s no surprise that the new video for The Strokes‘ ‘Threat Of Joy’ is full of political satire. The only surprise is they’ve chosen this song to accompany it; probably the softest, least politically-minded track on latest EP ‘Future Present Past‘.
Of course, this being The Strokes, they’re not giving it to us straight. They and director Warren Fu have masked their message in a surreal plot of subterfuge and pig mask-wearing, poker-playing gangsters. We tried to decode some of the messages hidden in the video.
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At one point, a door appears with the words The American Globeon it, in a similar design to the Strokes’ classic logo. The door opens and behind it sit the band behind desks, going through documents and on the phone. It’s meant to be an old-school newspaper office and the publication’s title is significant.America, it suggests, doesn’t just control its own territory, but the world. When you think about it, it’s kind of true: the Presidential election will have an impact far further than the US.
The video cuts a couple of times to a meeting room with five men with pigs’ heads sat round a table. There’s a map of the world on the wall and one pig is counting a wad of cash. Another wears an official-looking hat and uniform, one looks sharp in a suit and another has a belt of bullets strapped across his chest.Money corrupts; authority figures will collude with gangsters and mercenaries if the price is right.
“Protect us from the truth” reads a neon sign towards the end of the video, just after the camera’s panned across the band in a line, Julian peeking in and out from behind his bandmates with a grin on his face.Contrary to what Julian sang on ‘The End Has No End’, itis the secrets of the government that are keeping us dumb. We might be happier being kept at arm’s length from the truth by our world leaders and media, but we’ve no idea what really’s going on in the world.
For just one second, a black and white image of one of the pigmen flashes up on screen next to the slogan “Wall Street: We make money so you don’t have to”.This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the video is key, a comment, perhaps, on the shift from industry to financial services, casino banking and toxic lending that necessitated the bailouts following the global financial crisis.Rollin Bishop : Sep 17 04:13PM -0500 If this is what finally, actually kills this list for whatever reason, I
have to say it seems like a good hill to die on.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 4:07 PM, Britton Peele …more
Devin Connors: Sep 17 05:14PM -0400 Obvious question: is Milo Yiannopoulos in this group? He’s a tech writer,
so it wouldn’t be that odd if he was.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:07 PM, Britton Peele
wrote:…more
Julian Murdoch: Sep 17 05:16PM -0400 OK, I admit it, I’m Keyser SozeOn Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:14 PM, Devin Connors
wrote:…more
Jason Venter: Sep 17 02:16PM -0700 Wow. On so many levels… wow.On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 1:54:56 PM UTC-7, Kyle wrote:
…more
Michael Futter: Sep 17 05:17PM -0400 I just want you to know that I was going to kill you last. All of you.…more
Devin Connors : Sep 17 05:18PM -0400 Willing to bet that Milo did not reach out to any of the members of this
group that he mentions in his post. Ben? Jason? Kyle? Did he reach out to
any of you before publication?
…more
Jason Schreier: Sep 17 05:22PM -0400 Nope. If he had, I would’ve happily answered any questions or sent him any
of the messages I’ve sent here.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:18 PM, Devin Connors
wrote:…more
Andrew Groen: Sep 17 02:22PM -0700 The threads on this list that even passingly mention Zoe Quinn are
outnumbered 1:1000000 by those debating the WWE and HipHopGamer.On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 3:54:56 PM UTC-5, Kyle wrote: …more
James Fudge: Sep 17 05:25PM -0400 He never contacted me either.–
James Fudge
Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
…more
Jason Venter : Sep 17 02:25PM -0700 If anyone had reached out to any of us for comment on this story, would we
have had any reason to deny that such a list exists? I don’t think so. I
see no reason to be ashamed of the existence of …more
Britton Peele: Sep 17 04:25PM -0500 Not to mention that even *in the thread that Milo screencapped*, there was
disagreement among us about certain topics, not the least of which being
the idea of sending a public note of support for …more
Alex Navarro: Sep 17 05:26PM -0400 Why would he contact any of us? That’s something journalists do.…more
Nick Chester: Sep 17 02:27PM -0700 I’m in a meeting right now and I literally can’t hold in my laughter. This
is fucking HILARIOUS.On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 5:26:04 PM UTC-4, Alex Navarro wrote:
…more
James Fudge: Sep 17 05:28PM -0400 Well i’m now in a cabal of elite journalists apparently. Thank a lot Obama!On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:26 PM, Alex Navarro
wrote:–
James Fudge …more
Eric Frederiksen: Sep 17 04:28PM -0500 Is it that mind-blowing that a bunch of people in the same industry have a
common meeting places to discuss best practices and issues in the industry?
Why is this news?Eric Frederiksen …more
Jason: Sep 17 05:29PM -0400 Exactly my thought. I’m apparently considered “elite” now and that’s just great!Jason Fanelli
Twitter: BigManFanelli
Http://jasonfanelli.comSent from my iPhone.
…more
Yannick LeJacq: Sep 17 05:29PM -0400 I just came here looking for cat gifs, I swear!–
Yannick LeJacq
…more
James Fudge: Sep 17 05:30PM -0400 Yannick you do what we tell you to do. Wait, who’s the head vampire here?–
James Fudge
Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
…more
Sarah LeBoeuf: Sep 17 05:31PM -0400 Trying to explain this to my husband and it just keeps coming out “I don’t even know anymore.”But hey, I’m elite!Sent from my iPad
…more
Devin Connors: Sep 17 05:32PM -0400 The important question: Is this group as cool as the Springfield
Republicans?[image: Inline image 1]
…more
Jared Newman: Sep 17 02:33PM -0700 *Milo Yiannopoulos* @Nero <https://twitter.com/Nero> · 5s
<https://twitter.com/Nero/ status/512353477628940290 >A word of caution to list members: I’ve seen a lot more than we’ve …more
Alex Navarro: Sep 17 05:33PM -0400 I call Texas Oil ManOn Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:32 PM, Devin Connors
wrote:…more
Adam Rosenberg: Sep 17 05:35PM -0400 DIBS ON FAT TONY.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:33 PM, Alex Navarro
wrote:…more
Matt Hawkins: Sep 17 05:35PM -0400 Am I the only one who belongs to several other secret watering holes (on my end, I’m also part of groups that are all about indie comics and community management)? Am pretty sure I’m not.
…more
Sarah LeBoeuf: Sep 17 05:37PM -0400 Oh man, Hip Hop Gamer isn’t going to like this AT ALL.Sent from my iPad…more
Ben Gilbert: Sep 17 05:37PM -0400 I don’t know what’s been “exposed” here. I’ve spoken openly about this
group in public many a time. Kyle said from the jump that you should never
put anything in here you wouldn’t feel comfortable …more
Andrew Groen: Sep 17 02:37PM -0700 There’s an email group for science journalists too that I’m a part of.
There’s a list like this for literally every profession that uses the
internet in any capacity. The only mindblowing …more
Daniel Starkey: Sep 17 04:37PM -0500 I came here for the job postings. So… If the list does die, I think it’d
be nice to have just a thing for freelance postings/open positions.
?…more
Ben Gilbert: Sep 17 05:39PM -0400 Attention Milo! There are — drumroll — listservs of game devs too. Lots
of them! ALL TALKING TO EACH OTHER. IMAGINE THAT.–
Senior Editor
Engadget, Aolm 203.273.2687 …more
Adam Rosenberg: Sep 17 05:40PM -0400 PR too.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:39 PM, Ben Gilbert
wrote:…more
Alex Navarro : Sep 17 05:40PM -0400 If anything I feel like this has given the group new life! Let us persevere
in the face of this weird idiot who doesn’t understand how anything works!On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:39 PM, Ben Gilbert …more
Daniel Starkey : Sep 17 04:40PM -0500 There’s a freelancer’s group on facebook… Guess what we talk about?
?On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 4:40 PM, Adam Rosenberg
wrote:…more
Michael Futter: Sep 17 05:41PM -0400 Do you hear the people scheme, singing the song of neckbearded men…Sent from my iPhone…more
Adam Rosenberg : Sep 17 05:41PM -0400 Your shitty editors, I assume. And dogs. Because dogs.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:40 PM, Daniel Starkey
wrote:…more
Matt Hawkins : Sep 17 05:41PM -0400 And pretty much every other single corner of the game business you can think of. This applies to every creative industry as well. In fact, any and every industry out there, period, I’m sure of.
…more
“Alex Rubens” : Sep 17 02:41PM -0700 Milo Yiannopoulos @Nero [https://twitter.com/Nero] · 8m [https://twitter.com/Nero/ status/512352486137397248 ]In the coming days, I will compile a list of everyone known to be a member of the …more
Andrew Groen : Sep 17 02:42PM -0700 IMO invite him to join the group. He’s writing about games/games media he
deserves to be here.P.S. I’ve spoken openly about this list on Twitter before. It’s not a
secret list.
…more
Devin Connors : Sep 17 05:42PM -0400 Yeah, I am totally on board with keeping this group up. There’s nothing to
hide here.All this group shows is how I tell too many shitty jpkes….which I think I
demonstrate quite well on …more
Jared Newman : Sep 17 02:44PM -0700 this is brilliantOn Wednesday, September 17, 2014 5:42:48 PM UTC-4, Andrew Groen wrote:
…more
Daniel Starkey: Sep 17 04:45PM -0500 We should totally invite him to join. Then he’d have no excuse for
ignorance.
?…more
Sarah LeBoeuf: Sep 17 05:45PM -0400 You guys I just got to the comments. You guys. I CAN’T EVEN.Sent from my iPad…more
Michael Rougeau : Sep 17 02:46PM -0700 From another recent article of his:”The video game community is perhaps the most inclusive, gender neutral and colourblind on the internet…So it was a strange choice of target for feminist …more
Daniel Starkey : Sep 17 04:48PM -0500 Re: Michael Rogeau: WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. NO. That’s not even a possible
statement someone can make without their brain imploding from wrongness.
?On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 4:46 PM, Michael Rougeau …more
Matt Hawkins : Sep 17 05:50PM -0400 Sarah speaks the truth: LOL, this is the new “9/11 was an inside job”Matt Hawkins ‘ @fortninety…more
Garrett Martin : Sep 17 02:50PM -0700 there really wasn’t anything wrong with JournoList either but the rightwing
machine got it shut down. thankfully we write about videogames so nobody
anywhere takes us seriously enough to shut this …more
Mike Wehner : Sep 17 04:51PM -0500 This is amazing from top to bottom. New favorite GJP thread.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 4:48 PM, Daniel Starkey wrote:…more
Jared Newman: Sep 17 02:51PM -0700 Folks in the group saying on Twitter that the group is incredibly boring.
Now I think I’m insulted!On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 5:50:10 PM UTC-4, Matthew Hawkins wrote:
…more
Eric Frederiksen : Sep 17 04:50PM -0500 Daniel, have you been on the internet in the last month or so (or the
thirty years before that)? People think some wrong-headed stuff when it
helps to strengthen their worldview.
…more
Daniel Starkey >: Sep 17 04:52PM -0500 Eric, I have, but I’m still a huge optimist and it’s really, really tough
for me to think some people are this pigheaded. I have too much faith in
people.
?On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 4:50 PM, …more
“Jason@JasonFanelli.com” : Sep 17 05:53PM -0400 …are we going to have to worry about abuse coming our way via Twitter or otherwise now? Is that something we’re all going to have to be wary of?Well, aside from some of us who are already …more
Ryan Smith: Sep 17 02:58PM -0700 If nothing else, Milo’s got a flair for the theatric:
real. #GamerGate”On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 2:53 PM, Jason@JasonFanelli.com …more
Michael Rougeau: Sep 17 02:58PM -0700 Here’s another one: “To the feminist campaigners trying to ruin video games for everyone and a press that refuses to reform itself despite clear evidence of professional failure, gamers have responded …more
James Fudge : Sep 17 05:59PM -0400 yeah and my underwear is haunted.I’m excited that some of my many one-liners will finally become public!
Look out Brody Stevens, i’ll be #crushingit instead of you.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at …more
Daniel Starkey: Sep 17 05:00PM -0500 See when I see something like that, I just assume most are fakes. Helps me
sleep at night.
?On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 4:58 PM, Michael Rougeau wrote:…more
Dennis Scimeca : Sep 17 03:02PM -0700 What sucks is that now none of us can assume anything we say in here will
actually stay in here, because someone’s abusing the trust.Just the other day I was using this list to get advice on …more
Ben Gilbert: Sep 17 06:04PM -0400 Does this change your position on asking about Destiny in here? The only
worry I might have is something under embargo/NDA shared with other folks
who are also under that agreement gets published. …more
Britton Peele: Sep 17 05:04PM -0500 Oh yeah, losing this group for any reason would be a huge loss. Out here in
Dallas I don’t exactly have a huge group of fellow professionals to even
talk to on a regular basis, much less schedule …more
Mike Wehner: Sep 17 05:04PM -0500 The funny thing is that any time anything has been said with a “this should
remain in the group” tag it’s when we’re helping each other out with things
like when review copies ship and which PR …more
“Cory Banks”: Sep 17 03:12PM -0700 My management is pissed that I’m on this list. Hilarious. —
Sent from MailboxOn Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 3:04 PM, Britton Peele
wrote:…more
Dennis Scimeca : Sep 17 03:16PM -0700 I mean, it doesn’t change that *specifically*, and I mostly lurk, anyway,
but knowing that anything I say might be printed for eyes it wasn’t meant
to be printed for? Sure, that does make me …more
James Fudge : Sep 17 06:18PM -0400 I’ll stand by anything i’ve written here, including bad jokes.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 6:16 PM, Dennis Scimeca
wrote:–
James Fudge
Managing Editor, …more
Sarah LeBoeuf : Sep 17 06:18PM -0400 That concerned me too, but people are already calling me a bitch and telling me to kill myself regularly, so… Meh.Sent from my iPad…more
Sarah LeBoeuf : Sep 17 06:19PM -0400 I just realized we’re going to get so many new Animal Crossing friend requests guys!Sent from my iPad…more
Michael Futter: Sep 17 06:23PM -0400 It’s always a good policy to think that anything you might write will be made public. In the case of this group, it’s unfortunate that a member found more value in contributing to a salacious and …more
Mike Wehner : Sep 17 05:30PM -0500 What’s unfortunate is everyone is going to find out about the number of
puppy pics we post.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 5:23 PM, Michael Futter
wrote:…more
Michael Futter : Sep 17 06:31PM -0400 Including our bosses who will wonder how we find the time. XDSent from my iPhone…more
James Fudge : Sep 17 06:31PM -0400 but but… my dog’s privacy!!–
James Fudge
Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
…more
Julian Murdoch : Sep 17 06:32PM -0400 I find the idea that this group agrees on pretty much anything enough to
rise to the level of collusion hilarious.…more
Michael Futter : Sep 17 06:33PM -0400 Agreed!WaitSent from my iPhone
…more
Alex Navarro : Sep 17 06:35PM -0400 So does anyone want to point out the irony that the dude’s twitter handle
is the name of the roman empire who (allegedly) started a giant fire to
make room for his own palatial expansion.
…more
Garrett Martin : Sep 17 06:36PM -0400 and his personal twitter handle is @caligulaOn Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 6:35 PM, Alex Navarro
wrote:–
Garrett Martin
http://www.pastemagazine.com/ games …more
Michael Futter Sep 17 06:36PM -0400 I thought he just liked Devil May Cry.Sent from my iPhone…more
Jorge : Sep 17 06:37PM -0400 These gaming journalists “truthers” give me a headache.Guys, first rule of secret gaming journalist illuminati is we don’t talk about secret gaming journalist illuminati.Did no one watch the …more
Rod Breslau : Sep 17 06:41PM -0400 I’ve got nothing to worry about, already lost my job from causing an
internet controversy. WHAT UP NOW GAMERGATE?
…more
James Fudge : Sep 17 06:43PM -0400 What?–
James Fudge
Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
…more
Conrad Zimmerman : Sep 17 06:43PM -0400 I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that someone in the group (active or
inactive) may have had their Google account compromised during this mess
and that’s how the e-mails were accessed, if for no …more
Michael Futter : Sep 17 06:45PM -0400 Two-Step isn’t just a Dave Matthews Band song.Sent from my iPhone…more
James Fudge : Sep 17 06:48PM -0400 “Someone in this room is the real killer.”On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 6:45 PM, Michael Futter
wrote:–
James Fudge
Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com
Michael Futter : Sep 17 06:48PM -0400 Mr. BodySent from my iPhone…more
Michael Futter : Sep 17 06:49PM -0400 ObligatorySent from my iPhone…more
Andrew Groen : Sep 17 03:51PM -0700 Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd…enter Adam
Baldwin. https://twitter.com/ AdamBaldwin/status/ 512371960865497088 On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 5:45:41 PM UTC-5, Mike Futter wrote:
…more
ryanflemingpdx : Sep 17 03:53PM -0700 The proletariat will have your head for this, Kyle.There’s literally a comment saying “The people over at Ars Technica are
communists!”On the bright side, no one in the comments has …more
Alex Navarro : Sep 17 07:15PM -0400 #BengamziOn Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 6:53 PM, ryanflemingpdx
wrote:…more
Samit Sarkar : Sep 17 07:22PM -0400?
?*Who decides what to write about*
Michael Futter : Sep 17 07:24PM -0400 Well done.Sent from my iPhone…more
Adam Rosenberg : Sep 17 07:24PM -0400 Best. Episode.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 7:22 PM, Samit Sarkar
wrote:…more
“ William O’Neal” : Sep 17 04:54PM -0700 We should all reply via Twitter. @Nero, I’m on the “super-secret” gaming
journalist list. So what?On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 4:24 PM, Adam Rosenberg wrote:– …more
Britton Peele : Sep 17 06:58PM -0500 I already outed myself on Twitter. A grand total of one person acted like
he cared.*—*
Twitter: @BrittonPeele
www.brittonpeele.comOn Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 6:54 PM, …more
Sarah LeBoeuf : Sep 17 07:59PM -0400 I’m definitely making it clear that this group is not and was never a secret via endless Twitter snark.
———-
Sarah LeBoeuf
Freelance Writer/News Reporter
Twitter/PSN/Steam: sarahthebeef …more
Daniel Starkey: Sep 17 06:58PM -0500 Same here.
?On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 6:58 PM, Britton Peele
wrote:…more
Devin Connors: Sep 17 08:02PM -0400 I have asked nero about reaching out for comment before publication.
Haven’t gotten an answer yet.
…more
Michael Rougeau : Sep 17 05:03PM -0700 My clicking finger is getting sore from all the RTs but I will never stop/ Mike Rougeau
/ Freelance Writer…more
Annette Cardwell : Sep 17 05:19PM -0700 Hey guys, infrequent poster, but long time lurker.This shit just makes me laugh uncontrollably. He really thinks he’s
stumbled onto the Bilderberg Group of games here.With all his threats to …more
James Fudge : Sep 17 08:25PM -0400 i’m just saying a bunch of stupid shit, as usual.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 7:59 PM, Sarah LeBoeuf–
James Fudge
Managing Editor, GamePolitics.com …more
Kyle Orland : Sep 17 08:28PM -0400 So everyone knows, I’m formulating a public response and wading through a
lot of bullshit, but I’m fine. =)-KO–
Senior Gaming Editor, Ars Technica: …more
Devin Connors : Sep 17 08:32PM -0400 I was thinking the same, Kyle, but this is your group, so have at it. Also
please me know if you need help with anything related.
…more
Kyle Orland : Sep 17 09:44PM -0400 Just got around to seeing Samit’s song. Omg so good!On Wednesday, September 17, 2014, Samit Sarkar
wrote:–
Senior Gaming Editor, Ars Technica: …more
Devin Connors : Sep 17 09:53PM -0400 Pretty happy with the amount of Simpsons chatter in here.[image: Inline image 1]
…more
ryanflemingpdx : Sep 17 06:56PM -0700 Can we all just agree that from now on we only refer to Kyle as Hank
Scorpio?
…more
Julian Murdoch : Sep 17 09:58PM -0400 I was thinking Godfather was more appropriate.Man, I actually kind of hope that guy is lurking and reading somehow, and
trolling through a years worth of bitching about wordrates and “how come i …more
Devin Connors : Sep 17 10:04PM -0400 Friendly reminder: If you don’t have two-step verification set up on your
Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter? Now is probably a good time to set security
up for those services. PayPal, too.
…more
Samit Sarkar : Sep 17 10:06PM -0400 Glad you saw it, Kyle. I figured you might need some cheering up. :)And yeah, echoing what Devin said: Check all your accounts against the list
here. https://twofactorauth.org/-Samit
…more
Harold Goldberg : Sep 17 10:22PM -0400 Yep. What Devin and Samit said. Doesn’t hurt. At all. And…Kyle rocks,
always has, always will.On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 10:06 PM, Samit Sarkar
wrote:– …more
Alex Rubens: Sep 17 07:25PM -0700 Good call in general, but I highly doubt someone’s gmail was compromised. If it was, dude wouldn’t be asking for a full list and additional information. His source (or wherever the emails came …more
Scott Nichols : Sep 17 |
world in order to just, you know, edge and protect their position.
TONY JONES: Can I follow up on that? Because one of the lessons we learnt in this part of the world back in the late 1990s was when big European banks pulled their capital out of Asia, that can cause really serious problems. We had the Asian Financial Crisis grew out of that. So I suppose a follow up question to that is, is there a strategy in place? Will the IMF consider, will the G20 countries, the powerful ones, consider offering lines of credit to emerging economies if they get into trouble in this period?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: That's exactly the business that the IMF is in. Every crisis has a silver lining, and in a way, the financial crisis that we have just gone through since 2008 has helped us redesign some of the financial instruments that we had available for the members. We put in place what we call the flexible credit line, for instance, that has been used recently by countries like Mexico, Columbia and Poland. We have precautionary and liquidity lines that did not exist in the past either that can be used in a way as an insurance policy against the crisis and particularly being a bystander of the crisis happening elsewhere. So, yes, we do have instruments to help countries in that situation.
TONY JONES: In other words, you try to stop an Asian Financial Crisis developing, for example, out of the emerging markets crisis with all this capital flowing back to America?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: We would have the instruments, and I think that to the extent that more is needed, different approaches are needed, we have to be flexible, we have to adjust, we have to respond to the membership needs.
TONY JONES: Very good. Our next question is from Ted Wziontek.
ABBOTT DEBT AND DEFICIT
TED WZIONTEK: Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos that you shouldn't address debt and deficit with more debt and deficit, and adding that cutting back government spending... advocating cutting back on government spending with the private sector to carry the capital investment. The IMF, I believe, has criticised him saying that this doesn't address economic growth or employment. Could such policies on their own undermine growth, and is there a place for some government spending to enhance growth and employment?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: I think you're asking two questions here. One is fiscal consolidation, that some people call austerity - is that compatible with growth? And what we are asking in the sort of country-by-country analysis that we do is identify the situation in which the country is. The situation that has a heavy debt, that is running a high deficit and that is under financing pressure because it cannot obtain financing from the markets at decent terms is in a situation where it has to do fiscal consolidation. We see no alternative to that. On the other hand, a country that is not under such pressure should indeed focus on growth and a fiscal consolidation path that is sensible, that is anchored in the medium term, that indicates where it's going, at which speed, at which pace, but doesn't have to do the fiscal consolidation the hard way, if you will, so that growth is compatible with a decent fiscal path going forward. Now, the second question you ask is, is there room for public spending in relation to growth creation and job creations? And to that, I would say there is a role for government to be involved, and possibly for public spending as well, but it's going to be a question, again, of a country-by-country analysis. Where I say that the government has to be involved, it has to procure the environment in which private sector investors are going to feel comfortable investing and putting their money. And that's a government's job, to make sure that the policies are known and there is no uncertainty, that things are predictable, and are not stuffed with corruption and all those things that are a brake on investment. And second, there are areas where there must be public spending, such as, for instance, very large infrastructure projects, for instance, where the return on investment is going to be years and years away. In those kinds of projects, there is certainly space for public money to be invested, sometimes in partnership with the private sector and all those PPP arrangements, for instance. But I don't want to pass a general judgment of what is right, what is wrong. It is going to be country-specific and it is going to be project-specific, in a way. But I have no doubt in my mind that on some infrastructure projects, public investment, public money is actually helpful and needed.
TONY JONES: Just briefly, do you perceive a difference in philosophy between yourself and Treasurer Joe Hockey of Australia who talks about the age of entitlement being over? And, of course, what he's talking about there is the overspending, as he sees it, in the big European economies on social welfare, education and so on.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Well, I know it's tempting to oppose one against the other. I really don't want to go in that direction because I believe the G20 and what we at the IMF do has to do with dialogue, comparing notes, exchange of information, best practices and so on and so forth, and we have to continue doing that. But investment in health, education, is absolutely necessary. And I hope we can talk at some stage about the role of inequality and how it impacts on growth. Clearly, investing in health, investing in education, making sure that there are equal opportunities for all is something where public money is needed. It's not a question of... What did you call it? Vested rights? No, entitlements.
TONY JONES: Entitlements. Yes. 'The age of entitlements is over,' is Joe Hockey's phrase.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: I'd respond by investing in health and education is a priority.
TONY JONES: Thank you very much. Our next question is from Rana Baleh.
GREECE & IMF
RANA BALEH: The fiscal austerity measures implemented in Greece to alleviate the effects of the Global Financial Crisis ultimately had a damaging effect on both the Greece and European economy. How will the IMF modify its policies to ensure such economic miscalculations won't happen again?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Thank you, Rana. I have looked at Greece from different angles because when the Greek issues started and we had to put a program together, I was Finance Minister for France and then I morphed into being Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and the Greek program continued throughout. So the real initial miscalculations were the ones that led to the wrong numbers, certainly the wrong approach to the financial situation through which Greece was going, and the fact that the country was running debt and running deficit largely... in numbers that were largely in excess of what had been represented, let's put it that way. When you have a situation like that, you need to deal with it. And the way to deal with it was certainly to restore a bit of sanity in the public finance and to make sure that the numbers were disclosed properly, that everything was documented, to make sure that, at some stage, the Greek economy could return to financing itself and to standing on its own merits and its own strength, rather than be on life support, so that was the whole purpose of the various programs that were put in place between the European partners of Greece and the IMF with Greece. Now, it has been a long journey, we can only celebrate now the fact Greece is finally coming out with a primary surplus, as we call it, which hasn't happened since 1943, from my recollection. So as much as there has been miscalculation, misquotation of numbers, clearly a path has been taken, which has been hard on the Greek populations, and where we have done everything we could to make sure that the burden would be fairly born by all and not just by the employees and the civil servants, we have made sure there was enough of a safety net so that people who were most exposed would not suffer too much. But still, it has been a very difficult process through which the country went and through which the Greek people, you know, made huge sacrifices.
TONY JONES: Well, you wanted a chance to talk about global equity. Here it is. We'll go to the next question. It's from Adie Dawes-Birch from the Global Foundation.
INEQUALITY & MULTILATERALISM
ADIE DAWES-BIRCH: You recently quoted Martin Luther King in your outline of this new era of multilateralism. And in essence, what affects one affects us all in some way. Pope Francis has also recently had a different perspective on a similar theme in stating we have collectively created this globalisation of indifference, and that really concerns me. I guess what I'm asking is, how optimistic you are that the IMF and the G20 can work together to actually address the issue of global inequality?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Well, as I said in the beginning, our mission is financial stability in the world in order to procure prosperity. So globalisation of indifference is not our mission, is not our objective. Quite to the contrary. What we aspire to is globalisation of opportunities, globalisation of prosperity, globalisation of inclusion, if you will. And inequality is certainly in the way of all that. I'm not taking here an ideological view because it's not the role of the IMF. But we are just looking at the economics. We are looking at growth potential. And it's really pretty obvious that rising inequality as we see it at the moment, in both advanced economies, in emerging market economies and in low-income countries, this rising inequality is not conducive to sustainable growth. Now, there is a huge debate out there, and the economists in the room will not contradict me on that, as to whether or not redistribution can actually fix that, and particularly redistribution through taxation. So I'm not going to take a stand on that. But what I will say again is that in response to that risk, that rising inequality actually conflict with growth, there has to be. And that's why I felt so strongly about it. There has to be investment in health and there has to be investment in education, because in most countries, particularly the low-income countries, particularly the emerging market economies, if those investments do not happen, then there will not be opportunities for all to actually reach their potential, participate in growth, participate in the job market. So in response to that risk of rising inequality, the least that should be done, that must be done - and we advocate that in surveillance work and the program design that we do with countries when it is needed - is proper investment in health and education, because we don't want global indifference.
TONY JONES: Now, just a quick follow-up there. You've made the point in your Dimbleby Lecture recently that global income inequality is actually dangerous. What is the danger that you fear from income inequality?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: What I mean by that is, you just look at numbers, and I'm not going to quote IMF numbers, I'm going to quote some of the Oxfam report numbers, the Oxfam report that was released recently. When you see that 85% of the wealthiest individuals in the world have wealth and income which equals that of half of the world population, there is something that is wrong, OK. In the sense that the inequality is so obvious and so strong, so wide...
TONY JONES: We are talking about 85 individuals?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: 85 individuals owning as much wealth as half the world. Of course, the half that is less privileged, the 3 billion people who have the least, OK. So when you see those numbers, it's pretty striking that inequality is an issue and is not one that is actually conducive to growth. That's what I meant.
TONY JONES: Let's move on. Our next question is from Cassandra Goldie. She is from the Australian Council of Social Services.
G20 NOT INCLUSIVE
CASSANDRA GOLDIE: Madame Lagarde, a very warm welcome to you. We are the national voice against poverty and inequality in Australia, so we are delighted with the leadership that you are demonstrating on this front. I'm also part of the C20 for this Australian Presidency and last year I was in Russia where there was a strong commitment to inclusive growth, and yet we know over the next couple of days there is going to be some very important discussions, one of which is with the B20, with business leaders talking specifically about infrastructure, and as the chair of the civil society voice on infrastructure, I want to ask you, should civil society be equally at the table in these kinds of discussions? When we have a room full of a particular profile of wealthy, elite, mostly male perspectives that get brought into the room when we know that this is a shared interest for us, when we know women and children make up 70% of the people's poorest in the world, we need to have a more inclusive dialogue. What's your suggestion about the best way for us to achieve that so we can have faith that these are good decisions that are being made over some very important issues at this time?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: I'd say, 'Don't give up and keep at it.' And I'll tell you why I say that. Back in 2008, the G20 was rejuvenated in a way, because that was a rather sleepy forum of finance ministers and governors of central banks, and that was it. You know, we were going about our business, but not really breaking through anything in particular. And it was elevated to the leaders' level, and the G20 suddenly caught the attention of the world, and they took some really good decision in order to limit the crisis and take some good decisions. At the time, it was just the G20, and then a year later, it was G20 plus B20, so it was not just the government of the 20 largest countries in the world... economies in the world, it was also the business leaders of those 20 countries. Then a year later, it became the G20, the government, the B20, the business leaders, and then the unions of the 20. So it is sort of an evolving group that's gradually including more and more, which is why I'm saying don't give up, keep at it. Second, at the IMF, we do a lot of reaching out to civil society, and every time we have the Spring meeting, the annual meeting, we bring all the civil society representatives together so they can give us their feedback, their views and we take that into account. The same is true whenever we go into a country, whenever we design a program, we reach out to civil societies because we believe that the voices of civil society have to be not only listened to, but also we have to pay attention and we have to eventually modify and take the right measures in response to that.
TONY JONES: Alright. There's a lot of voices in this room. You are watching a special Q&A with the Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde. Our next question comes from Tina Zhou.
INTERNATIONAL TAX DODGERS
TINA ZHOU: Hi, Madame Lagarde. Thanks for taking the question. Recently, former Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan called for Australia as the chair of the G20 2014 to set an action agenda to aggressively target rampant tax evasion by large multinational corporations. He stated that there are multinational companies that aren't paying tax at all or avoiding tax in domestic jurisdictions and domestic taxpayers are missing out. The Australian Government also recently named Google and Apple as companies it believes are using complex tax structures to shift their profits to lower tax countries. With two-thirds of the world's trade being controlled by large multinationals, what future role can and will the IMF play to tackle the issue, especially its effect on global equality and the redistribution of wealth? Thank you.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: That's a big ongoing problem and process. And it's really one where the IMF is helping as much as it can. It's not our core business to give tax advice and redesign the international tax treaties that form this little web around the global economic activity, but it is a matter we are helping the OECD with, and we will bring all the knowledge we have, particularly of the not-so-advanced economies that are often the victims of those very smart tax planning schemes that help companies not to violate the law, not to be in breach, but to be smart about how they design the legal and fiscal structure in order to limit or, as they say, 'optimise' their taxation.
TONY JONES: In fact, they are shifting their profits to tax havens where often they pay no tax at all.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Or very little tax.
TONY JONES: Is that immoral?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: You know, what they will say to that. They will say they are not especially concerned about your question, they are concerned about being within the law and not breaching the law. So what it says is...
TONY JONES: Time to change the law, is it? I guess that's the question. Yeah.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Governments have to look at how they should change the law and how they should do it cooperatively. That's another reason why those countries have to do it together, they have to talk to each other, compare notes, because if they don't, they are going to compete against each other, and that's the race to the bottom which is not going to be in the interests of the countries because they will lose revenues, which will not be in the interests of the normal taxpayers because they will be required to fill in the gap that is left by those that can manage to play those games. But, Tina, in response to your question, because you named a couple of companies, it is a fact that the business is evolving, and whereas it's pretty easy to tax a base that is tangible, that is identifiable, where you are manufacturing activity, products and so on and so forth, it's a lot more complicated to do that when the products are intangible, when they move around by flow of information, where the localisation of the headquarters or the service centre is uncertain, so the governments and the international tax treaty designers and drafters have to take that into account and they have to invent new concepts just as quickly and as well as those companies are inventing their optimisation schemes.
TONY JONES: Just out of interest, has any economist looked at how many billions of dollars being lost to the national revenue of countries where people are spending their money for Apple and Google and companies like that? How much is being lost?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: There are conflicting numbers but all of them are big.
TONY JONES: Let's move on to our next question. It's from Geoffrey Walton.
CLIMATE CHANGE & CARBON TAX
GEOFFREY WALTON: Yes, thank you. Thank you, Madame Lagarde. I wonder, could you comment on what seems to be emerging as global best practice in relation to carbon reduction policy? As you know, I think the Australian Government seems intent on abolishing the carbon tax, citing high cost of business, and, for that matter, consumers. But can we really afford such a policy reversal if we want to grow into a carbon-reduced world?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: You know, there are different approaches to the issue, and the issue is there and needs to be addressed and needs to be tackled both on a domestic basis and on an international basis. But my personal firm belief is that we cannot wait until an international body or an international agreement is actually found or reached to actually address the issue, because it's critical. Now, there are multiple ways to look at it. You can either address it by way of taxation, or you can address it by way of incentives that are given or paid to those whose behaviour you want to influence and change, and in between there is a range of things that can be qualified, modified, identified or mixed together. But it's pretty much along those lines. So I was really pleased to see that the Government is maintaining its objective, and clearly we will be interested in seeing what the proposals are. Let me tell you from which angle we look at it. We believe that environmental degradation - and I'm using that term on purpose because it cannot be limited to CO2 emission, it cannot be limited to carbon, it's environmental degradation - is something economics will call an external cost to transactions, to the economies. And that externality has a price. For the moment, it's not well priced. It's hardly priced at all. So what we are saying is...
TONY JONES: Except in Australia, where it's quite a high price. That would be the point of the Abbott Government.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Well... That's being cute. Let's look at it from an economic angle. Externality has a cost. Externality must have a price, and once that price is identified and determined, then it has to be dealt with, either by way of incentives or by way of taxation or by way of cap and trades, or by way of auctions. There are multiple ways to deal with it, but it has to be dealt with.
TONY JONES: We've got plenty of other questions, but I want to follow up on that because you urged Prime Minister Abbott not to abandon Australia's role as a pioneer in climate change, and in the climate change debate. I'm just wondering, do you fear that might happen?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Well, I certainly hope it doesn't.
TONY JONES: We will move on. I think that's a diplomatic answer. Our next question is from Elizabeth Broderick, Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner.
WOMEN AND QUOTAS
ELIZABETH BRODERICK: Madame Lagarde, I've been so delighted to see that the IMF, under your leadership, has had a really strong focus on women, particularly lifting women's workforce participation around the world, but also you've taken the message that investing in women is actually smart economics. Human rights always starts at home, so I suppose I'd be interested to know... Within the IMF, I know you have set targets, but just how you are progressing against those targets, particularly in relation to women's leadership. And some of the strategies you have in your country programs, which I know have been effective, what lessons can we learn here in Australia, the Australian Government but also the business community and the Australian community generally?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Thank you very much for your question, and thank you very much for everything you do in that same area that you just touched on. On the quota issue, I've said that before, but I will say it again. I was not in favour of quotas when I was a young woman. That was many moons ago. Faced with the harsh reality of working in a big international law firm, I certainly changed my mind and I do believe that quotas, targets, whatever you want to call them, are a necessity. And if anything was to prove it, the fact that, for instance, in Europe, under European directives, there is now a quota of women sitting on the board of companies, and it's a rolling quota that increases over time, and it has changed the landscape clearly, and I know it will continue to do so. So at the IMF, we do have quotas. The difficulty of those quotas is they are very granular. We don't say, 'We want 50-50,' or, 'We want 45-55,' whatever. We go down to, 'OK, overall, leadership, special expertise, non-economists,' and so on and so forth. We have set quotas, we have reached the quotas, we have re-set quotas that are higher and more difficult to reach. We're not there yet, and clearly it's... I mean, the further you go... Two points. The more granular you are and the further you move into that quota definition and improvement of the situation, the more difficult it is, but we are going to keep at it and we are going to be just open and honest about it. When we miss, we are going to reschedule, we're going to put more effort into it in order to reach our objective. Second thing, I'm very proud to say I have now started some empirical work and some publication as well about the role of women in the economy. We have recently published a paper on women, growth and the economy in which we clearly state the role that women can play, how much they can contribute, and how quite a few countries are actually losing huge opportunities by not giving access, by maintaining cultural, societal, and sometimes economic and sometimes tax obstacles to women joining the workforce. So we're trying to be as analytical as we can. We are trying to be loyal to our mission, but we are also trying to be open to a new range of ideas, perspectives in order to make sure there is more inclusion. And I believe that inclusion also is about making sure women have access to the job market and are given fair and equal opportunities.
TONY JONES: Is the biggest obstacle the intransigence of powerful men?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: I don't want to look at it that way.
TONY JONES: Elizabeth Broderick says yes to that.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: What Elizabeth is doing, and it is being done in other countries as well, like Japan, is making sure men and powerful men, like you, for instance, are on board and take ownership of the project. Because I believe that it's not something that will be a woman's business, a woman's affair, but it's going to be a human affair, and to have both men and women endorsing the project of these equal opportunities, of this fair access, of looking at the constraints in a very practical way to get things done is exactly the right way to go. And enlisting the support of those... How do you call them? The man champion of change. And the same thing is happening in Japan. I hope it goes from here to other places as well to make sure that powerful men actually endorse the project.
TONY JONES: Thank you. Our next question is from Richard Yetsenga.
CHINA MODEL
RICHARD YETSENGA: Hi, Madame Lagarde. You referred to the economists in the room earlier. I'm one of those. I wanted to ask about China, but I guess a little bit more cultural. I lived in Hong Kong and worked in Hong Kong for quite a long time. I was born in South-East Asia so I've looked at many countries, and I don't think there is another economy I have looked at where the divergences between perspective is so stark. I mean, China has had the largest of poverty reduction in history, and yet so many analysts are so consistently downbeat on its sustainability and China's potential to continue growing the way it's been growing. What factors do you think account for this sort of divergence or differences of your dichotomy, if you like?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: We at the IMF try to look at numbers. We try to be as factual... We are not number-crunchers, but we are trying to really stick to the empirical understanding of the situation, and we believe that the Chinese economy is very cautious with its development and is often poorly understood and poorly interpreted. So we are trying to adjust that by being very factual, very empirical, and as analytical as we can.
TONY JONES: Can I just jump in there? How do you get numbers in a non-transparent economy run by a one-party State?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Well, this is a matter that we have to address in a number of countries. It's not China-specific, but I'm going to say we try to access numbers through different sources. So we not only trust the official sources, we also counter those official numbers by factual observations, by alternative sources of information. The reason we do a lot of reaching out to civil society, the reason we talk to unions, the reason we talk to the business leaders as well, is to make sure that we have a consistent, and if it's not consistent, then we go back and double-check and challenge numbers. That's the way we deal with that. If we understand or are under the impression that the numbers are cooked, then we challenge and occasionally we take action.
TONY JONES: There's another question on China. It's from Yifen Axford over here on the left.
CHINA SHADOW BANKING
YIFEN AXFORD: Thank you. The rest of the Chinese shadow banking system are currently considered a financial threat to global economic assistant. In your opinion, what are the signs that would confirm this threat, and what role is the IMF taking in prevention and ultimately to deal with any negative consequences?
TONY JONES: So China's shadow banking system.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: I would first observe it is not only, again, a China-specific issue. There are other countries in the world that are developing a shadow banking system, which is clearly a threat if it is not supervised, if it is not regulated and if it prospers without boundaries. I'm not ruling out shadow banking in general. What I'm saying is that it can be beneficial in some cases, provided that it is well supervised, that it is kept in check and that's what we are recommending in countries like, for instance, China. In other words, keep it within those boundaries, make sure it is supervised and that it is not exposing the countries to uncontrollable and unmitigatable risks.
TONY JONES: Let's move on while we've still got time to do it. We've got another question. It's from Paul Ronalds, CEO of Save The Children Australia.
HEALTH AND EDUCATION
PAUL RONALDS: Madame Lagarde, you have already spoken very eloquently about the importance of investing in health and education systems. Yet around the world, we see too little investment in building such systems. For example, Save The Children research estimates that each year, one million children die on their first day of life. What is the IMF's role in encouraging particularly developing countries to develop more robust education and health systems so that all citizens can enjoy the benefits of economic prosperity?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: I'm going to refer to a study that was conducted over a period of ten years on the low-income countries. There was a comparative between those countries that have been under program with the IMF and countries that were not under program with the IMF. There are two findings from that study. One is those countries that were under program have had a better and higher growth rate than the others, and more importantly, to me at least, those countries under program with the IMF had higher investment in both health and education. So when we help countries design the program of improving the economic situation, making sure they have a sound sustainable path, we try to insist on investing in health and education, and the numbers and that study actually prove it.
TONY JONES: We've got time for a few more questions. Let's go to Scott Limbrick.
IMF VOTING SYSTEM
SCOTT LIMBRICK: Thank you. Through a recent speech at the Lowy Institute and in a joint opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Australia's Treasurer Joe Hockey has expressed a strong interest in pursuing reform of the IMF's voting system to shift voting shares to better represent the increasing economic weight of emerging and developing countries. Given the reluctance of the US Congress to go forward with ratifying these reforms, what can the IMF do itself to better increase its legitimacy in the eyes of these stake holders?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Well, there are two things. One is we must keep at it and we must continue to insist that the governance reform that was decided in 2010, right in the middle of the financial crisis, be actually completed, ratified by all key shareholders of the institution, and the United States is one where ratification is needed and where I very much, very strongly hope, that both the executive and the legislative branches will get together and will decide to move on with the ratification of something that was decided in 2010. Second, you asked the question of the legitimacy of the institution. I think the legitimacy is based both on the representativeness of the membership and how they express their voice, how much quota they have in the institution, but it's also based on the representativeness of the staff. And we have staff from all over the world, educated in multiple universities all over the world, to actually contribute their brain power, their skills, their expertise, their goodwill in order to pursue that mission that I mentioned earlier, which is better financial stability for prosperity in the world. And second, we have to be - that's something I am very keen on - we have to be even-handed. We cannot be prejudiced against one particular set of countries or one particular region. We have to be even-handed. And it's under those three conditions - the representativeness in terms of voices and quota, the representativeness of staff, and the even-handedness of the work that we do that we shall be respected as an independent institution serving the entire membership without discrimination.
TONY JONES: We've got a philosophical question this time about what development needs, and it's from Philippa Barr.
REDEFINE GDP
PHILIPPA BARR: Ciao. International institutions like the IMF, UN and World Bank as well as some governments are developing the idea of natural capital accounting to value resources like land, water, and even air quality as financial assets. Will the IMF ever abandon the use of the Gross Domestic Product in favour of natural capital accounting to measure the long-term viability of a national economy?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: When I was discussing earlier with you the issue of valuing and pricing externalities, I was exactly on the same page, Philippa. And I think, if you are asking me, I think we will continue to use GDP for a long period of time because it's an accounting system that has been used, that is recognised, that is hardly challenged by all players. But it is not sufficient and it is not enough because it does not account for externalities. It does not account for the value of some cultural goods. It does not account for the damage that we do to the environment, which is why I believe, personally, that while continuing to use that GDP system, which is sort of consensual, which has been tested and used and which we need in essence at the moment amongst all players, in addition to that, we need to combine alternative systems that take into account those externalities, those not-accounted-for goods that have no tradeable values and yet that have a very significant value.
TONY JONES: Let's hear from someone else who is talking about changing the way we look at things, and it's Rachel Botsman.
NEW MONEY TECHNOLOGIES
RACHEL BOTSMAN: Madame Lagarde, my question is about the future of money. I'm interested... All around the world, we're seeing new examples emerging that could represent one of the most radical reconfigurations of banking and the concept of money that we have seen in centuries. The collapse of trust in traditional banking systems combined with new technologies is giving rise to everything from virtual currencies such as Bitcoin to mobile banking in Africa, to crowd funding platforms like Kickstarter to peer-to-peer lending platforms, all of which in some way cut out the traditional financial middle man. So my question for you is, do you think these innovations will disrupt the financial system at a large scale, and, if so, is this disruption a good thing, not for the banks, but for the average person on the street?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: You know what, just judging by the applause, it sounds really attractive, really alternative, and, hey, why not? But I'm concerned about one thing. And that is that, for the moment, those systems are also very nice channels to do some very unfortunate money laundering, tax evasion, and I think to have alternative monetary systems in place is only acceptable provided that there is enough scrutiny, enough transparency, enough governance so that those key obstacles are avoided. If it was not the case, then I think it would be a very suspicious and very inopportune way of substituting a system that is not perfect, but that is at least governed and regulated. Not a perfect system, for sure. So that's my take for the moment on the various alternative, including the virtual, systems that are in place. But, you know, I'm not discounting them. I'm not suggesting that should be off the map. I'm saying there are some really serious pitfalls that have to be looked after.
TONY JONES: I'm sure Rachel would like to debate the point. I'm sorry we don't have time to do that. We've only got a few questions left that we can go to. The next one is from Matt Shim.
AUSTRALIA AND FOREIGN AID
MATT SHIM: Hi, Madame Lagarde. On Tuesday morning, the Abbott Government officially removed poverty alleviation as a priority from Australia's foreign policy on top of cutting the foreign aid budget last year by $4.5 billion. Do you condone this action by the Government, especially considering Australia's standing as a developed economy, and one which many see as having a duty to provide aid and alleviate poverty in the world?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: I believe as Managing Director of the IMF that eliminating poverty is the goal by not only the World Bank but also the United Nations is a very, very legitimate and laudable goal, and one that certainly we will help develop and implement in the future.
TONY JONES: I take it you are not going to specifically comment on the Australian question.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: You're quite right, Tony.
TONY JONES: We do have time for one last question. It comes from Maia Alfonzetti.
ADVICE FOR A TEENAGE GIRL
MAIA ALFONZETTI: As a young girl interested in studying economics and law, I'm aware that this profession will require a lot of time and hard work. Do you have any professional regrets and would you say that one must make great family sacrifices in order to reach the top?
CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Well, a few things. One is I very strongly believe that girls' education is an absolute must. Second, I don't know of any situation, position where there is no hard work, no requirement to study, and where things are just easy-peasy and you don't have to make any effort. Third, I believe that society, including communities, but also families, should actually do everything they can to help girls, young girls, women, to carry out some of the duties that we have, genetically and otherwise, and to make those |
(6). To elaborate, when people are placed in an fMRI and given a task that involves multiple-people playing a game on a computer-screen, an increase in opioids is experienced by those who are left out of the game (4). This phenomenon is referred to as social pain. By a similar logic, people will avoid the things which most people dislike, and conform to the things which most people like: i.e., females find men that are surrounded by other women to be more attractive (7); people are more likely to smile and laugh if others are doing so (8); and self-esteem can be lowered when one cannot wear mainstream brands (8). In other words, conformity is rewarded and nonconformity punished. Thus, when a teenager sits in their room and treats Justin Bieber as a comparable peer, they will engage in social comparisons with him; as a result, a teen may begin to think that Bieber’s attire, persona, or behaviour is deemed socially desirable because everyone likes Bieber. Anything else may be deemed unpopular or uncool. Given that these celebrities are beyond reality, teens can possibly experience social pain because they are unable to meet the idealism of Bieber or whomever. And, in fact, teens can experience lowered self-esteem when using social media (9).
Of course, this is not to place too much emphasis on celebrities and social media, as parents also influence children, but social media is becoming a big part of young people’s psychosocial development. And since the problems of our biology can be exacerbated by the digital environment, it is important to pay attention to the social media developments; such that we can mitigate potential harms.
Sociology of Social Platforms
Institutions have been part of human social-structure for a long time. These institutions, being great in diversity, serve social functions for our societies. Schools educate our children, Churches homogenize our beliefs and communities, and courts settle our disputes civilly. Institutions are fundamental to human social structure.
Institutions are so fundamental for human social structure that they begin to develop norms and regulations for operation; the norms and regulations develop around the function of an institution: i.e. child-hood education, mental-health aid, or legal resolutions. The norms and regulations allow for a greater degree of efficiency, though limit individuality. Moreover, given that each institution has a specific function, different norms and cultures unfold within each institution; that is, the norms for a church are radically different than the norms for a courtroom. This allows us to derive a generalization: namely, that the function of a social institution determines the qualitative features of the norms and culture that unfold around that institution.
Now, we can apply this to social media. The function of a social media platform determines the qualitative features of the social groups found on a platform, and therefore the social norms of that platform as well; for instance, LinkedIn was designed to be an online resume, and so it attracted online professionals. This lead to LinkedIn having boardroom social norms rather than frat house social norms. To understand this further, let us bring a comparison platform: Facebook.
Social Norms and Social Media Platforms.
On LinkedIn, a majority of the posts are around academic research, business, and politics. When one scrolls through the feed, the utmost professional posts are the ones with the most likes, comments, and shares. The content of the posts will always reflect the mindset of someone who subscribes to the notion of professionalism. Comparatively, on Facebook, a majority of the posts are around viral videos, personal life events, and people’s general thoughts at that moment. When one scrolls through the feed, the posts which come off as personal often have the most activity; even furthermore, many posts are devoid of professionalism entirely; instead, they represent some aspect of an individual’s personal life: for example, a photo at a sports event, or an update about a new pool the user is building in their backyard. The content of the posts reflects the social attitudes within the platform, though it goes beyond posts as well.
When we consider the profiles of both Facebook and LinkedIn, we can further see the differences in social norms on the two platforms. LinkedIn profiles do not encourage as much picture uploading; rather, the platform encourages the user to treat the profile similar to an online resume. Users are meant to share work experience, employable skills, etc… Comparatively, Facebook’s profile structure is like a family photo book. Facebook encourages its users to tag friends in photos, create albums for all the photos, and create short video collages of the user and their friends or family. Facebook’s profile is designed to be personal rather than professional.
Even if we zoom in on users engaging with a profile, we can see this is fundamentally different as well. On LinkedIn, when someone connects with a user, they do so with the intention of business networking; whereas, on Facebook, it is common for someone to add a user with the intention of romantic engagement. The social boundaries are much more relaxed on Facebook than they are on LinkedIn.
Of course, since the advent of these social media platforms, real life social norms have also been influenced. Now, it is common to exchange Instagram user names rather than numbers, or perhaps even meet a romantic partner through Instagram and then meet in person. Social media platforms are altering social norms in both directions: digital and in person.
Thus, we can see that social media platforms will set future digital norms. The function of the platform will determine social boundaries, social norms, and social attitudes. The future of digital behaviour will, in part, be shaped by large social media corporations.
Psychology of Social Platforms
Another important perspective to consider when reflecting on social media is psychology; more specifically, personality and behaviour on digital platforms. Although we will not go through all the known personality traits, we will consider social media behaviour and narcissism – (to be clear, I am not passing any value judgments on whether one ought to be narcissistic or not; I am not here to dictate the behaviour of others, only provoke thought).
Narcissism and Social Platforms
Personality can be expressed in many ways, and so it no surprise that personality traits have found a means for expression on social media platforms. Indeed, grandiose tendencies are highly prevalent on social media. What is surprising, however, is that the social media platforms tailor personality traits. Again, to demonstrate this, we can consider the profiles of both LinkedIn and Facebook.
LinkedIn, having a more professional environment, sets a more professional stage; as such, what is deemed grand or amazing on LinkedIn is not whether one has a perfect family or not, but whether one has 5 Ph.D.’s or not; whether one has a better career, a bigger network, or more employable skills or not. Of course, not everyone who has 5 Ph.D.’s is being grandiose, nor are all CEOs grandiose. However, given that LinkedIn sets the standards for “grand” as career related success, the narcissistic trait becomes sculpted by it; put more explicitly: “I have two Ph.D.’s and 100 more endorsements than that person, look how much better I am than them”. LinkedIn allows the narcissist of the business world to express themselves in the digital world.
Comparatively, Facebook has set the stage in more relaxed terms; that is, grand or amazing on Facebook is not whether one has a perfect career or not, though that may play a role; rather, Facebook’s grand or amazing is about a perfect family, excellent pictures of social events, and excellent selfies. And thus, Facebook sculpts the trait of narcissism to focus on personal life rather than professional life. Their child’s first day of school must be documented perfectly, their profile pictures require 4 hours of hair-and-makeup, and they have entire albums dedicated to photos of themselves. Facebook brings a less professional narcissist and allows that narcissist to express themselves as such.
So, we can see how personality traits, such as narcissism, can be influenced by the orientation of a given website; that is, if those with more Ph.D.’s get more attention, then a narcissist requires more PhDs; or, comparatively, if Facebook users get attention for great photos, then 4 hours of hair-and-makeup is required to get a great photo. Personality traits will express themselves qualitatively different on various social media platforms.
Conclusion
Social Media platforms will influence social norms, alter how personality is expressed, and interact with biology in unusual ways. Much how cultures from different countries contain various behaviour and beliefs, so too will social media platforms. An important aspect to understanding how any given platform will influence its users’ psyche is to assess the platforms primary goals, what aspects of human experience the platform focuses on, and the means available for personality expression. Social media is here to stay, so we’ll have to learn more about it as it develops.
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References
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Griffiths, P. (1997). What emotions really are: The problem of psychological categories. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press.
Lieberman, M. D. (2013). Social: Why our brains are wired to connect.
Barks, S. K., Parr, L. A., & Rilling, J. K. (2015). The Default Mode Network in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) is Similar to That of Humans. Cerebral Cortex (New York, NY), 25(2), 538–544. http://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bht253
Patti M. Valkenburg, Jochen Peter, and Alexander P. Schouten. CyberPsychology & Behavior. October 2006, 9(5): 584-590. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2006.9.584
Buss, D. M. (2003). The evolution of desire: Strategies of human mating. New York: Basic Books
Deaux, K., & Snyder, M. (2012). The Oxford handbook of personality and social psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Macnamara, J. (2006). Media and male identity: The making and remaking of men. Basingstoke [England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kandel, E. R. (2013). Principles of neural science.The title of Jordan Peele’s film—which begins as social satire and evolves, in this scene, into nightmarish terror—references what audiences should be shouting at Chris by now. But Peele wants viewers to see how Missy is subtly using her default power over Chris in this situation (he’s in her house, he’s dating her daughter) to make it all but impossible for him to refuse her request. She’s obviously preparing to lecture him about his vice, but what follows next is, of course, much worse.
“Do you smoke in front of my daughter?” Missy asks. “I’m gonna quit, I promise,” Chris replies, trying to cut the tension by smiling and laughing. “That’s my kid, that is my kid, you understand?” Missy replies, as the noise of her spoon scraping across her teacup slowly builds in the background. Soon, she’s asking more probing personal questions about Chris’s mother—the manner of her death (a car accident) and his memories of that day, when he was unable to help her. He starts to cry in spite of himself, betraying feelings he’d never want to reveal to a relative stranger, until he’s completely emotionally exposed. And hypnotized.
“You can’t move. You’re paralyzed,” Missy whispers in triumph. “Just like that day when you did nothing. You did nothing. Now … sink into the floor. Sink.” The image that follows is simple, surprising, and perfectly chilling. Chris slides down through the chair and into a dark void, suspended in nothingness and gazing up at a tiny screen–like view of the outside world. “Now you’re in the Sunken Place.” Missy intones. When he wakes up the next morning, Chris tries to dismiss his fall into the abyss as a bad dream to his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams).
At its most basic level, the Sunken Place represents Missy’s total control over Chris. Get Out’s early tension comes from Chris’s discomfort around Rose’s family and the odd behavior of their black “servants,” as Dean calls them; Missy’s hypnotic attack is the first open acknowledgement of the Armitages’ hostility. But the Sunken Place metaphor clearly has a broader meaning, too. It’s the beginning of the mayhem Peele then unleashes, and an image that serves as a bedrock for the rest of the story—including the film’s terrifying reveal of how the Armitages view and treat black people.
The idea of the Sunken Place immediately defined Get Out (which was a box-office sensation) and transcended it. Peele described the concept’s relevance to the African American experience today in a series of tweets not long after the movie’s February release: “We’re all in the Sunken Place … the Sunken Place means we’re marginalized. No matter how hard we scream, the system silences us.” Indeed, the film cleverly uses the horror genre to amplify America’s ingrained racism, exploring subjects such as cultural appropriation and the dark legacy of slavery via Chris’s battle of wills with Missy and Dean. The Sunken Place is so potent as a symbol that it’s already become a piece of cultural shorthand (and the centerpiece of a course taught at UCLA on the “Black Horror Aesthetic”).A blockchain voting project netted $10,000 in a recent contest organized by cybersecurity firm Kapersky Labs.
Dubbed Votebook, the proposed system connects voting machines via a private blockchain run by, say, a local elections authority. The Votebook concept would enable constituents to check that their votes were actually counted, according to the team, which hails from New York University.
As the team behind the project explained in their pitch, hosted on the website of The Economist:
“Votebook not only satisfies the requirements of an acceptable voting system, it is also realistically feasible immediately, with minimal disruption of voter expectations. We can and should harness the power of blockchain technology to serve democracy today.”
The idea of backing up voting records on a blockchain has long been cited as a potential use case, one previously highlighted during a speech by Delaware judge J Travis Laster. Even the local government in Moscow has been testing possible applications for blockchain-based voting.
A research paper published in October by a think tank run by the EU Parliament also explored the concept, going as far as to propose that the bitcoin blockchain be used for this purpose by tying votes to transactions on the network.
Image Credit: Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.comParks and libraries will get about 60 percent of next year’s Allegheny County Regional Asset District budget, a $96.9 million package that the organization’s board of directors approved unanimously Monday.
The budget contains about $3 million more than the 2015 budget.
RAD distributes money raised by a 1 percent sales tax levied in Allegheny County to 93 county organizations for support and capital improvements, including projects such as renovations at the Pittsburgh Zoo, elevator upgrades at the Carnegie Museums in Oakland, an additional garden at the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden and a connector from Montour Trail to Moon Park.
“(The budget) shows a commitment from the board of directors to sustain and maintain all of those quality-of-life organizations that make the Greater Pittsburgh area a great place to live, work and play,” RAD Executive Director Rich Hudic said.
Stadiums and civic facilities will account for 15 percent of the budget. Eight percent will go to the National Aviary, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
Twelve percent will go to arts and cultural organizations. Three percent is slated for transit such as the Port Authority of Allegheny County.
“This is taxpayer money. I think it is invested wisely in projects that everyone has the opportunity to take advantage of and enjoy,” Hudic said.
Of the 109 organizations that applied for grants, 93 received funding, including two small nonprofits that hadn’t made the cut before.
The Union Project, a community arts space that operates out of a former church in East Liberty, will receive $5,000. Mc-Keesport Regional History and Heritage Center will get $2,500.
State lawmakers created RAD and approved the special sales tax in 1993 to generate funding for the region’s financially strained libraries and parks.
Tony Raap is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7827 or traap@tribweb.com.I know that body hair only grows to a certain length and then stops. But how does hair know it's been cut? For instance, if I cut some arm or leg hair off, how does it know this, and grow back? Do you understand?
Cecil replies:
Dear Mary:
I am giving it my all, madam. Hair doesn’t know it’s been cut, and being dead tissue, doesn’t much care. The fact is that body hair will grow if you cut it, and it will grow if you don’t cut it–it is, in short, always growing (or at least, at any given time, a substantial portion of it is.) You just don’t realize it, since in aggregate it never seems to get any longer. That’s because the longest hairs fall out, having been pushed out of their sockets by newer hairs working up from below.
The difference between body hair and scalp hair (and, in males, chin and mustache hair) is that the latter for practical purposes grows continuously, whereas the former alternates regular periods of growth and dormancy. During the growth portion of the cycle, body hair follicles are long and bulbous, and the hair advances outward at about a third of a millimeter per day.
After a few weeks growth stops, at which point, needless to say, the hair is as long as it is going to get. The follicle shrinks and the root of the hair rigidifies. Following a period of dormancy, another growth cycle starts, and eventually a new hair pushes the old one out of the follicle from beneath.
Naturally, the process doesn’t occur simultaneously all over the body or you’d be shedding like a cocker spaniel. Whenever you happen to shave your legs you’ll be mowing some long, nongrowing hairs as well as some shorter, still-growing ones. And you’ll miss some tiny new hairs, which haven’t yet protruded above the skin surface. The stubble you feel a day or two later is evidence that growth continues unimpeded.
OK, you say, but why does head hair grow to great length whereas body hair doesn’t? Nobody knows exactly, but some anthropologists believe the purpose of long head hair is to give you something to tie ribbons in. No kidding. Quoth one, “the functional significance of long head hair is almost certainly adornment, providing for the ‘sexual selection’ that Darwin correctly argued was a potent factor in the evolutionary process.” In other words, when you drop sixty bucks at the beauty parlor, don’t feel guilty–you’re helping to advance the species.
Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.As 2016 winds down, Hall of Fame season is still in full swing. Ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 31. The 2017 Hall of Fame class will be announced Jan. 18.
There are 34 players on this year's ballot, including 15 holdovers from last year. Players must received 75 percent of the vote for induction into Cooperstown and at least 5 percent of the vote to remain on the ballot another year. After 10 years, the player is dropped off the ballot.
The ballot is currently overloaded with players who, at worst, deserve serious Hall of Fame consideration. Players from the so-called Steroid Era, such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, remain on the ballot (despite slam dunk Hall of Fame credentials) because of performance-enhancing drug suspicion.
Thanks to the magic of the internet, we know several of those players -- including Bonds and Clemens -- are gaining support this year. Internet celebrity Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs on Twitter) tracks all ballots made public by voters prior to the Hall of Fame announcement and makes the data available online.
As of this writing, here are the four biggest vote gainers according to Thibodaux's tracker:
2016 Voting
Votes Gained Votes Lost Barry Bonds
44.3%
7 1 Roger Clemens
45.2%
8 1 Edgar Martinez
43.4%
10 1 Tim Raines 69.8%
10
0
Just to be clear, these are votes gained and lost from voters who submitted ballots last year. So if a voter didn't vote for Bonds last year but did this year, that's a vote gained. A vote lost is when a voter drops the player off his ballot after voting for him last year.
Bonds, Clemens and Martinez all still have a long way to go before reaching the 75 percent threshold. More than 400 ballots will be cast this year and a net gain of seven or eight votes is a drop in the bucket. It's still a good sign that they're gaining votes right now, and it could help them get over the hump down in the line.
Tim Raines has gained nine Hall of Fame votes this year. USATSI
Raines, on the other hand, is on the ballot for the 10th and final time, so this is his last chance for induction through the BBWAA vote. Our colleague Jonah Keri has everything you need to know about why he feels Raines deserves to be in the Hall. He fell a mere 23 votes short of induction last year, and, historically, when a player gets as close to 75 percent as Raines did last year, they get in the following year. That's not a guarantee he'll get in.
According to the tracker, Raines has already gained 10 votes this year while not losing any, so he's inching closer to that 75 percent threshold. Only 62 ballots out of 400-plus are public at the moment, and gaining that many votes out of so few public ballots is encouraging. Raines needs more help, but he doesn't need a Hail Mary, either.With only seven members present, just enough to hold a quorum, the Historic Landmark Commission approved the release of demolition permits for 35 questionably historic structures throughout the city without any discussion Monday night.
In only seven of the 35 cases was demolition the first recommendation by the city Historic Preservation Office. For the remaining 28, city staff recommended the commission first consider encouraging rehabilitation or adaptive re-use of the property before releasing the demolition permit.
In 15 of those 28 cases, city staff recommended the commission also consider possible relocation of the structure before considering demolition.
However, all 35 structures, regardless of city staff’s recommendation, were approved for demolition.
Commissioner Terri Myers was the only commissioner to comment on the demolitions, which were bundled together in one unanimous vote on the evening’s consent agenda.
Myers, clearly displeased, said she wanted to put on the record that the commission just okayed the 35 demolitions “with one fell swoop. No discussion.”
The 11-seat Historic Landmark Commission has been under scrutiny recently for attendance issues and efficiency. One member resigned earlier this year, so the commission has been operating with 10 members; however, it has been a rarity to see all 10 members present at a meeting.
The commission has had a difficult time reaching a quorum—a majority of members present at their meetings—resulting in postponements or an inability to take action. In at least one case Monday night, the commission had to postpone a historic designation case and create a special meeting because the board did not have enough eligible members present to take a vote.
During a Nov. 10 City Council discussion over the historic designation of an Old West Austin property, council members, residents and preservation experts criticized the Historic Landmark Commission for its consistent procedure and function issues.
Maureen Metteauer, a representative of the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association, placed blame on the HLC for a number of properties that have been lost in the neighborhood. RELATED Separate zoning changes pave way for residential developments to move forward in Pflugerville Two separate residential developments, including one adjacent to a historic Pflugerville neighborhood, are moving forward following zoning change approvals. At... >
“We’ve had numerous cases in our neighborhood of properties that have been lost because of inconsistent information, lack of quorum and really, lack of training on the part of the members of HLC,” Metteauer said. “We are losing the history of our city piece by piece.”
Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who represents District 9 in Central Austin, said stricter requirements needed to be put in place for demolition cases.
“We are losing the historic fabric of our city when we approve demolitions or make it easy for the demolition of historic structures to come through here,” Tovo said Nov. 10. “I believe we need to look at community value differently.”I've been struggling with depression for quite some time. Struggled with a drinking problem because of my depression. I dont blame that on anyone but myself for that. But it was the only thing that made me happy.
I know a lot of people think that i deserve to feel this way because of things they have heard or read about me. How im ungrateful to the people who sub and donate to me. Even though i spend so much time talking with my viewers and getting to know a lot of them personally. With and without being a sub. I have grown a community of my own of people who do care a lot about me and for that i am very grateful. I think im going to take some time away from the computer and internet in general and try to figure out who i am as a person because constantly being bullied
Starting from some man who is 10 years older than me spreading false lies and having others assume hurtful things about me and think everything they read on the internet is true. It is difficult to deal with all the time. I have people constantly saying if you did that or did this it would change things. I know that nothing is ever going to change these people will always find something to harass me for. It's pointless to fight back against something you cant change. Nothing makes me happy anymore. I'm literally a dead person living ever single day and i feel so unhappy. Any time i feel some sort of happiness someone tries to grab it from me. I'm sick of fighting for my happiness.
I going to take these next few days off the internet.
May possibly return on the 1st.
Reply · Report PostKDE SC 4.0 was released in January of 2008 and KDE SC 4.5 will be released shortly (August 4th, 2010), roughly two and a half years later, and it is time to reflect on what KDE SC4 seeks to accomplish and how well it is doing in its goals. The critical shift KDE SC took in this series is abstracting the desktop from the underlying system through three pillars, phonon, plasma and solid making the desktop some sort of a virtual platform environment and easily portable to other operating systems.
Phonon abstracts the platform from multimedia backends like xine, mplayer, vlc, gstreamer on *nix based systems and DirectX (required by DirectShow) on Windows and QuickTime on Mac making it possible to easily write and port KDE SC-based multimedia applications to other supported operating systems. Solid abstracts the hardware components of the host system making it possible for applications to utilize hardware capabilities of the host operating system without really caring what operating system they are running on. Plasma, the KDE SC4 desktop is the last and most visible of the three pillars and it is the part that takes most of the criticism and least understood. Plasma currently ships with two desktop interfaces, “plasma-netbook” for smaller screen sizes like the ones in netbooks and smaller notebooks and the standard “plasma-desktop” for normal monitor sizes.
Plasma adds its own level of abstraction to the desktop. The traditional Linux desktop offers virtual desktops to only opened windows and hence only application windows can be tied to any particular virtual desktop and hence all virtual desktops shares the same desktop wallpaper and show all files in a user’s desktop folder(~/Desktop). Plasma adds “containers” that are formally known as “activities” to the mix. All virtual desktops can be set to use the same activity making KDE SC desktop look and behave like the “traditional” desktop or different activities can be set to each virtual desktop making each virtual desktop totally different from each other. The latter option allows for different virtual desktops to have different wallpapers, different plasmoids, show different files from different places on the system and the list goes on.
KDE SC 4.5 continued this process of abstracting the desktop and most of the effort this time around was on the tray area. In the old days, the tray area was basically a dumb place to host tray applications and these applications were responsible for creating their own inconsistent UI and the only “intelligence” tray system had was hiding/unhiding icons and a user had to manually do this. In the old system, tray applications asked for attention by changing their icons and this necessitated having more icons shown than necessary because the tray system had no way of knowing and showing hidden icons that needed user attention. The new d-bus based protocol allows a tray applications to be hidden by default and to be shown only when it changes its status to “active” or “need attention”. For example, a gmail-plasmoid can be set to passively check for new emails every ten minutes while hidden and to automatically get unhidden when it detects a new email and wish to inform the user. With the new protocol, a tray application sends the information to the user through the protocol and leave it up to the system to presence the information in a way that is consistent and predictable.
KDE SC platform libraries and a few applications are now installable on Windows
and Mac and it is only a matter of time before KDE support on these platforms reach first class citizenship status as KDE SC is in Linux and BSD. The decoupling of the desktop from the underlying operating system seem to be nearly complete with this release and KDE SC is more or less at the same point that fish was when it took the first couple of step on land millions of years ago after it successfully concurred the ocean. KDE SC has its foundations set and it is time to claim its place on windows and Mac desktops.
About the Author.
The author is just a regular Linux and KDE user and a fan of OSNews.National Guard If Congress doesn't pass a budget to keep the government running, there's going to be a shutdown that could lead to military members not getting their Oct. 15th paychecks.
Technically, military members will be working for free until retroactive pay kicks in after the shutdown ends. But in the meantime, a number of banks are going to be paying the troops anyway.
From Marine Times:
Traditionally, when there has been a threat of a government shutdown or other issues, such as the government furloughs this summer, a number of credit unions and banks have offered different forms of relief, such as no-interest or low-interest loans and deferrals of payments.
Navy Federal Credit Union, which serves all branches despite their name, is going to cover the Oct. 15 paycheck as long as the service members have their military pay direct deposited into their account. Once the government finally pays up, the bank will deduct it from the account.
The same goes for USAA, which is offering a zero-interest payroll advance loan to members. The bank is also offering some leeway with payment arrangements and deferrals, credit card fees, and insurance fees during the shutdown time period.
Texas-based Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union is also providing assistance to government employees.
"While we hope the government will resolve its budget issues, we are being proactive in providing solutions for our members in the event that a shutdown does occur," Sonya McDonald, senior vice president of planning and market development, said in a statement on their website.
(Disclosure: I still use USAA for my personal banking.)(CBS) - Great art and artists can surface from just about any time, place... or species. Check out this rather random and completely hypnotizing video of a squirrel named Winkelhimer Smith painting with food coloring.
The video was posted by YouTube user uglyshyla who writes about it:
My pet squirrel *she's a rescue so she became a pet* watches me paint since I'm a pro artist for a living.She was obsessed with my paint brushes so I let her have some food coloring and let her use a brush.Now it's a happy obsession for her.
Okay, so yes, it's a tad bit odd, but also rather adorable, especially knowing some of the context on how Winkelhimer became an "artist". And for all of that and more, I think it's managed to earn itself a triple-rainbow salute from all of us here at The Feed!Scientists are taking the public with them to study the world's coral reefs, thanks to 360 degree panoramas from Google's underwater street-view format. Results from this pioneering project -- which will allow ecologists to harness people power to discover how coral reefs are responding to climate change -- will be presented at INTECOL, the world's largest international ecology meeting, in London this week.
Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of the University of Queensland leads the research associated with the Catlin Seaview Survey. The Survey uses image recognition technology to automatically assess creatures on the seabed; so far it has already taken hundreds of thousands of images on the Great Barrier Reef and in the Caribbean.
"This new technology allows us to rapidly understand the distribution and abundance of key organisms such as corals at large scales. Our expeditions in 2012 to the Great Barrier Reef recorded over 150 km of reef-scape using these methods," he says.
The project is now being expanded by building citizen science into the research, which he hopes will raise awareness and provide more data. "We are planning to involve online citizens to help us count a wide range of organisms that appear in the high-definition images. Anyone with access to a computer will be able to help us log creatures such as stingrays, turtles, fish and Crown of Thorns starfish."
"Only 1% of humanity has ever dived on a coral reef and by making the experience easily accessible the survey will help alert millions of people around the world to the plight of coral reefs," he says.
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg will also report findings from ground-breaking research on the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef. At Queensland's Heron Island research station, he has been running the first-ever long-term climate simulation experiments using computer-controlled systems to manipulate carbon dioxide levels and temperature to simulate past, present and future climate conditions around coral reefs.
"Coral reefs have had a hard time adjusting even to the conditions we find ourselves in today with respect to high carbon dioxide levels and sea temperatures. Our work is showing some interesting observations, such as the lack of adaptation of reef communities to the changes that have occurred up until the present," he explains.
"Worse still, our results show that even under the most moderate climate change projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, most corals will struggle to survive and reefs will rapidly decalcify."
Exposing coral and their symbiotic microorganisms, known as dinoflagellates, to future ocean conditions is also revealing how these key organisms cope with changes in acidity and temperature.
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg's experiments show that responses involve the whole organism, not only one or two features of its biology. "The idea that evolution is likely to operate rapidly within these systems is largely unfounded. The more complex the response, the greater the number of biological systems involved, and the greater the number of genes that will have to be changed in coordination to enable organisms to survive," he says.Looking back, we know quite a bit about who has been put to death in the United States. We know that the last person to be executed was, who died by in. We have records that show was the person to have been executed since 1976. In fact, since executions resumed that year following a four-year suspension imposed by the Supreme Court, we know many specifics including race, age, sex and other information about those who have paid the ultimate price in the criminal justice system.
But there has been no detailed, up-to-date schedule of coming executions.
The Next to Die aims to bring attention, and thus accountability, to these upcoming executions. As impartial news organizations, The Marshall Project and its journalistic partners do not take a stance on the morality of capital punishment, but we do see a need for better reporting on a punishment that so divides Americans. Whether you believe that execution is a fitting way for society to deplore the most heinous crimes, or that it is too expensive, racially biased and subject to lethal error, you should be prepared to look it in the face. Read more ↓New York may be a deep blue state, yet on voting rights it lags far behind other progressive states. Oregon and California, for example, have adopted automatic or automated voter registration, which adds eligible voters to the rolls whenever they interact with certain public agencies. New York, on the other hand, has no early voting, limited absentee voting, frequent elections and arduous registration and party change deadlines. These are made worse by the fact that the state's primary elections are closed: Only registered Democrats or Republicans may vote in their respective party primaries.
All that could change with the New York Voters Act, recently introduced by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The legislation would require that all primaries be consolidated (which will help people who have inflexible work schedules), implement same-day registration, extend voting hours, allow for no-excuse absentee voting and institute automatic voter registration (AVR). It also includes provisions to increase language access, train poll workers better and restore voting rights for people on parole.
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To explore the implications of this legislation, I analyzed the Cooperative Congressional Election Studies (CCES) surveys for the 2012 presidential election and 2014 midterm election. Registration status is difficult to ascertain because respondents often incorrectly remember whether they are registered. To estimate the demographics of the unregistered population of New York as well as possible, I created a measure that includes both those who reported being unregistered and those who were matched into Catalist and were not registered, regardless of their reported registration. Individuals who reported being registered but could not be matched to Catalist were not included in this analysis. To explore the voting population, I explored the matched respondents who also voted. Respondents who reported voting but could not |
wanted to give it as a Christmas present and it was well into November when I began. While I was cutting out the medallions, I was reminded of an old nursery rhyme about a wise old Owl.
Happily its 8 lines long so I could alternate each of 8 Owl medallions with a line of the poem in a plain fabric, but what fabric? I went to the fabric shop thinking cream, and came home with blue, it often happens that way, when I get to see the fabrics together what I had in my mind’s eye just doesn’t work and so I always have plan B.
Challenge three, how to apply the lines of poetry to the fabric? My handwriting is not good enough. My hand embroidery is even less appealing, not to mention how long it would take me to hand embroider each one. I could have used machine embroidery but I wasn’t convinced my machine would do a good job either, and centring the text would be a nightmare. I did however have a plan. I’d read on Pinterest a number of articles about printing onto fabric using an ordinary household ink jet printer. All I needed was some freezer paper and an iron, how difficult could it be?
The plain fabric was cut slightly larger than the Owl medallions and the printing planned to be in the centre and then trimmed down to the right size leaving a little wiggle room all round in case the centring wasn’t accurate.Allah is Dead: Why Islam Is Not a Religion
By Rebecca Bynum
Published by New English Review Press, 2011
160 pp., $17.95
Reviewed by Janet Levy
In a July 29 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit essentially regulated the language of prayer by ruling that any mention of “Jesus” during public prayer constitutes sectarian and unconstitutional language. The Board of Commissioners of Forsyth County, North Carolina, had long used such invocations to bless its work. But the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) brought the legal challenge seeking to end in Forsyth County a traditional practice commonly used before public meetings in state and local legislative bodies across America.
Such attacks by the Left against religious expression are commonplace. This month, leftist groups roundly criticized Texas Governor Rick Perry’s call for a day of prayer to “seek G-d’s guidance and wisdom in addressing the challenges that face our communities, states and nation.” In January, Hawaii caved in to ACLU demands and became the first state to eliminate daily prayer, although approval of a 2009 bill to celebrate “Islam Day” mysteriously escaped their censure.
Meanwhile, as I reported here, several state legislatures including Iowa, Texas, and Washington have opened their sessions with Islamic prayers invoking Allah, calling for “victory over those who disbelieve” and soliciting “protection from the Great Satan.” These requests that Allah grant Muslims victory over non-Muslims are hardly prayers to bless the work of legislatures, but neither the ACLU or AU raised objections, even though the prayers excluded Christians and Jews and declared cultural war against American society.
In the past, the Left, which asked the nihilistic question “Is G-d Dead?,” made common cause with communism and rejected religious faith in favor of “godless” secular humanism. Today the connection between the totalitarianism of the Left -- control of human activity and thought in the name of “social justice” -- and the totalitarianism of Islam -- control of every aspect of life through the shariah -- is a bond fusing their efforts to pursue a common agenda: to undermine America’s Judeo-Christian values and traditional institutions.
In her book Allah Is Dead: Why Islam Is Not A Religion, Rebecca Bynum (author and publisher of New English Review) adeptly explores the traditional role of religion, the G-d is dead posture of the left, and the nature of Islam. She offers astute observations on the meaning and essence of religion as the very basis of reality for Western culture, extols its noble purpose of elevating man toward a path of righteousness, and contrasts this with the nihilistic ideologies presented as religion by the Left and Islam. She describes the deleterious effects of the Left on the meaning, value, and practice of religion, and argues that Islam’s fundamental characteristics deny it status as a religion.
Bynum identifies the critical role religion plays in fostering morality, anchoring society, buttressing the family, and promoting social harmony, public service, and charity. She makes important distinctions between the mechanical adherence to religious doctrine and the exalted, living experience of faith. A transcendent reality, faith captures the human heart and spirit and imbues our lives with meaning, Bynum writes. Faith is not coercion through the recitation of Biblical passages. Instead, scripture is a series of guidelines for human behavior which empower individuals to freely and creatively chart a path, constantly striving toward spiritual perfection. Bynum emphasizes that individual free will encouraged by faith is the pathway to understanding goodness, truth, and beauty, and ultimately the unique experience of discovering G-d and godliness.
The influence of the anti-religion Left has caused the church to abandon this traditional role and these values, Bynum asserts. For the most part, the church has turned away from spiritual ministry toward political and social causes with a focus on “works” over faith and religious practice. Religion is used politically to bolster social reforms, she writes, rather than to nurture spiritual and moral development. Religion emphasizes self-realization and sensual comfort, rather than attainment of the ideals of truth, beauty, and goodness. Instead of helping individuals aspire to the virtues of self-reliance, self-control, and gratitude, religion fosters an infantile sense of entitlement, a victim mentality of blaming external factors, and an unwillingness to take personal responsibility.
For the Left, religion is the enemy, morality is non-existent, and actions relate to narcissistic wants. Bynum describes the modern secular movement advanced by the Left as debasing man and diminishing his importance in the universe, viewing him as equivalent and as equally deserving as all other creatures on Earth. In this view, man’s higher purpose, his ability for self-reflection, and his capacity for imagination are denied. Man is no longer heroic. He is reduced to the level of any other member of the animal kingdom, just another organism competing to survive and reproduce. As human dignity has been debased, the human values of love, truth, and goodness, as well as religious experience, are dismissed as delusional. Bynum concludes that spiritual transcendence is impossible when free will is viewed as an illusion and morality is arbitrary.The New York Times reports (7/6/17) that for the past several months hackers have penetrated the computer networks of energy facilities including at least one nuclear power station – the Wolf Creek unit located near Burlington, Kansas.
Wolf Creek officials told the newspaper that while they could not comment on cyberattacks or security issues, a statement by plant management said that no “operations systems” were affected and that their corporate network and the internet were separate from the network that runs the plant.
In a much longer and more detailed report the Bloomberg Wire Service says that hackers based in Russia are responsible for attacks on more than a dozen energy facilities in the U.S.
The Bloomberg report notes that the possibility of a Russia connection is particularly worrisome, former and current officials say, because Russian hackers have previously taken down parts of the electrical grid in Ukraine and appear to be testing increasingly advanced tools to disrupt power supplies.
The New York Times report quotes John Keeley, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, who said nuclear facilities are required to report cyberattacks that relate to their “safety, security and operations.”
None have reported that the security of their operations have been impacted by the latest attacks. A check of the NRC’s website shows no incident report about a cybersecurity event at Wolf Creek. However, in some instances, the NRC would not post information about such an incident on its public facing web site.
The newspaper published the information about the cyber attack, which appeared to target non-safety relatedf systems on the business side, after obtaining a report issued jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation last week.
The newspaper says the report did not indicate whether the cyberattacks were an attempt at espionage — such as stealing industrial secrets — or part of a plan to cause destruction or to seek ransom for encrypting critical data and systems.
So far according to the report there is no indication that hackers had been able to move from business side computers into the control systems of the facilities. The report did not say how many facilities had been attacked by the hackers nor it identify who the government suspects is behind the hacking incidents.
Wind Farms Also at Risk
Nuclear facilities are not the only targets of hackers. Wired Magazine reported on June 28th that vulnerabilities have been found on ways to get inside the control systems of entire wind farms.
The University of Tulsa has been conducting ‘white hat” research on these threats by testing physical and digital barriers to cyber attacks.
What they found is that it was relatively easy to breach the control boxes of the wind towers and gain control over individual windmills and entire wind farms. The research report notes that hackers thousands of miles away could have launched similar attacks.
Brief Primer on Cyber Security at Nuclear Power Plants in the U.S.
The Nuclear Energy Institute has extensive briefing and technical material and information on cyber security at nuclear power plants and the compliance by utilities with NRC requirements in this area. The NRC has a plain English explanation of its cybersecurity regulations on its web site. Every company operating nuclear power plants has an NRC-approved cyber security program.
From an industry perspective, the most important thing to keep in mind is that critical safety and security systems at nuclear energy facilities are isolated from the Internet.
Safety related information systems have no direct access to the web, nor do they have indirect access because they are not connected to the facilities’ internal networks. These systems use either air gaps, which do not require internal networking or internet connectivity, or robust hardware-based isolation devices that separate the control system from front-office computers.
You cannot conduct a Google search or catch up on sports scores from a terminal inside a nuclear reactor control room.
In addition, nuclear power plants are designed to shut down safely should their systems detect a disturbance on the electrical grid. Thus, nuclear plants are protected from digital threats by layer upon layer of safety measures.
Specific Cybersecurity Measures
Each U.S. nuclear power plant has taken the following measures to ensure protection against cyberthreats:
Isolated key control systems using either air gaps, which do not implement any network or internet connectivity, or installed robust hardware-based isolation devices that separate front-office computers from the control system, thus making the front-office computers useless for attacking essential systems.
As a result, key safety, security and power generation equipment at the plants are protected from any network-based cyberattacks originating outside the plant.
Enhanced and implemented strict controls over the use of portable media and equipment.
Where devices like thumb drives, compact disks and laptops are used to interface with plant equipment, measures are in place to minimize the cyberthreat. In some cases the USB ports on some devices are disabled.
These measures include authorizing use of portable assets to the performance of a specific task, minimizing the movement from less secure assets to more secure assets, and virus scanning. As a result, nuclear power plants are well protected from attacks like Stuxnet, which was propagated through the use of portable media – USB sticks.
Heightened defenses against an insider threat.
Training and insider mitigation programs have been enhanced to include cyber attributes. Individuals who work with digital plant equipment are subject to increased security screening, cyber security training and behavioral observation.
Each plant performs detailed cyber security assessments and implemented cyber security controls to protect equipment deemed most essential for the protection of public health and safety.
Measures to maintain effective cyber protection measures.
These measures include maintaining equipment listed in the plant configuration management program and ensuring changes to the equipment are performed in a controlled manner. A cyber security impact analysis is performed before making changes to relevant equipment.
The effectiveness of cyber security controls is periodically assessed, and enhancements are made where necessary. Vulnerability assessments are performed to ensure that the cyber security posture of the equipment is maintained.
In summary, cybersecurity at a nuclear power plant is implemented by a combination of policies, procedures, and management of physical assets to prevent intrusions.
# # #As I enter the unassuming mosque hidden away behind the store-front facades of Cape Town’s southern suburbs, I realise that I’m joining a Muslim worship for the first time. I remember how I had sneaked into the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem ten years earlier just to see the “Dome of the Rock” and to try to comprehend its place within the greater Middle East conflict.
But this time, ten years later, the context is much different. I’m not entering a holy shrine in the Middle East under false premises, but I’m rather coming here to the depths of Wynberg to share a conversation with a man, who may be described as one of the more controversial figures in Islam – not just in South Africa.
It is not just the sum of his views, which squarely challenge the fastest-growing religion on earth, but it is in fact his entire persona, his credo, his ethos, which almost appear to turn the very concept of Islam on its head:
Imam Muhsin Hendricks is one of the few Muslim community leaders in the world, who is outspokenly gay; a man, who dares to swim against the tide in a day and age where several countries and communities around the world still condemn gay men to death on the sole grounds of their sexual orientation.
“I was brought up in a very orthodox home. My grandfather was the imam of a mosque in Cape Town and my mother used to teach in the mosque. I was virtually born in the mosque. It was a very safe environment for me until I became aware of my sexuality,” Hendricks recounts the beginnings of his personal journey, which would later take him across the world as an educator, public speaker and counsellor.
Born and raised in Cape Town, Imam Hendricks has lived to enjoy the many freedoms that the South African constitution grants its subjects since the abolition of apartheid. His formative years were spent far away from the kind of political prosecution, which homosexuals in places like Iran or Saudi Arabia may know too well. However, it wasn’t always that way.
“I was hearing my grandfather was preaching from the pulpit that gay people would go to hell, so there was no place of expression for sexuality in my life. So I applied for a scholarship to study Islam in one of the madrassas in Pakistan because I just couldn’t believe that a merciful and compassionate God would reject me for something, which I didn’t even actually choose. So I chose to live in Pakistan for four years at the end of my teens to study to become an imam.”
With that foundation in Islamic studies in Pakistan, you might expect that Hendricks would perhaps have found some of the answers that he had been looking for throughout his life. However, his uneasy journey rather turned out to lead to a major U-turn, which saw him marry a woman despite his acute awareness with regard to his same-sex attraction. Through the rocky marriage, Hendricks went on to father three children, the oldest of whom is now a mother in her own right.
It all feels a bit overwhelming to believe, as I face a bubbly man who’s hardly even middle-aged sitting across from me, without even have so much as a Jack Russell in my own life.
“I started early. I’m not that old,” Hendricks jokes when he sees my amazement at the details of his illustrious family tree.
“But that’s what the community tells you: you should just get married and then it will all go away. You’re told to fast, and read the Quran, go to a spiritual person to have yourself dejinxed of evil spirits, and then ultimately you’re told to get married to sort out your sexual deviations. And so I got married. But it didn’t even take us a year to realise that we had made a big mistake.”
Muhsin Hendricks gazes at the floor solemnly as he admits to that mistake. At the same moment, I feel overcome with a wave of my own self-awareness while following his gaze. I realise that I’m finding myself inside a mosque, kneeling on the floor and talking to a religious man about sex in the way that you talk to your car dealer about your servicing plan. As I grow increasingly self-concious about the fact that a small hole in my sock might be exposing my little toe, Hendricks continues with the narrative of his failed marriage.
“We tried to stay together for the sake of the kids. There was no more sexual relationship between us; we were sleeping in separate rooms. And then one night, we both just finally addressed it. We agreed that it was not working and then we separated. I gave her everything that I owned. I told her that she could look after the children. I would come to see them once a week. I missed them very much, but I was just so confused in my head at the time.”
“Then I approached a friend of mine, who was living on a farm, and asked him for a place for me to stay for a few months while I sorted myself out. There was only a horse’s stable that was empty. So I cleaned it out and slept in there for three months. I had vowed that I was going to fast until God would tell me what was wrong with me – or change me. And I came out of that 80-day fast as an activist. I guess that’s what God was trying to tell me.”
Hendricks tells me the details of how he came out, how he shared his story with the press while exposing himself to all sorts of abuse in return. But despite some harsh reactions he maintains that it was probably the best thing he could ever have done.
“I was prepared to die for this. I needed to let the world know that I was an imam, but that I was also gay. I even had a fatwa taken out against me, which means that I was officially taken out if the fold of Islam. But that has only created more interest in my work. So I’m grateful for that. Some Muslims may want to live like this still is 7th century Arabia, but it’s not. If I can’t be part of their Islam, so be it.”
Read more: “South Africa’s Open Mosque puts gay muslims on the map“
I admit that this was not the reaction that I had expected as his conclusion; listening to the story of a struggling man, who had been torn in his heart for many years, who had fought through a hopeless marriage and had then suffered attacks by those he had opened himself up to, I’m stunned to hear that he would come to the epiphany that honesty would still remain the best policy in all cases.
“My conviction and my need for authenticity were greater than my fear of death. I would rather want to meet my creator knowing that I didn’t live a false life. Now I live on the peripheries of society. I know that. But I’m not a flamboyant queen running around in my underwear in bright colours. I have a mobile mosque on wheels during Cape Town’s Gay Pride, but that’s as far as I ever really venture into the gay scene.”
It almost sounds as if Imam Hendricks didn’t come out so he could be gay, but that he was born with a gay identity so he could benefit from the growth acquired by experiencing a coming out, and to go on to share his story with others around the world, which is exactly where his journey took him to next.
Within a few years of his coming out, Hendricks found himself travelling all over the globe while connecting with other gay and lesbian Muslims and other LGBT individuals, who felt abused at the hands of their religion. Hendricks soon turned into the ultimate poster-boy of a growing underground movement, which does not only address questions of gender and sexuality within Islam but hopes to portray a different face of the religion than the conflict-ridden faith shown on 24-hour news channels.
“I’ve encountered thousands of gay and lesbian Muslim on my journey now. Literally thousands. But I’m not interested in people’s sexuality. Beneath all that, there’s always a soul that’s yearning to understand itself. And that’s what I’m interested in. I’ve been through such struggles trying to reconcile my religion with my sexuality. I saw other people who didn’t have such tools to reconcile. So I wanted to provide others with tools to make sure that they don’t get into drugs or commit suicide or lose themselves in any other way.”
With that goal in mind, Muhsin Hendricks went on to establish INNER CIRCLE in 1996; his Cape Town-based community outreach centre grew into a fully-fledged Not-For-Profit Human Rights Organisation within a matter of a few years, its core values holding a vision of creating “a global Muslim community free from discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.”
However, before he even knew it, Hendricks’s says that his mission had become much bigger than simply addressing a matter of sexuality.
“I learned that homosexuality was just the first avenue to address a lot of other injustice committed in the name of Islam. And now you’d be amazed at the amount of straight people that are attracted to our organisation. So I realised that I’d taken on something big. I’ve taken on the patriarchy that sits behind Islam. It’s not easy, and it requires a good amount of faith to do that work. But thankfully, I am in the business of faith.”
It may appear like a slippery slope to straight-forward queer activism when it is faith itself that had led Hendricks to fight for his convictions in the first place, but the prolific religious leader asserts that his approach is all about scholarly foundations and academic research when it comes to justifying his cause and defending his religion, without ever ignoring the importance and the impact of his ministry.
“We’ve even had people come to INNER CIRCLE who became Muslim only after coming here. We don’t teach that Islam is a club with rules. We teach humanity. The prophet himself simply taught a spiritual system. I don’t think he intended for Islam to become organised in the way it is now. Islam has become an elite club around the world – one with membership reserved for the traditional patriarchy only. INNER CIRCLE, on the other hand, challenges that view, and even threatens it. For if gender becomes fluid, where does the patriarchy ground itself?
While bending traditional gender images, Imam Hendricks has performed nine same-sex marriages in total since finding his spiritual calling in life, complete with traditional Islamic ceremonies. His own marriage to a man of Indian descent was also sanctified as a “nikkah” – a marriage in Islam – while certain cross-cultural elements were brought in to ensure that his Hindu husband also got his traditions honoured at the interfaith ceremony.
“We’ve been married for three years now, together for eight years. That is longer than most straight relationship I’ve encountered in many places.”
Despite the fact that Hendricks stands out as unusual voice within South Africa’s Muslim community, he is not alone in the battle against the shackles of patriarchy in Islam. There are a number of further noteworthy gay imams in the world, such as in Washington, in Rotterdam, and in Paris, he tells me. Hendricks adds that there are many other religious leaders in Islam, who remain in the closet about their sexuality. He asserts that he empathises with their journeys, but adds that Islam itself demands authenticity.
“In Islam, your character should be the Quran. But the Quran is not against homosexuality. Even scholars have begun to agree on that nowadays. All they can say is that it is a sin but not a crime. Yet nothing about homosexuality is mentioned in the Quran. You have the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, which if you study properly is about prostitution, molestation, rape and other such instances. It’s not about gay people. The Quran is not obsessed with gays in the way that some of these imams seem to be obsessed with gays.
“In fact, what is mentioned in other sources is that even the Prophet himself had men working for him in his household, who had no interest in women whatsoever. So our existence is acknowledged and even supported by the sayings of the Prophet. If the Prophet can have a gay servant, it means that he gives his blessing to that sexuality.”
Hendricks also mentions that Islam has a much-ignored history of homosexuality.
“If you want to look for role models, you don’t have to look far. Abu Nawas wrote homoerotic poetry, Rumi was clearly in love with chums, and Shah Hussain in India was very much distracted by the Punjabi boys. We have our queer role models within the tradition of Islam, and one day I hope to be one too.”
Whatever the future may hold for Imam Muhsin Hendricks, it is clear he has long moved on from the days of being a closeted man, hiding away from the world behind a sham marriage, and has come to create a modern reality, which not only works for him but also inspires those, who come to him for guidance. His attempt to bridge the understanding between gay Muslims and their communities has become a global spiritual network – a family – which is aware of its rightful place within their faith. And for that alone, he deserves being called a modern-day role model for Muslims the world over.
“You can say that I lead a very modern life. My husband is Hindu. But he doesn’t practise. Well, I actually think that he’s a closeted Muslim. We’ve been married for three years now. I have four beautiful children, and I worship God everyday. What more can you ask for?”
It would appear that for Hendricks, the story of his personal growth and of INNER CIRCLE have come full circle.LG has filed a pair of trademarks related to the oft-leaked LG G6, and it’s a pretty big tell as for what to expect from the company’s new line. For starters, there’s the LG G6 “Lite,” which we aren’t all that shocked about considering they’ve done it before.
But an LG G6 Compact? That’s new, and for those of us who don’t believe bigger is better, exciting. We’re hoping that LG is going to go the Sony route and make the Compact version of their phone as powerful as the regular sized model, but the company does have a history of gimping the smaller twins.
LG had 6 other trademarks to go along with those, including G6 Hybrid, G6 Fit, G6 Sense, G6 Young, G6 Forte, G6 Prix. We’re not yet sure if some or all of these are handsets, or if they’re related accessories meant to be used with the LG G6 that will turn up as its “friends.”
We aren’t sure what they would be by name alone. G6 Fit could be a fitness band. That one was easy. If the G6 Young is a phone, is it one meant for children like those weird AKA phones released way back when.
On second thought, we’ll stop guessing and hope the answers are revealed in a few short weeks when everyone totes their wares to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress.FORT WASHINGTON, Maryland — It is appearing more and more likely that launch upstart Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will not be certified to compete for U.S. Air Force launches in time to challenge United Launch Alliance for the upcoming NROL-79 mission, which the service hoped to get on contract this calendar year, according to service space sources.
SpaceX is undergoing reviews to have its Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket certified to compete against the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V and Delta IV families for national security launches; company officials have been optimistic it would be finished by the end of the year in time to compete for the forthcoming NROL-79 mission.
Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the new head of Air Force Space Command, said, "If they are not ready on Dec. 1, we are going to have to stand up and say that" in a Sept. 16 speech at the 2014 Air and Space Conference hosted by the Air Force Association here.
Certification is a requirement to win an Air Force launch competition, though a company may bid while the certification process is underway. To date, only ULA has been certified to launch large national security payloads; the monopoly was formed in 2006 in an attempt to consolidate operations and reduce cost for the legacy Lockheed Martin Atlas and Boeing Delta launch vehicles.
Meanwhile, SpaceX and the Air Force remain locked in a legal dispute about the propriety of the service’s conduct in issuing a 36-rocket launch contract to ULA for years worth of work. The company filed suit claiming it was inappropriately cut out of competing for some of the work, especially in the latter years of the work period, when the Falcon 9 v1.1 is expected to be certified.
Meanwhile, House authorizers are approving a $26.8 million reprogramming for new engine work as part of a larger $4.4 billion reprogramming action for fiscal 2014, according to a Sept. 8 letter from House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-California) and Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington) to Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord. The committee, however, requests more information on the procurement strategy to introduce more competition into this sector.
Momentum for a new engine has built since tensions have mounted with Russia, which builds the Atlas V’s RD180, over its activities in Ukraine.South African diplomat and doctor Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has been elected to become the first female head of the African Union Commission, ending a leadership battle that had threatened to divide the organisation.
Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa's home affairs minister and an ex-wife of President Jacob Zuma, on Sunday defeated incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon, who had been at the helm of the Commission, the AU's steering body, since 2008.
Dlamini-Zuma, a 63-year-old who has previously served as minister of health and foreign affairs, had to undergo three voting rounds before Ping, 69, was finally eliminated.
A final confidence vote of 37 in favour gave her the 60 per cent majority she needed to be elected.
"Now we have the African Union chair Madame Zuma, who will preside over the destiny of this institution," Benin's president and current AU chairman Thomas Boni Yayi said.
The contest to head the Commission of the 54-member AU had been deadlocked since last year, with neither Dlamini-Zuma nor Ping winning a two-thirds majority.
It pitted French-speaking states, largely backing Ping, against mostly English-speaking countries, especially in southern Africa, which gave their support to Dlamini-Zuma.
'Means a lot for Africa'
Her former husband, South African President Jacob Zuma, was one of the first to offer his congratulations after the vote.
"It means a lot for Africa... for the continent, unity and the empowerment of women," Zuma said.
The impasse over the candidates had persisted through a summit of AU heads of state held in Addis Ababa at the weekend.
"She's a freedom fighter, not a bureaucrat or a diplomat." - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
It prompted Yayi to warn that failure by the continental body to resolve the leadership deadlock would divide it and undermine its credibility in the world.
Critics say the AU showed itself hesitant and slow-moving in its response to the conflicts last year in Libya and Ivory Coast, allowing Western governments to take lead roles.
"She's a freedom fighter, not a bureaucrat or a diplomat," said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
Noureddine Mezni, spokesperson for the outgoing chairman, told the AFP news agency that Ping had acknowledged defeat.
He "has accepted the results of the elections and wishes Madame Dlamini-Zuma the very best... he expressed his readiness to co-operate with her to work together for the unity of the continent," Mezni said.
Some analysts say South Africa has violated an unwritten tradition that continental powerhouses do not run candidates for the post, but leave smaller nations to take the job.
Before the vote however, Dlamini-Zuma played down concerns that the vote could divide the AU.
"I don't think the continent will be polarised," she said.
The winner would "make sure they work with everybody, irrespective of where and who they voted for," she added.
Jakkie Cilliers of the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies said she will be "an inclusive chair, she won't be divisive... she was a very competent foreign minister and even better at home affairs."Microsoft has pulled the cloak on its latest hardware product, the Surface Pro 3, with the bold claim that it's "the tablet that can replace your laptop." We look at 10 reasons why this could actually be the case.
1) Larger screen: The Surface Pro 3's 12in display (vs 10.4in on the Pro 2) sits nicely between the 11in and 13in laptop categories, offering enough real estate for professional users to optimise productivity. With a quality resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio and 216ppi) it stands up admirably to devices like the MacBook. In fact, Microsoft claims that due to the way Windows scales on the device, it actually offers 6 percent more content than a larger 13in Apple laptop.
2) Portability: Weighing 800g and measuring 9.1mm thin, the Surface Pro 3 is certainly more portable than any laptop I can think of - we're told it's the most svelte Core product ever made, even once you slap on the new Type Cover. That's a huge plus for users who need their device to be mobile and, crucially, the Pro 3 doesn't make compromises under the hood to achieve this slimline build.
3) Power: Despite having tablet-esque measurements, the Surface Pro 3 packs a lot of processing power, coming available right up to an Intel Core i7 configuration with 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. Of course, that's going to cost you a fair whack, which brings us to...
4) Price: One of the biggest similarities of the Surface Pro 3 to a laptop is its high-end pricing - the aforementioned Core i7 setup costs a whopping $1,949, or about £1,160 before you account for international premiums, VAT and the like. In other words, it costs basically the same as a premium laptop like the MacBook - a 13in MacBook Pro costs between £1,110 and £1,500 new, while the cheapest Surface Pro 3 ($799 for Core i3, 64GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM) will probably end up costing about the same as a £750 MacBook Air.
5) "Lapability": Microsoft has re-engineered its Type Cover so that the Surface Pro 3 feels more like a laptop when you sit with it, something the company's marketing gurus have decided to dub "lapability". This has been achieved by the introduction of the 'Friction Hinge', which clicks upwards into the Surface's screen and magnetically stabilises the device. The result, we're told, is a more natural-feeling laptop experience.
6) Improved Type Cover: In fact, the Type Cover looks improved on pretty much every front. As well as the full QWERTY keyboard found on previous models, the Pro 3 Type Cover ($130/£80) features a trackpad that's 68 percent larger than before and has 70 percent less friction. Given that one of the biggest complaints about the Pro 2 was its trackpad - and that one of laptop enthusiasts' biggest obsessions is trackpad smoothness - this is potentially a much bigger deal than it sounds.
7) Surface Pen: Stylus compatibility is hardly the norm for laptops, so the fact that the Surface Pro 3 does support a digitiser is a bit of an added bonus if you're looking to switch devices. What's more, Microsoft has tweaked its Surface Pen to make it look really, well, useful. There's real-time note syncing, for one, but more impressively still, a click on the bottom of the pen when the device is sleeping will automatically launch a (stripped down version of) OneNote, so you can jot down your thoughts quickly whenever. Click again and those notes are sent to the cloud. Neat.
8) Docking: If you're interested in a 'pro' device, chances are you probably take your laptop to work with you, and the Surface Pro 3 can be easily docked to create a more robust desktop experience - all you have to do is spend $200 (roughly £120) for the necessary peripheral. As well as adding a bevy of connectivity ports (three USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, Ethernet and audio to complement the Pro 3's USB 3.0 socket and Mini DisplayPort), the dock also supports 4K output via the Mini DisplayPort. Which is great, if you happen to have a 4K monitor lying about.
9) Durability: No laptop is going to take endless abuse, but the fact is that bigger devices typically can take more bumps than, say, a teensy tablet or smartphone. While I don't recommend playing cricket with it, the Surface Pro 3 looked reasonably robust during its launch, with one demo seeing it dropped from arm's height - apparently with no ill effects. That kind of durability is key if you're going to be travelling with it as you would a laptop.
10) Windows: If this sounds that a statement of the bleeding obvious, that's because it is. But it's still hugely important that the Surface Pro 3 features a full OS that - coupled with the device's internal specs - makes it capable of supporting powerful applications. As well as the usual suspects like Office, the new Surface will also get an optimised version of Photoshop and a neat-looking 3D rendering tool.
Is the Surface Pro 3 a legitimate laptop replacement? While I can't wait to have a play, I won't be rushing out to eBay my MacBook just yet (yes, that's why it's my main point of comparison but it's as good a benchmark as any). Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Also, note that while you can pre-order the Surface Pro 3 in the States almost immediately (from 21 May), it's not expected to land in the UK until around August.Cosmic fine tuning, with physics and chemistry conspiring to permit the existence of creatures such as ourselves, is one of best-recognized pieces of evidence for intelligent design. To this, the hypothesis of a multiverse is materialism’s only response.
According to this line of reasoning, or imagining, our universe reflects only a lucky roll of the dice. A very, very, very lucky roll, which, however, is just to be expected if reality sports not one but a possibly infinite number of universes. Some universe was bound to get lucky, and it was ours.
It’s the single dreamiest, most unsupported idea in all of science, making Darwinian evolution look like a really solid bet by comparison. What’s wanted is real evidence for the multiverse, any |
quartz movements. However, expensive collectible watches, valued more for their elaborate craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal and glamorous design than for simple timekeeping, often have traditional mechanical movements, even though they are less accurate and more expensive than electronic ones.[3][4][7] As of 2018, the most expensive watch ever sold at auction is the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, which is the world's most complicated mechanical watch until 1989, reaching a final price of 24 million US dollars (23,237,000 CHF) in Geneva on November 11th, 2014.[8][9][10][11][12]
History [ edit ]
The earliest dated watch known, from 1530
Watches evolved from portable spring-driven clocks, which first appeared in 15th century Europe. Watches were not widely worn in pockets until the 17th century. One account says that the word "watch" came from the Old English word woecce which meant "watchman", because it was used by town watchmen to keep track of their shifts at work.[13] Another says that the term came from 17th century sailors, who used the new mechanisms to time the length of their shipboard watches (duty shifts).[14]
A great leap forward in accuracy occurred in 1657 with the addition of the balance spring to the balance wheel, an invention disputed both at the time and ever since between Robert Hooke and Christiaan Huygens. This innovation increased watches' accuracy enormously, reducing error from perhaps several hours per day[16] to perhaps 10 minutes per day,[17] resulting in the addition of the minute hand to the face from around 1680 in Britain and 1700 in France[18].
The increased accuracy of the balance wheel focused attention on errors caused by other parts of the movement, igniting a two-century wave of watchmaking innovation. The first thing to be improved was the escapement. The verge escapement was replaced in quality watches by the cylinder escapement, invented by Thomas Tompion in 1695 and further developed by George Graham in the 1720s. Improvements in manufacturing such as the tooth-cutting machine devised by Robert Hooke allowed some increase in the volume of watch production, although finishing and assembling was still done by hand until well into the 19th century.
A major cause of error in balance wheel timepieces, caused by changes in elasticity of the balance spring from temperature changes, was solved by the bimetallic temperature compensated balance wheel invented in 1765 by Pierre Le Roy and improved by Thomas Earnshaw. The lever escapement was the single most important technological breakthrough, and was invented by Thomas Mudge in 1759 and improved by Josiah Emery in 1785, although it only gradually came into use from about 1800 onwards, chiefly in Britain.
The British had predominated in watch manufacture for much of the 17th and 18th centuries, but maintained a system of production that was geared towards high-quality products for the elite.[19] Although there was an attempt to modernise clock manufacture with mass production techniques and the application of duplicating tools and machinery by the British Watch Company in 1843, it was in the United States that this system took off. Aaron Lufkin Dennison started a factory in 1851 in Massachusetts that used interchangeable parts, and by 1861 it was running a successful enterprise incorporated as the Waltham Watch Company.[20]
Wristwatch [ edit ]
The concept of the wristwatch goes back to the production of the very earliest watches in the 16th century. Elizabeth I of England received a wristwatch from Robert Dudley in 1571, described as an armed watch. The oldest surviving wristwatch (then described as a bracelet watch) is one made in 1806 and given to Joséphine de Beauharnais.[21] From the beginning, wristwatches were almost exclusively worn by women, while men used pocket watches up until the early 20th century.[22]
Wristwatches were first worn by military men towards the end of the 19th century, when the importance of synchronizing maneuvers during war, without potentially revealing the plan to the enemy through signaling, was increasingly recognized. The Garstin Company of London patented a "Watch Wristlet" design in 1893, but they were probably producing similar designs from the 1880s. Officers in the British Army began using wristwatches during colonial military campaigns in the 1880s, such as during the Anglo-Burma War of 1885.[22] During the First Boer War, the importance of coordinating troop movements and synchronizing attacks against the highly mobile Boer insurgents became paramount, and the use of wristwatches subsequently became widespread among the officer class. The company Mappin & Webb began production of their successful "campaign watch" for soldiers during the campaign at Sudan in 1898 and accelerated production for the Second Boer War a few years later.[22] In continental Europe Girard-Perregaux and other Swiss watchmakers began supplying German naval officers with wristwatches in about 1880.[21]
Early models were essentially standard pocket-watches fitted to a leather strap but, by the early 20th century, manufacturers began producing purpose-built wristwatches. The Swiss company Dimier Frères & Cie patented a wristwatch design with the now standard wire lugs in 1903. Hans Wilsdorf moved to London in 1905 and set up his own business, Wilsdorf & Davis, with his brother-in-law Alfred Davis, providing quality timepieces at affordable prices; the company later became Rolex.[23] Wilsdorf was an early convert to the wristwatch, and contracted the Swiss firm Aegler to produce a line of wristwatches.[24]
The impact of the First World War dramatically shifted public perceptions on the propriety of the man's wristwatch and opened up a mass market in the postwar era. The creeping barrage artillery tactic, developed during the war, required precise synchronization between the artillery gunners and the infantry advancing behind the barrage. Service watches produced during the War were specially designed for the rigours of trench warfare, with luminous dials and unbreakable glass. The War Office began issuing wristwatches to combatants from 1917.[25] By the end of the war, almost all enlisted men wore a wristwatch and after they were demobilized, the fashion soon caught on: the British Horological Journal wrote in 1917 that "the wristlet watch was little used by the sterner sex before the war, but now is seen on the wrist of nearly every man in uniform and of many men in civilian attire." By 1930, the ratio of a wrist to pocket watches was 50 to 1. The first successful self-winding system was invented by John Harwood in 1923.
Quartz [ edit ]
The introduction of the quartz watch in 1967, (the Beta 1 and the Astron) was a revolutionary improvement in watch technology. In place of a balance wheel which oscillated at perhaps 5 or 6 beats per second, it used a quartz crystal resonator which vibrated at 8,192 Hz, driven by a battery-powered oscillator circuit. Since the 1980s, more quartz watches than mechanical ones have been marketed.
Hamilton Electric [ edit ]
Hamilton Electric were the pioneers of the first electric watch[citation needed]; unlike the Quartz and the Bulova Accutron this was the first movement to use a battery as a source to oscillate the balance wheel. Hamilton released two models of the Electric: the first released was the Hamilton 500 on January 3, 1957, which was produced into 1959. This model had problems with the contact wires misaligning and the watch returned to Hamilton for alignment. The Hamilton 505 was a improvement on the 500 and was more reliable: the contact wires were removed and a non-adjustable contact on the balance assembly delivered the power to the balance wheel.
Movement [ edit ]
Different kinds of movements move the hands differently as shown in this 2 second exposure. The left watch has a 24-hour analog dial with a mechanical 1/6 s movement, the right one has a more common 12-hour dial and a "1 s" quartz movement
A Russian mechanical watch movement
[26] c. 1890. The movement is fitted with a cylinder escapement. A so-called mystery watch, it is the first transparent watch,c. 1890. The movement is fitted with a cylinder escapement.
A movement of a watch is the mechanism that measures the passage of time and displays the current time (and possibly other information including date, month and day). Movements may be entirely mechanical, entirely electronic (potentially with no moving parts), or they might be a blend of both. Most watches intended mainly for timekeeping today have electronic movements, with mechanical hands on the watch face indicating the time.
Mechanical [ edit ]
Compared to electronic movements, mechanical watches are less accurate, often with errors of seconds per day, and they are sensitive to position, temperature[27] and magnetism.[28] They are also costly to produce, require regular maintenance and adjustments, and are more prone to failures. Nevertheless, the craftsmanship of mechanical watches still attracts interest from part of the watch-buying public, especially among the watch collectors. Skeleton watches are designed to leave the mechanism visible for aesthetic purposes.
A mechanical movement uses an escapement mechanism to control and limit the unwinding and winding parts of a spring, converting what would otherwise be a simple unwinding into a controlled and periodic energy release. A mechanical movement also uses a balance wheel together with the balance spring (also known as a hairspring) to control the motion of the gear system of the watch in a manner analogous to the pendulum of a pendulum clock. The tourbillon, an optional part for mechanical movements, is a rotating frame for the escapement, which is used to cancel out or reduce the effects of gravitational bias to the timekeeping. Due to the complexity of designing a tourbillon, they are very expensive, and only found in prestigious watches.
The pin-lever escapement (called the Roskopf movement after its inventor, Georges Frederic Roskopf), which is a cheaper version of the fully levered movement, was manufactured in huge quantities by many Swiss manufacturers as well as by Timex, until it was replaced by quartz movements.[29][30][31]
Tuning-fork watches use a type of electromechanical movement. Introduced by Bulova in 1960, they use a tuning fork with a precise frequency (most often 360 hertz) to drive a mechanical watch. The task of converting electronically pulsed fork vibration into rotary movements is done via two tiny jeweled fingers, called pawls. Tuning-fork watches were rendered obsolete when electronic quartz watches were developed. Quartz watches were cheaper to produce besides being more accurate.
Traditional mechanical watch movements use a spiral spring called a mainspring as a power source. In manual watches the spring must be rewound periodically by the user by turning the watch crown. Antique pocketwatches were wound by inserting a separate key into a hole in the back of the watch and turning it. Most modern watches are designed to run 40 hours on a winding and thus must be wound daily, but some run for several days and a few have 192-hour mainsprings and are wound weekly.
Automatic watches [ edit ]
Automatic watch : An eccentric weight, called a rotor, swings with the movement of the wearer's body and winds the spring
Seiko 5 Automatic Watch 21 Jewels
A self-winding or automatic watch is one that rewinds the mainspring of a mechanical movement by the natural motions of the wearer's body. The first self-winding mechanism was invented for pocket watches in 1770 by Abraham-Louis Perrelet,[32] but the first "self-winding", or "automatic", wristwatch was the invention of a British watch repairer named John Harwood in 1923. This type of watch winds itself without requiring any special action by the wearer. It uses an eccentric weight, called a winding rotor, which rotates with the movement of the wearer's wrist. The back-and-forth motion of the winding rotor couples to a ratchet to wind the mainspring automatically. Self-winding watches usually can also be wound manually to keep them running when not worn or if the wearer's wrist motions are inadequate to keep the watch wound.
In April 2014 the Swatch Group launched the sistem51 wristwatch. It has a purely mechanical movement consisting of only 51 parts, including a novel self-winding mechanism with a transparent oscillating weight. So far, it is the only mechanical movement manufactured entirely on a fully automated assembly line.[33] The low parts count and the automated assembly make it an inexpensive mechanical Swiss watch, which can be considered a successor to Roskopf movements, although of higher quality.[34]
Electronic [ edit ]
First quartz wristwatch BETA 1 developed by CEH, Switzerland, 1967
Electronic movements, also known as quartz movements, have few or no moving parts, except a quartz crystal which is made to vibrate by the piezoelectric effect. A varying electric voltage is applied to the crystal, which responds by changing its shape so, in combination with some electronic components, it functions as an oscillator. It resonates at a specific highly stable frequency, which is used to accurately pace a timekeeping mechanism. Most quartz movements are primarily electronic but are geared to drive mechanical hands on the face of the watch to provide a traditional analog display of the time, a feature most consumers still prefer.
In 1959 Seiko placed an order with Epson (a daughter company of Seiko and the 'brain' behind the quartz revolution) to start developing a quartz wristwatch. The project was codenamed 59A. By the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Seiko had a working prototype of a portable quartz watch which was used as the time measurements throughout the event.
The first prototypes of an electronic quartz wristwatch (not just portable quartz watches as the Seiko timekeeping devices at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964) were made by the CEH research laboratory in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. From 1965 through 1967 pioneering development work was done on a miniaturized 8192 Hz quartz oscillator, a thermo-compensation module, and an in-house-made, dedicated integrated circuit (unlike the hybrid circuits used in the later Seiko Astron wristwatch). As a result, the BETA 1 prototype set new timekeeping performance records at the International Chronometric Competition held at the Observatory of Neuchâtel in 1967.[35] In 1970, 18 manufacturers exhibited production versions of the beta 21 wristwatch, including the Omega Electroquartz as well as Patek Philippe, Rolex Oysterquartz and Piaget.
Quartz Movement of the Seiko Astron, 1969 (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Inv. 2010-006)
The first quartz watch to enter production was the Seiko 35 SQ Astron, which hit the shelves on 25 December 1969, swiftly followed by the Swiss Beta 21, and then a year later the prototype of one of the world's most accurate wristwatches to date: the Omega Marine Chronometer. Since the technology having been developed by contributions from Japanese, American and Swiss,[36] nobody could patent the whole movement of the quartz wristwatch, thus allowing other manufacturers to participate in the rapid growth and development of the quartz watch market. This ended—in less than a decade—almost 100 years of dominance by the mechanical wristwatch legacy. Modern quartz movements are produced in very large quantities, and even the cheapest wristwatches typically have quartz movements. Whereas mechanical movements can typically be off by several seconds a day, an inexpensive quartz movement in a child's wristwatch may still be accurate to within half a second per day—ten times more accurate than a mechanical movement.[37]
After a consolidation of the mechanical watch industry in Switzerland during the 1970s, mass production of quartz wristwatches took off under the leadership of the Swatch Group of companies, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products. For quartz wristwatches, subsidiaries of Swatch manufacture watch batteries (Renata), oscillators (Oscilloquartz, now Micro Crystal AG) and integrated circuits (Ebauches Electronic SA, renamed EM Microelectronic-Marin). The launch of the new SWATCH brand in 1983 was marked by bold new styling, design, and marketing. Today, the Swatch Group maintains its position as the world's largest watch company.
Seiko's efforts to combine the quartz and mechanical movements bore fruit after 20 years of research, leading to the introduction of the Seiko Spring Drive, first in a limited domestic market production in 1999 and to the world in September 2005. The Spring Drive keeps time within quartz standards without the use of a battery, using a traditional mechanical gear train powered by a spring, without the need for a balance wheel either.
In 2010, Miyota (Citizen Watch) of Japan introduced a newly developed movement that uses a 3 pronged quartz crystal that was exclusively produced for Bulova to be used in the Precisionist or Accutron II line, a new type of quartz watch with ultra-high frequency (262.144 kHz) which is claimed to be accurate to +/- 10 seconds a year and has a smooth sweeping second hand rather than one that jumps each second.[38]
Radio time signal watches are a type of electronic quartz watch which synchronizes (time transfers) its time with an external time source such as in atomic clocks, time signals from GPS navigation satellites, the German DCF77 signal in Europe, WWVB in the US, and others. Movements of this type may—among others—synchronize the time of day and the date, the leap-year status and the state of daylight saving time (on or off). However, other than the radio receiver, these watches are normal quartz watches in all other aspects.
Electronic watches require electricity as a power source, and some mechanical movements and hybrid electronic-mechanical movements also require electricity. Usually, the electricity is provided by a replaceable battery. The first use of electrical power in watches was as a substitute for the mainspring, to remove the need for winding. The first electrically powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, was released in 1957 by the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Watch batteries (strictly speaking cells, as a battery is composed of multiple cells) are specially designed for their purpose. They are very small and provide tiny amounts of power continuously for very long periods (several years or more). In most cases, replacing the battery requires a trip to a watch-repair shop or watch dealer; this is especially true for watches that are water-resistant, as special tools and procedures are required for the watch to remain water-resistant after battery replacement. Silver-oxide and lithium batteries are popular today; mercury batteries, formerly quite common, are no longer used, for environmental reasons. Cheap batteries may be alkaline, of the same size as silver-oxide cells but providing shorter life. Rechargeable batteries are used in some solar-powered watches.
Some electronic watches are powered by the movement of the wearer. For instance, Seiko's kinetic-powered quartz watches use the motion of the wearer's arm: turning a rotating weight which causes a tiny generator to supply power to charge a rechargeable battery that runs the watch. The concept is similar to that of self-winding spring movements, except that electrical power is generated instead of mechanical spring tension.
Solar powered watches are powered by light. A photovoltaic cell on the face (dial) of the watch converts light to electricity, which is used to charge a rechargeable battery or capacitor. The movement of the watch draws its power from the rechargeable battery or capacitor. As long as the watch is regularly exposed to fairly strong light (such as sunlight), it never needs a battery replacement. Some models need only a few minutes of sunlight to provide weeks of energy (as in the Citizen Eco-Drive). Some of the early solar watches of the 1970s had innovative and unique designs to accommodate the array of solar cells needed to power them (Synchronar, Nepro, Sicura and some models by Cristalonic, Alba, Seiko, and Citizen). As the decades progressed and the efficiency of the solar cells increased while the power requirements of the movement and display decreased, solar watches began to be designed to look like other conventional watches.[39]
A rarely used power source is the temperature difference between the wearer's arm and the surrounding environment (as applied in the Citizen Eco-Drive Thermo).
Display [ edit ]
Analog [ edit ]
Casio AE12 LCA (liquid-crystal-analog) watch
Traditionally, watches have displayed the time in analog form, with a numbered dial upon which are mounted at least a rotating hour hand and a longer, rotating minute hand. Many watches also incorporate a third hand that shows the current second of the current minute. Watches powered by quartz usually have a second hand that snaps every second to the next marker. Watches powered by a mechanical movement appears to have a gliding second hand, although it is actually not gliding; the hand merely moves in smaller steps, typically 1/5 of a second, corresponding to the beat (half period) of the balance wheel. In some escapements (for example the duplex escapement), the hand advances every two beats (full period) of the balance wheel, typically 1/2 second in those watches, or even every four beats (two periods, 1 second), in the double duplex escapement. A truly gliding second hand is achieved with the tri-synchro regulator of Spring Drive watches. All of the hands are normally mechanical, physically rotating on the dial, although a few watches have been produced with "hands" that are simulated by a liquid-crystal display.
Analog display of the time is nearly universal in watches sold as jewelry or collectibles, and in these watches, the range of different styles of hands, numbers, and other aspects of the analog dial is very broad. In watches sold for timekeeping, analog display remains very popular, as many people find it easier to read than digital display; but in timekeeping watches the emphasis is on clarity and accurate reading of the time under all conditions (clearly marked digits, easily visible hands, large watch faces, etc.). They are specifically designed for the left wrist with the stem (the knob used for changing the time) on the right side of the watch; this makes it easy to change the time without removing the watch from the wrist. This is the case if one is right-handed and the watch is worn on the left wrist (as is traditionally done). If one is left-handed and wears the watch on the right wrist, one has to remove the watch from the wrist to reset the time or to wind the watch.
Analog watches, as well as clocks, are often marketed showing a display time of approximately 1:50 or 10:10. This creates a visually pleasing smile-like face on upper half of the watch, in addition to enclosing the manufacturer's name. Digital displays often show a time of 12:08, where the increase in the number of active segments or pixels gives a positive feeling.[40][41]
Tactile [ edit ]
Tissot, a Swiss luxury watchmaker, makes the Silen-T wristwatch with a touch-sensitive face that vibrates to help the user to tell time eyes-free. The bezel of the watch features raised bumps at each hour mark; after briefly touching the face of the watch, the wearer runs a finger around the bezel clockwise. When the finger reaches the bump indicating the hour, the watch vibrates continuously, and when the finger reaches the bump indicating the minute, the watch vibrates intermittently.[42]
Eone Timepieces, Washington D.C.-based company, launched its first tactile analog wristwatch, the "Bradley", on 11 July 2013 on the Kickstarter website. The device is primarily designed for sight-impaired users, who can use the watch's two ball bearings to determine the time, but it is also suitable for general use. The watch features raised marks at each hour and two moving, magnetically attached ball bearings. One ball bearing, on the edge of the watch, indicates the hour, while the other, on the face, indicates the minute.[43][44]
Digital [ edit ]
A digital display shows the time as a number, e.g., 12:08 instead of a shorthand pointing towards the number 12 and a long hand 8/60 of the way around the dial. The digits are usually shown as a seven-segment display.
The first digital mechanical pocket watches appeared in the late 19th century. In the 1920s, the first digital mechanical wristwatches appeared.
The first digital electronic watch, a Pulsar LED prototype in 1970, was developed jointly by Hamilton Watch Company and Electro-Data, founded by George H. Thiess.[45] John Bergey, the head of Hamilton's Pulsar division, said that he was inspired to make a digital timepiece by the then-futuristic digital clock that Hamilton themselves made for the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. On 4 April 1972, the Pulsar was finally ready, made in 18-carat gold and sold for $2,100. It had a red light-emitting diode (LED) display.
Digital LED watches were very expensive and out of reach to the common consumer until 1975, when Texas Instruments started to mass-produce LED watches inside a plastic case. These watches, which first retailed for only $20,[46] reduced to $10 in 1976, saw Pulsar lose $6 million and the Pulsar brand sold to Seiko.[47]
An early LED watch that was rather problematic was The Black Watch made and sold by British company Sinclair Radionics in 1975. This was only sold for a few years, as production problems and returned (faulty) product forced the company to cease production.
Most watches with LED displays required that the user press a button to see the time displayed for a few seconds, because LEDs used so much power that they could not be kept operating continuously. Usually, the LED display color would be red. Watches with LED displays were popular for a few years, but soon the LED displays were superseded by liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which used less battery power and were much more convenient in use, with the display always visible and no need to push a button before seeing the time. Only in darkness, you had to press a button to light the display with a tiny light bulb, later illuminating LEDs.[48]
The first LCD watch with a six-digit LCD was the 1973 Seiko 06LC, although various forms of early LCD watches with a four-digit display were marketed as early as 1972 including the 1972 Gruen Teletime LCD Watch, and the Cox Electronic Systems Quarza.[49] In Switzerland, Ebauches Electronic SA presented a prototype eight-digit LCD wristwatch showing time and date at the MUBA Fair, Basle, in March 1973, using a Twisted Nematic LCD manufactured by Brown, Boveri & Cie, Switzerland, which became the supplier of LCDs to Casio for the CASIOTRON watch in 1974.[50]
A problem with Liquid Crystal Displays is that they use polarized light. If, for example, the user is wearing polarized sunglasses, the watch may be difficult to read because the plane of polarization of the display is roughly perpendicular to that of the glasses.[51][52] If the light that illuminates the display is polarized, for example if it comes from a blue sky, the display may be difficult or impossible to read.[53]
From the 1980s onward, digital watch technology vastly improved. In 1982 Seiko produced the Seiko TV Watch [54] that had a television screen built in,[55] and Casio produced a digital watch with a thermometer as well as another that could translate 1,500 Japanese words into English. In 1985, Casio produced the CFX-400 scientific calculator watch. In 1987 Casio produced a watch that could dial your telephone number and Citizen revealed one that would react to your voice. In 1995 Timex released a watch which allowed the wearer to download and store data from a computer to their wrist. Some watches, such as the Timex Datalink USB, feature dot matrix displays. Since their apex during the late 1980s to mid-1990s high technology fad, digital watches have mostly become simpler, less expensive time pieces with little variety between models.
Cortébert digital mechanical pocket watch (1890s)
Cortébert digital mechanical wristwatch (1920s)
A silver Pulsar LED watch from 1976.
A Timex digital watch with an always-on display of the time and date
Illuminated [ edit ]
An illuminated watch face, using tritium
Many watches have displays that are illuminated, so they can be used in darkness. Various methods have been used to achieve this.
Mechanical watches often have luminous paint on their hands and hour marks. In the mid-20th century, radioactive material was often incorporated in the paint, so it would continue to glow without any exposure to light. Radium was often used but produced small amounts of radiation outside the watch that might have been hazardous.[56] Tritium was used as a replacement, since the radiation it produces has such low energy that it cannot penetrate a watch glass. However, tritium is expensive—it has to be made in a nuclear reactor—and it has a half-life of only about 12 years so the paint remains luminous for only a few years. Nowadays, tritium is used in specialized watches, e.g., for military purposes (See Tritium illumination). For other purposes, luminous paint is sometimes used on analog displays, but no radioactive material is contained in it. This means that the display glows soon after being exposed to light and quickly fades.
Watches that incorporate batteries often have the electric illumination of their displays. However, lights consume far more power than electronic watch movements. To conserve the battery, the light is activated only when the user presses a button. Usually, the light remains lit for a few seconds after the button is released, which allows the user to move the hand out of the way.
Digital LCD wristwatch Casio type F-E10 with electroluminescent backlighting.
In some early digital watches, LED displays were used, which could be read as easily in darkness as in daylight. The user had to press a button to light up the LEDs, which meant that the watch could not be read without the button being pressed, even in full daylight.
In some types of watches, small incandescent lamps or LEDs illuminate the display, which is not intrinsically luminous. These tend to produce very non-uniform illumination. Incandescent lamps are very wasteful of electricity.
Other watches use electroluminescent material to produce uniform illumination of the background of the display, against which the hands or digits can be seen.
Speech synthesis [ edit ]
Talking watches are available, intended for the blind or visually impaired. They speak the time out loud at the press of a button. This has the disadvantage of disturbing others nearby or at least alerting the non-deaf that the wearer is checking the time. Tactile watches are preferred to avoid this awkwardness, but talking watches are preferred for those who are not confident in their ability to read a tactile watch reliably.
Handedness [ edit ]
Wristwatches with analog displays generally have a small knob, called the crown, that can be used to adjust the time and, in mechanical watches, wind the spring. Almost always, the crown is located on the right-hand side of the watch so it can be worn of the left wrist for a right-handed individual. This makes it inconvenient to use if the watch is being worn on the right wrist. Some manufacturers offer "left-hand drive", aka "destro", configured watches which move the crown to the left side[57] making wearing the watch easier for left-handed individuals.
A rarer configuration is the bullhead watch. Bullhead watches are generally, but not exclusively, chronographs. The configuration moves the crown and chronograph pushers to the top of the watch. Bullheads are commonly wristwatch chronographs that are intended to be used as stopwatches off the wrist. Examples are the Citizen Bullhead Change Timer[58] and the Omega Seamaster Bullhead[59].
Digital watches generally have push-buttons that can be used to make adjustments. These are usually equally easy to use on either wrist.
Functions [ edit ]
The Rolex Submariner, an officially certified chronometer
Customarily, watches provide the time of day, giving at least the hour and minute, and often the second. Many also provide the current date, and some (called "complete calendar" or "triple date" watches) display the day of the week and the month as well. However, many watches also provide a great deal of information beyond the basics of time and date. Some watches include alarms. Other elaborate and more expensive watches, both pocket and wrist models, also incorporate striking mechanisms or repeater functions, so that the wearer could learn the time by the sound emanating from the watch. This announcement or striking feature is an essential characteristic of true clocks and distinguishes such watches from ordinary timepieces. This feature is available on most digital watches.
A complicated watch has one or more functions beyond the basic function of displaying the time and the date; such a functionality is called a complication. Two popular complications are the chronograph complication, which is the ability of the watch movement to function as a stopwatch, and the moonphase complication, which is a display of the lunar phase. Other more expensive complications include Tourbillon, Perpetual calendar, Minute repeater, and Equation of time. A truly complicated watch has many of these complications at once (see Calibre 89 from Patek Philippe for instance). Some watches can both indicate the direction of Mecca[60] and have alarms that can be set for all daily prayer requirements.[61] Among watch enthusiasts, complicated watches are especially collectible. Some watches include a second 12-hour or 24-hour display for UTC or GMT.
The similar-sounding terms chronograph and chronometer are often confused, although they mean altogether different things. A chronograph is a watch with an added duration timer, often a stopwatch complication (as explained above), while a chronometer watch is a timepiece that has met an industry standard test for performance under pre-defined conditions: a chronometer is a high quality mechanical or a thermo-compensated movement that has been tested and certified to operate within a certain standard of accuracy by the COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres). The concepts are different but not mutually exclusive; so a watch can be a chronograph, a chronometer, both, or neither.
Invasion video game is on the screen Timex Datalink USB Dress edition from 2003 with a dot matrix display; thevideo game is on the screen
Many computerized wristwatches have been developed, but none have had long-term sales success, because they have awkward user interfaces due to the tiny screens and buttons, and a short battery life. As miniaturized electronics became cheaper, watches have been developed containing calculators, tonometers, barometers, altimeters, a compass using both hands to show the N/S direction, video games, digital cameras, keydrives, GPS receivers and cellular phones. A few astronomical watches show phase of the Moon and other celestial phenomena. In the early 1980s Seiko marketed a watch with a television in it. Such watches have also had the reputation as unsightly and thus mainly geek toys. Several companies have however attempted to develop a computer contained in a wristwatch (see also wearable computer).
Electronic sports watches, combining timekeeping with GPS and/or activity tracking, address the general fitness market and have the potential for commercial success (Garmin forerunner, Garmin Vivofit, Epson,[6] announced model of Swatch Touch series[62]).
Braille watches have analog displays with raised bumps around the face to allow blind users to tell the time. Their digital equivalents use synthesised speech to speak the time on command.
Fashion [ edit ]
Wristwatches and antique pocket watches are often appreciated as jewelry or as collectible works of art rather than just as timepieces.[63] This has created several different markets for wristwatches, ranging from very inexpensive but accurate watches (intended for no other purpose than telling the correct time) to extremely expensive watches that serve mainly as personal adornment or as examples of high achievement in miniaturization and precision mechanical engineering.
Traditionally, men's dress watches appropriate for informal (business), semi-formal, and formal attire are gold, thin, simple, and plain, but increasingly rugged, complicated, or sports watches are considered by some to be acceptable for such attire. Some dress watches have a cabochon on the crown and many women's dress watches have faceted gemstones on the face, bezel, or bracelet. Some are made entirely of faceted sapphire (corundum).[64]
Many fashions and department stores offer a variety of less-expensive, trendy, "costume" watches (usually for women), many of which are similar in quality to basic quartz timepieces but which feature bolder designs. In the 1980s, the Swiss Swatch company hired graphic designers to redesign a new annual collection of non-repairable watches.
Trade in counterfeit watches, which mimic expensive brand-name watches, constitutes an estimated US$1 billion market per year.[65]
Space [ edit ]
The zero-gravity environment and other extreme conditions encountered by astronauts in space require the use of specially tested watches.
The first ever watch to be sent into space was a Russian "Pobeda" watch from the Petrodvorets Watch Factory. It was sent on a single orbit flight on the spaceship Korabl-Sputnik 4 on 9 March 1961. The watch had been attached without authorisation to the wrist of Chernuchka, a dog that successfully did exactly the same trip as Yuri Gagarin, with exactly the same rocket and equipment, just a month before Gagarin's flight.[66]
On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin wore a Shturmanskie (a transliteration of Штурманские which actually means "navigator's") wristwatch during his historic first flight into space. The Shturmanskie was manufactured at the First Moscow Factory. Since 1964, the watches of the First Moscow Factory have been marked by the trademark "Полёт", transliterated as "POLJOT", which means "flight" in Russian and is a tribute to the many space trips its watches have accomplished. In the late 1970s, Poljot launched a new chrono movement, the 3133. With a 23 jewel movement and manual winding (43 hours), it was a modified Russian version of the Swiss Valjoux 7734 of the early 1970s. Poljot 3133 were taken into space by astronauts from Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine. On |
Hernando
No one was injured, and an investigation is ongoing.
Bonello's uncle suggested the man was suffering from mental illness, saying: 'It's just sad that this has happened, because this is not the kid that grew up with my kids.
'He needs to talk to some psychiatrists and find out what the issue is,' Tony Bonello said.
Bonello, who has several misdemeanors on his record, was most recently arrested for trespassing at a Walmart in February.
He is not a registered sex offender and has never been arrested for abduction.BSU "Ask the Professor" Series presents: Shipwrecks on Shores: Maritime Archaeology's Role in Telling Forgotten Stories and STEM Education in Massachusetts
Dr. Calvin Mires, Thursday, April 27 at 6-7 p.m. at Bridgewater State University's campus on Route 28 in South Yarmouth
Description: Maritime archaeology is the scientific study of all aspects of maritime cultures and people through their surviving cultural material. Shipwrecks are the largest and most recognizable remains, and while many rest underwater, there are several that are found along the beaches and shorelines in Massachusetts. The field is inherently interdisciplinary and relies on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to investigate all types of cultural resources, from shipwrecks to harbors, wharves, seaside communities, maritime landscapes, and more. Please join, Dr. Calvin Mires, as he discusses his 17-year career in maritime archaeology, and some of the program that he is currently developing to offer educational and training opportunities to citizen scientists of all ages in Massachusetts.
Dr. Calvin Mires is a Professor of Maritime Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at Bridgewater State University. He has led and worked on more than 30 maritime archaeology projects around the world, including Greek and Roman shipwrecks and harbors, Sweden's iconic warship, Vasa, Confederate Blockade Runners in North and South Carolina, ship graveyards in Bermuda, and various sites in the Caribbean Sea, Pacific Ocean, and the Great Lakes. Before coming to Massachusetts, he was the staff archaeologist at East Carolina University, which is one of only four graduate programs in the United States in maritime archaeology. He taught, trained, and led 100 graduate students. From 2015 to 2016, he was Director of Bridge Programs for the PAST Foundation, a 501(c) non-profit, nationally recognized by U.S. Department of Education as a leader in STEM education. He is co-founder and instructor of SEAMAHP, a training program that leverages the concept of a ship's life-cycle to provide hands-on, experiential learning to the public in maritime archaeology, and has documented the shipwreck, Ada K. Damon, a 19th-century schooner wrecked on a beach near Ipswich. His current research focuses on nearshore and foreshore sites, vernacular watercraft, public outreach and citizen science, and qualitative and quantitative approaches to public perceptions, attitudes, and values towards preservation of maritime cultural resources.LOS ANGELES
Two years ago, Dane Cook told me he was quitting stand-up comedy.
“I don’t want to say I’ve retired, but this is an important time to shift my energy into something new,” he said.
Cook, who was promoting a dark independent film at the time, was coming off a bad couple of years. He’d lost both his mother and father to cancer within 10 months, and then found out that his half-brother — who’d long served as the comedian’s business manager — had stolen $12 million from him.
He wasn’t exactly in the mood to crack jokes. So in 2011, he hung up the mike and spent time at home in Los Angeles. For the first time in his life, he went to a therapist. He talked about how much he missed his parents and started to grieve for them.
As the year came to a close, he started to come out of his depression. And one night while he was hanging out at the Laugh Factory, club owner Jamie Masada persuaded Cook to get onstage for a few minutes.
“I stood up there for 35 minutes, and it felt like I had never left. I had worked on myself enough that things were funny again,” Cook recalled, sitting in his dressing room at the Orpheum Theatre last month.
Yes, as you may have guessed, Cook did end up returning to stand-up. He’s on a two-month, 20-date Under Oath tour, which will wrap up in his hometown, Boston, on Oct. 19.
For Cook — who has sold out Madison Square Garden a handful of times — it’s a small tour. At the Orpheum, for instance, he performed for about 2,000 people — far less than the 18,000 he’s entertained in the past at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
As he unwound after his hour-and-a-half set, Cook talked to me about his quiet return to the stage. Excerpts from that conversation follow.
I thought you said you were done with this!
I was in a very fragile time then — and I did stop for a year. I had to take the time to say “Okay, this stuff happened to me” and find the humor in it. I needed to realize that everything I did moving forward was mine — not shared with people who are toxic, or people who aren’t representing me properly. This is a complete do-over. I’m going into a new era of my career and professional life.
You were last on the road in 2009, right?
Yes, and I was just spent. I remember one night on the road like it was a Bon Jovi song or something. My head was in my hands and I was like, “I just want this to be really fun again, and it feels like I’m chasing or running away from something.”
During your hiatus you began work on an NBC comedy, “Next Caller,” that the network ultimately pulled the plug on. How did you handle that?
I decided to go on board with a project that I had no ties to behind the scenes. Anything I asked for, they were like, “No, we’re not interested in you for that. We just want to hire you as an actor.”... It was a great experience, but it was just a reminder that I need to be out there working on things that I’m excited about first.
Your “Under Oath” set focuses a lot about our relationship with technology. Why did you decide to focus on that instead of some your more recent experiences?
I felt like it was false for the act to have a little bit of grit to it, because I’m happier now. I liked getting back to the more random and fun stuff.
Why did you decide to do a theater tour?
An arena tour is four buses and 40 guys to set things up — a lot of moving parts. With a theater tour, because a lot of the stuff is already in house, you’re pretty much just traveling with a few people. I’m dying to share my new material with a lot of people, but I don’t want the extra responsibility of keeping that whole circus going.
And how does it feel to be back onstage?
I feel present. Every night, I leave the show and there’s 150 people outside — and I meet them all. I haven’t run to the bus one night. A few years ago, I felt like, “I have to do this, but why do I feel so heavy?” It was frustrating, and I really beat myself up. I didn’t know it was just okay to feel sad. It’s okay to grieve.
How did you come to that conclusion?
I had a great therapist — a person who could help me to clarify some things. It’s outlandish the amount of pain I was in, because I loved my folks. I had to remember that I’m still the same person they raised me to be, and they’re still with me in a different way. They loved watching me. So even before the show tonight, I took a quiet moment of talking to them and saying, “Be onstage with me. Stand right next to me. I want to feel you with me.”
— Los Angeles TimesIntel disclosed on Monday technical details of its new microarchitecture for chips baked using its latest 14-nanometer process, known by the codename "Broadwell."
"This new microarchitecture is more than a remarkable technical achievement," Intel VP and general manager of product development Rani Borkar said in a canned statement. "It is a demonstration of the importance of our outside-in design philosophy that matches our design to customer requirements."
The first Broadwell chip to hit the market will be the cool-running Core M, which Chipzilla first demoed at the Computex event in Taipei in June.
Initially, Intel expected to roll out the first Broadwell chips in 2013, but quality-control problems with the 14nm process forced delays. Now the first Core M devices aren't expected to reach retail shelves until this year's holiday season, with broad availability beginning in the first quarter of 2015.
Intel said in a presentation [PDF] on Monday that it has achieved a four-times reduction in thermal design power (TDP) with Broadwell as compared to 2010's "Nehalem" chips. This means the Core M will be the first processor on Intel's Core road map that can run without a fan, which in turn means PC makers will be able to design Core M devices that are just 7.2mm thick.
That's pretty impressive, given that devices built using previous generations of Core chips had to be 26mm thick or more – and to prove that the numbers don't lie, Intel president Renee James showed off a 7.5mm-thick two-in-one typoslab at Computex that weighed just 670 grams.
Squint and you still won't see it: Intel's tiny 14nm transistors mean devices can get smaller, run longer
Don't expect those skinny slabs to be speed demons, though. Running cool enough to go without a fan means dialing down the clock speeds, and one of the reference tablets Intel demoed at Computex actually included a "fan dock" that could blow air onto the device to let it run faster while docked.
On the plus side, Intel said the Core M's CPU cores deliver double the performance of the 2010 models, and the performance of its integrated graphics is seven times better.
But the real advantage of the Core M for the mobile market is how little power it draws. Chipzilla said Broadwell will allow manufacturers to build devices with batteries that are half the size but deliver double the run times as compared to kit built just four years ago.
Intel credits these improvements to its 14nm process, which is based on the second generation of its Tri-Gate transistor technology. The improved fins on these new transistors has allowed Intel to reduce the interconnect pitch of its 14nm silicon to 52nm, as compared to the 80nm pitch of its 22nm process. SRAM cells have also been reduced in size to just 0.0588µm2.
The 14nm wafers are costlier to produce, but their dramatically increased density means Broadwell still delivers lower overall cost-per-transistor, as has each new process Intel has introduced.
What's more, the Core M comes in a package that takes up half the board area that Intel's 22nm "Haswell" chips do and is 30 per cent thinner.
Chipzilla said the Core M is only the first of many products that will be released based on its 14nm process and the Broadwell microarchitecture, with new chip designs for servers, mobile devices, and embedded systems all to come. Expect the next such announcement to drop within the next few months. ®"RuPaul's Drag Race" season five contestant Monica Beverly Hillz made history on Monday, February 4, when she revealed to the show's judges, her fellow drag queens and the world at large that she is transgender.
Though other "Drag Race" stars like season three's Carmen Carerra and season two's Sonique came out as trans once taping had finished, Monica Beverly Hillz is the first queen to do so while actively competing on the show.
We caught up with Monica to chat about her controversial revelation, what happened behind the scenes once she came out, what she wants the world to know about being trans and more.
The Huffington Post: When you were applying for "Drag Race," did you foresee this moment happening on the show?
Monica Beverley Hills: I wasn't even thinking about it. I thought I could get on the show and not worry about it and take it from there once I was done with the show.
Was there a particular moment that proved to be the breaking point for you?
It was when we were getting judged. There are certain things that [the judges] noticed -- I wasn't being myself and I was very uncomfortable and the cameras picked up on it.
Did it surprise you that you couldn't just "not worry about it" once you were competing?
When you're around certain people, these people are opening up their hearts and telling their life stories and I'm doing the same thing but I felt like I was leaving something out. It's kind of weird -- you feel like you have to be this certain person and you feel like you're lying and deceiving people and I'm not that type of person. I'm very honest with myself.
Were you freaking out about how the judges might react?
That was the main reason why I didn't want to say anything. I took a huge chance. That could have been my ticket [off of the show].
The judges responded to your coming out but then moved on and seemingly judged you solely based on your performance. They treated you like any of the other contestants. Did you think they were going to make a bigger deal out of your revelation?
Oh, yeah. I thought they were going to rip me to shreds!
And what about the other queens?
They were very supportive. That was shocking to me. I thought, Oh my God. This is it. They're going to start talking and this is when the cattiness and judgements are going to start. It was not a good feeling.
Another contestant, Jinkx Monsoon, said that you're her hero.
That's all fine and dandy, but I didn't sign up to be a role model or anyone's hero. I signed up to find more of myself and to get in tune and get some help. But I'm honored -- that's a beautiful thing, for someone to think I'm a hero.
Did you think it was ironic that when you were forced to "lip sync for your life," the song you performed to was Rihanna's "Only Girl In The World"?
[Laughs] Yes, but that's how I've always felt. I am the only girl in the world, so that's perfect.
What do you say to people who claim that because you're trans, you shouldn't be competing in the competition?
I don't think they have the right to say that. I'm just as talented as any of the queens on that stage. It doesn't mean that just because I'm trans that I shouldn't be allowed on the show. I don't get any of that.
When I heard you came out, I instantly thought of the trans Miss Universe contestant, Jenna Talackova, who was told she didn't belong in the competition because she wasn't a "real woman" and, conversely, how some people believe that you don't belong on "Drag Race" because you're not a man doing drag. Both situations really highlight the precarious positions that trans people are put in every day -- both by mainstream society and the queer community.
It's frustrating. I've dealt with this over the last seven years of my drag career -- I've always had judgments like I'm not drag enough or I'm a tranny. I've been doing it for seven years and it's gotten me this far, so obviously I'm very good at what I do. I don't think me being trans has anything to do with it.
You said that you didn't feel like you were "you" when your gender identity was a secret and that's why you felt like you weren't on your game. For most drag performers, they're putting on a persona different from the one they present off stage. Is that not the case for you? Does being trans change the way that you approach drag?
Certain drag queens are different when they're in drag and when they're out of it. I'm the same person. I don't see myself as different [on stage] -- I just have more makeup on.
Some people believe that drag can be derogatory towards or mocking of trans people. How do you respond to those accusations?
I don't think it is. I think it's a form of expression. Some people just love to entertain. It's not a mockery for me.
The words "tranny" and "ladyboy," which are also considered offensive by many trans people, are often used by drag performers.
I don't like those words. They're offensive to me.
Did the use of terms like those on "Drag Race" (like the phrase "You've got she-mail!") bother you?
[Before I came out as trans on the show…] Being on set, people referring to me as "he," using my "real" name -- those things added up.
Did you feel like you had to educate people on set about what to say -- or not say -- once you came out as trans?
No. No. Before I came out, they would use "he" but after they used "she" and "Monica." I was really shocked by the support I had on set. At first I felt so alone, but after I came out I felt so much support.
The HuffPost Religion Editor recently did an interview with RuPaul and Ru had some really profound things to say about drag and spirituality. Did he help you with this experience?
I never thought of her as [a spiritual person] but the energy that she brings and the way she looks at things -- meeting Ru and hearing her words and having her push me to do the things that I haven't been able to do, I'm forever grateful.
What do you love the most about doing drag?
The reactions. How I can move somebody with my number. Just the way I feel when I'm on stage. It's indescribable. It's a beautiful feeling. For so many years I felt like I was an outsider -- dropping out of high school -- finally actually doing something and believing in myself and having people love me for it, it's a great thing.
What do you want people to take away from your story?
They should always believe in themselves and always stay true to themselves. Never let anyone put you down and always have a voice. And at the end of the day, always be you. And for every person who thinks that they want to be on the show and it's going to increase your booking fee and yadda yadda yadda -- think again. This show will change your life and teach you a lot of things that you never knew or that you forgot.
It was a hugely emotional experience for you.
This has made me grow up. This has gotten my family back together. This has done a lot of things for me and continues to do a lot of things for me.
Do you think it's getting better for trans people in this country?
It does get better -- but then it really doesn't. I have trans friends that have it really hard. I do think it's getting a little bit better. I think about how it was back in the day and [if I had lived then] I'm not sure I would have had the courage to come out and have a normal life and do those day to day things. It has gotten a little bit better but it does need to be better and bigger.
Are there other trans women who inspire you?
["Drag Race" season three star] Carmen Carrera [who came out as trans after she was on the show]. Amanda Lepore. Calpernia Addams. Maria Roman. Looking up to those women, I think if they can do it, I know I can. But it took me a while to get enough courage to do it.
Finally, what would you want someone who has never met a transgender person to know?
First of all, it's not easy. What people see and what I see are two different things. People sometimes don't get it. They think, That's just a man wearing women's clothing. There's a lot of horrible things people can think about us. Just be aware that we have feelings and we're trying to make it all make sense. At the end of the day we're just trying to find out who we are.
Have questions for Monica? Speak with her live via Spreecast during a very special “Elimination Lunch” hosted by Michelle Visage at 1:00pm ET today.
"RuPaul's Drag Race" airs on Mondays at 9pm ET on Logo TV.It's been almost a year that the 'voice of Indian cricket', Harsha Bhogle has been missing from the commentary box. While cricket aficionados are ruing the fact that the well-renowned commentator has to bear the brunt of unjust wishes of some senior Indian cricketers, there's no sign of change in Bhogle's fortune as he has not been called up by official broadcasters, Star Sports for the upcoming Test series against Australia.
The crux of the matter is that some stars of Indian team, mainly MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay felt that the Mumbaikar used to ask tricky questions during interviews while his commentary was not India centric during last year's World T20.
During the World T20 held in India last year, Bhogle was indirectly criticised by Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan who tweeted, "With all due respects, it would be really worthy of an Indian commentator to speak more about our players than others all the time." Dhoni who is rarely active on Twitter, immediately retweeted the post and this proved to a major blow for Bhogle. His contract with Star Sports wasn't renewed as players reportedly made it clear to BCCI that they won't be interacting with Bhogle in front of the camera in future.
Also read Revealed: Harsha Bhogle explains how he felt after getting sacked by BCCI
However, Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin reported that before this incident, Kohli and Vijay had some differences with Bhogle which didn't help his cause.
Back in the year 2014, during the Australia-India Test series Down Under, Murali Vijay first reported against Bhogle. The opener got out for 53 in the first innings in Adelaide Test and immediately he was asked by Bhogle on camera whether he felt bad to not get a century on that wicket.
Vijay didn't say anything on the spot but unleashed his frustration in the dressing room. He told his teammates that Bhogle shouldn't have said what he said as he was not batting on a placid track in India. Within days, this news made it's way to the Indian commentary circuit.
Then during the 2016 Asia Cup in Bangladesh, Kohli got infuriated by a certain observation of Bhogle. During India's group stage match against Bangladesh, Bhogle had said that Kohli was playing more shots than what he was scoring. Kohli was so frustrated with his display (he got out for seven), that after hearing Bhogle's comments, he directly asked the commentator, "Why did you make such comments?"
Bhogle had a great relation with Kohli before this incident and he did try to calm down the Delhi lad by sending him messages on WhatsApp but that didn't help.
As things stand, it's not Bhogle who is suffering from his exclusion from the commentary panel. He is busy doing videos for a website which are getting enormous views on Facebook but fans across the globe are being deprived of world class analysis of the game.
Cricketers are expected to show sportsman spirit in these situations but like Bhogle pointed out once an interview, the current crop of players aren't like the Sachins, Souravs, Dravids and Laxmans who used to take criticism in a positive manner.Janet Porter, the creator of the anti-gay film “Light Wins,” says in the “documentary” that opponents of the gay rights movement should look to Ronald Reagan for inspiration. Just as Reagan brought down the Soviet Union, Porter dubiously claims, conservatives can still beat the odds and roll back the tide in favor gay rights.
As Dr. John Diggs adds, communism may be coming to the U.S.: “Political correctness, as people may not recall, is a term that was born in the Soviet Union where thousands if not millions of people died because they tried to quash religion and because they tried to quash political dissent by sending people to gulags. Don’t let this happen in America.”
Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality claims that America “will crumble like all civilizations before who embraced and celebrated sexual immorality,” adding that homosexuality is “the only sexual sin that has its own parade.”
Rep. Steve King of Iowa, who appears in the movie along with fellow Republican politicians Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Tim Huelskamp and Louie Gohmert, cites a successful campaign to kick three Iowa Supreme Court justices off the bench in retribution for their support of marriage equality as a reason anti-gay activists should have hope.
The documentary ends with Porter calling on people to shine their (smart phone) lights in the darkness, “because in the battle between darkness and light, light wins.”
We have posted excerpts here:This is a move by Twitter to boost security features of its user accounts. You can now request verification code via SMS to reset your Twitter account password.
In order to use this feature you will have to first register your phone number with your Twitter account. If you have problems logging in to your Twitter account, you can click the forgot password link to have your password reset.
You will then be directed to the password reset page where you will see the good old email/username method of requesting the password reset code. If you have already linked your phone number as I said, you will also see the option to type your mobile phone number to request the password reset code via SMS.
Once you enter your phone number, you will now receive the six digit code (that will expire in 15 minutes) which you can enter on your Twitter page to type the new password. You can now go the extra mile and add a setting in your Twitter account that asks for your mobile number or email address each time you try to reset password. This helps in unauthorized logins and immediate password resets by hackers. Quite handy!
Apart from the password reset option via SMS code, Twitter has also upped the security of its user accounts by tightening its hold when it senses suspicious logins. For instance, if there had been a login attempt from a suspicious location, suspicious login attempt from a different device and so on, Twitter says it will ask a simple question about your account in order to verify things.
It will also send you an email notification letting you know about the suspicious activity encouraging you to reset the password.
The SMS password reset feature has also been implemented in the iOS and Android apps apart from the full site.
But what if you are traveling and have limited access to your devices? Or what if you have recently changed your phone number? Twitter has got you covered. You can simply choose the email option for a limited time – which is why the SMS verification method is alongside the traditional email verification method. So you don’t have to panic.
“We’re aware that many people reuse the same passwords across multiple sites. And when any of these sites are compromised, stolen passwords could be used to access your account on Twitter,” says Twitter.
I am so excited to try this feature (at the time of writing this we don’t yet have SMS carrier support for most carriers in India).Update as of 7:18 a.m. EDT: Maj. Gen. Godefroid Niyombare, leader of the attempted coup in Burundi, was arrested on Friday, Reuters reported, citing President Pierre Nkurunziza's spokesman. The arrest comes two days after Niyombare announced that he had overthrown Nkurunziza's government.
"He has been arrested. He didn't surrender," presidential spokesman Gervais Abayeho reportedly said.
Update as of 7:06 a.m. EDT: The U.S. Embassy in Burundi said it will evacuate non-emergency personnel and families of staff after a failed coup attempt against President Pierre Nkurunziza, Reuters reported.
Original story:
The coup in Burundi appeared to be defeated on Friday when forces loyal to President Pierre Nkurunziza said they had arrested several of the coup leaders and the president said he had returned to the country.
Three renegade military officials who had backed General Godefroid Niyombare’s attempt to overthrow Nkurunziza had been arrested, BBC reported. Niyombare himself was "still on the run," according to an unnamed presidential spokesman.
Niyombare had told Agence France-Presse on Friday that he and other coup members were going to surrender, adding: "I hope they won't kill us.”
Late Thursday, Nkurunziza announced on Twitter that he had returned to the country, but his location was unclear. He had earlier been taken to a secret location in Tanzania after his return flight was blocked when coup forces seized a Burundian airport.
"I thank the army and police for their patriotism. Above all I thank Burundians for their patience," he wrote on Twitter.
Spokesman Gervais Abayeho confirmed the president’s return and said that Nkurunziza would continue running for reelection. "The president is in a good mood, he doesn't see any problem at all. He's been elected by the people, he's going to run again," he said, the BBC reported.
Nkurunziza was nominated for a third term, which critics denounced as unconstitutional, and Niyombare launched the coup attempt on Wednesday while the president was in Tanzania for a meeting, following weeks of protests in the country.
Five soldiers were killed in the capital of Bujumbura in clashes on Thursday. Loyalists and pro-coup forces battled for control of the country’s national broadcaster. Burundian Chief of Staff Major-General Prime Niyongabo had called on the coup forces to stand down, insisting that the army did not have any say in Nkurunziza’s nomination, the BBC reported Thursday.
“Burundi is a democratic nation. The army does not interfere in politics. We are obliged to follow the constitution," he said.Red Light Cameras Don't Work
Interesting: the solution to one problem causes another.
"The rigorous studies clearly show red-light cameras don't work," said lead author Barbara Langland-Orban, professor and chair of health policy and management at the USF College of Public Health. "Instead, they increase crashes and injuries as drivers attempt to abruptly stop at camera intersections." Comprehensive studies from North Carolina, Virginia, and Ontario have all reported cameras are associated with increases in crashes. The study by the Virginia Transportation Research Council also found that cameras were linked to increased crash costs. The only studies that conclude cameras reduced crashes or injuries contained "major research design flaws," such as incomplete data or inadequate analyses, and were always conducted by researchers with links to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS, funded by automobile insurance companies, is the leading advocate for red-light cameras since insurance companies can profit from red-light cameras by way of higher premiums due to increased crashes and citations.
And, of course, the agenda of the government is to increase revenue due to fines:
A 2001 paper by the Office of the Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives reported that red-light cameras are "a hidden tax levied on motorists." The report came to the same conclusions that all of the other valid studies have, that red-light cameras are associated with increased crashes and that the timings at yellow lights are often set too short to increase tickets for red-light running. That's right, the state actually tampers with the yellow light settings to make them shorter, and more likely to turn red as you're driving through them. In fact, six U.S. cities have been found guilty of shortening the yellow light cycles below what is allowed by law on intersections equipped with cameras meant to catch red-light runners. Those local governments have completely ignored the safety benefit of increasing the yellow light time and decided to install red-light cameras, shorten the yellow light duration, and collect the profits instead. The cities in question include Union City, CA, Dallas and Lubbock, TX, Nashville and Chattanooga, TN, and Springfield, MO, according to Motorists.org, which collected information from reports from around the country.
Posted on August 25, 2008 at 12:19 PM • 162 CommentsThe commitment that this government has to free speech was made very clear by George Brandis when he told the Senate two weeks ago: "People do have a right to be bigots, you know... in a free country people do have rights to say things that other people find offensive or insulting or bigoted." And here we are, just a month or so into this detailed discussion of the tremendous importance of free speech, when we discover that the government is only interested in free speech when its members, the pale, entitled ones, are those doing the speaking. On Sunday, News Ltd papers published a story by Samantha Maiden which said public servants in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet would not be permitted to make political criticism of the Abbott government on social media. Colleagues who know others are making criticisms would be encouraged to betray their workmates; and may even be punished for not doing so. So, it’s not just the professional social media accounts which need to tug the forelock but private ones as well. If public servants are found to have breached the code of conduct, they could find themselves without a job. Of course, let the errant colleague know you know first. Just courtesy, right? Then hand them cuffed and bound because it turns out to be the policy that we must monitor and spy on those we work with.
So, perfectly okay to hear this: Yid. Boong. Chink. Nigger. All perfectly ok in Abbott-world. (Apologies if I’ve left anyone out of this list of insults. Just thought I'd start with my own tribe and then think of the two most common insults I hear hurled on the streets and one I’ve borrowed from the US.) But it’s not okay to say that Abbott and his government have betrayed the Australian people from the day they were elected (and if you want to keep track of all the broken promises, I’m sending you again to Sally McManus’ Tracking Abbott’s Wreckage list – it gets longer every day). Fine to abuse on the basis of race but not critique on the basis of incompetence, ineptitude and inadequacy. So please do not mention that the government has abandoned so many ordinary Australians in its seven months in office. It has caused the loss of thousands of Australian jobs; supervised a regime which allowed the murder of an innocent asylum seeker; appointed a Commission of Audit but refused to let anyone see that report in the run-up to the West Australian Senate election re-run (a delightful swing against both major parties, perhaps the ALP will eventually come to its senses); pathetically caved in to junk food lobbyist pressure by hiding important nutritional information from Australians; and appointed a host of ideologues to crucial posts which will affect the national outcome. It would be very difficult for the government to argue with the truth of any of these claims (although, maybe, it thinks its chosen men aren’t ideologues) but if public servants made any of those criticisms on social media, then they would be in fear of losing their jobs. (Isn’t it the right of citizens to be able to criticise their government? This new rule is un-Australian. Whatever that means.)
I was delighted to read that our new freedom commissioner, Tim Wilson, was approached to comment. Surely, I thought, surely this libertarian, this free speech warrior, would leap to the defence of our gentle, analytical and astute public servants. Sadly, no lords-a-leaping. Wilson – or Lando Calrissian, as I prefer to think of him – has backed the reforms. Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs must be whirling in her chair. I reckon there will be a huge influx of fake social media accounts and false accusations – a perfect way to foster huge community discontent and mistrust. Because it’s free speech for all, if you are a member of the Abbott elite. But none for those impressive people who actually do the job of keeping our country running.
If you are looking for a freedom commissioner to actually protect your free speech, don’t try the one foisted on us by the Abbott elite. jenna_p@bigpond.net.au Twitter @jennaprice or emailMenomena will celebrate the new record with an in-store show at 6 p.m. tonight at Music Millennium.
It's been 3 1/2 years since
last released a record, and the good news about that period of time is this: No one got hurt. Physically. As far as we know.
"Mines," which hits stores today, was made the same way the band's three previous records were. They recorded hundreds of musical loops, riffed and jammed, constructed songs out of those bits and pieces, and then tore those songs apart and built them again. And again. And again. This caused delay, and tension and probably some nasty e-mails -- e-mail because they rarely work in the same room.
Drummer Danny Seim doesn't seem to be exaggerating when he writes: "However, in the wake of brutal disagreements, unrelenting grudges and failed marriages (not to mention a world full of modern terrorism, natural disasters and economic collapse), somehow this band is still standing."
Whether the product is worth the acrimony is up to the individual members, but the product is a very good record. Seim calls it art rock, but the phrase suggests a level of inaccessibility that doesn't exist. It's a rock record, loud at times, ominous at others, full of conflict.
And it's not like the difficulties between Seim (who also sings), Brent Knopf (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Justin Harris (bass, saxophone, guitar, vocals) are new. Taking time out recently from figuring out how to play the new studio concoctions live, Seim noted how he came across e-mails recently from when they were recording their first record.
"It was amazing how heated it was, how intense," he says. "There were signs early on this was going to be no walk in the park."
This is an edited version of the rest of that conversation.
O:
I imagine the original idea was to finish touring off the last record, come home and knock out the new one, right?
DS:
We've always taken forever between albums. We've been together for 10 years and it's our |
looking at managed retreat essentially, rather than geoengineering in a lot of places."
Read MoreJames Nickerson
“By all accounts, Cameron got to say something at the renegotiation summit when the coffee was served. And as soon as he started to speak, Hollande went out for a pee, which shows you how seriously it was taken,” scoffs Ukip leader Nigel Farage.
The renegotiation summit to which Farage refers took place last week in Brussels, where Cameron was hoping to allay his European counterparts to side with him on renegotiation. Of course, the summit was overshadowed by the Greek crisis and migrant Mediterranean crisis- the knock-on effect of which was seen in Calais over the last two weeks.
Still: “I was at the summit for the whole thing, and Cameron got to speak for seven minutes at a two day summit. It reminds me of the boy at the back of the class with his hands up - 'please sir, can I say something?' - and the teacher snapping 'what is it?'. It’s absolutely humiliating,” says Farage.
"Humiliating" may also be how his opponents view his election defeat, both in constituency of South Thanet, as well as in the UK as a whole. Despite garnering four million votes, and coming third in England and Wales, behind only the Conservatives and Labour, the party won only one seat.
This led to a kind of Monty Python routine, whereby Farage resigned and returned, on the basis that Ukip members “did not want Nigel to go”. Still leading the party, he’s back - and on the warpath.
And Farage says aforementioned summit highlights why: it showed a "profound disagreement" on these crises, where common asylum policy and the concept of burden sharing – which European Commission President Jean Claude Junker and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi thought would be agreed – was basically rejected.
“There was agreement on one thing at the summit: there won’t be any treaty change for Britain.”
What’s more, Farage believes Europe is now split. “In all my sixteen years of being at the EU, I’ve never felt a less collegial atmosphere than there was last week. The north and the south of Europe are now split – they’re split horribly financially, but they’re split irrevocably over the concept of migration coming in to Europe from the Mediterranean,” said Farage.
All this, to Farage, points more strongly for a case of exiting the EU. And, he says, unlike 1975 when the only people who backed the Out campaign were “intelligent, but somewhat eccentric politicians” from the right and left, people will be surprised by the number of names from business, sport, and entertainment supporting the Out campaign, such as JCB boss Graeme MacDonald, who has publicly warned that the UK should leave the EU if Cameron fails to get reform.
That’s obvious to Farage.
“Leaving Europe would be better for most businesses in the UK: 80 per cent of British businesses do no trade with Europe at all, and yet they are bound by a rule book designed to promote a single market for trade in Europe.
“It is absolutely ludicrous that when only 10 per cent of the entire UK GDP is exports to the EU that the other 90 per cent of our businesses are tied up with European rules – and I think people are starting to understand that.”
The Yes campaign, Farage thinks, will be comprised of ageing senior politicians, many of them in the House of Lords, quite a lot of them on European Union pensions, as well as giant multinationals. But “real” entrepreneurial Britain will opt for the real world rather than the EU, he maintains.
That doesn’t mean it’s going to be an easy campaign for Farage or the wider Eurosceptics. Indeed, recent polls suggest over 50 per cent of the UK would vote to remain part of the EU, with around a third wanting to leave.
For Farage, however, as the debate trudges on we’re going to see “a lot more support added for the Out campaign. I know for the No campaign to win it has to be very, very broad in terms of the audiences that it is reaching”.
Goldman Sachs, organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry – which Farage says is not representative of British business - and other corporates, however, will support the Yes campaign, he says. “I understand that; we’re living in the modern age where big government, big banks and big government work together. But I expect to see entrepreneurial working Britain standing up.”
“We’re living in a modern global economy, we just don’t need any of this,” he adds.Private George Lawrence Price (December 15, 1892 – November 11, 1918) was a Canadian soldier. He is traditionally recognized as the last soldier of the British Empire to be killed during the First World War.
The 28th Battalion had orders for November 11 to advance from Frameries (South of Mons) and continue to the village of Havre, securing all the bridges on the Canal du Centre. The battalion advanced rapidly starting at 4:00 a.m., pushing back light German resistance and they reached their position along the canal facing Ville-sur-Haine by 9:00 a.m. where the battalion received a message that all hostilities would cease at 11:00 a.m. [1] Price and fellow soldier Art Goodmurphy were worried that the battalion's position on the open canal bank was exposed to German positions on the opposite side of the canal where they could see bricks had been knocked out from house dormers to create firing positions. According to Goodmurphy they decided on their own initiative to take a patrol of five men across the bridge to search the houses. Reaching the houses and checking them one by one, they discovered German soldiers mounting machine guns along a brick wall overlooking the canal. The Germans opened fire on the patrol with heavy machine gun fire but the Canadians were protected by the brick walls of one of the houses. Aware that they had been discovered and outflanked, the Germans began to retreat. [2] A Belgian family in one of the houses warned the Canadians to be careful as they followed the retreating Germans. George Price was fatally shot in the left breast by a German sniper [3] as he stepped out of the house into the street. He was pulled into one of the houses and treated by a young Belgian nurse who ran across the street to help, but died a minute later at 10:58 a.m., November 11, 1918. His death was just two minutes before the armistice came into effect at 11 a.m. [4]
Memorial dedicated to the regiment of the British Expeditionary Force which took part in actions near Mons (Belgium).
Price was buried in Havre Old Communal Cemetery, one of the cemeteries subsequently concentrated into the St Symphorien military cemetery, just southeast of Mons.[5] Coincidentally, this is also the final resting place of John Parr and George Edwin Ellison, respectively the first and last British soldiers killed during the Great War.[6]
In 1968, on the 50th anniversary of his death and the armistice surviving members of his company traveled to Ville-sur-Haine and a memorial plaque was placed onto a wall of a house near the location of his death. The inscription, in English and then in French, reads in English:
To the memory of 256265 Private George Lawrence Price, 28th North West Battalion, 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division, killed in action near this spot at 10.58 hours, November 11th, 1918, the last Canadian soldier to die on the Western Front in the First World War. Erected by his comrades, November 11th, 1968.
The house has since been torn down, but the plaque has been placed on a brick and stone monument near the site where the house originally stood, and thus still near the place where he fell.[1]
In 1991, the town of Ville-sur-Haine erected a new footbridge across the adjacent Canal du Centre, at. A plebiscite was held and on 11 November of that year the bridge was officially named the George Price Footbridge (French: Passerelle George Price).[7]
In 2016, Price's medal set and the memorial plaque were donated to the Canadian War Museum.[8][9]A divided State Board of Education has fired the first official shot in Colorado’s 2015 testing wars, but it remains to be seen if that action is a live round or a dud.
The board Thursday voted 4-3 to allow school districts to seek waivers from administering the first part of PARCC tests in language arts and math, scheduled to be given in March.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Tony Dyl told the board it doesn’t have the authority to do that, and Education Commissioner Robert Hammond said he wouldn’t grant such waivers unless told he could do so by the attorney general’s office.
“Should this motion pass it probably wouldn’t have legal effect,” Dyl told the board before the vote. “This is a part of the law you do not have the power to waive.”
Hammond told the board, “If you pass this motion I will not implement it until I get guidance from the attorney general’s office. … It could have widespread implications on schools.”
The motion was made by Steve Durham, a new Republican board member from Colorado Springs, and seconded by Deb Scheffel, a Republican member from Douglas County, Also voting for it were new Democratic member Valentina Flores from Denver and Republican Pam Mazanec from Douglas County.
“If the commissioner elects not to grant those [waivers] that’s up to him,” Durham said. “I believe a much fuller legal analysis is required, and I fully intend to meet with the attorney general.” Interviewed after the meeting, Durham said, “I hope someone makes a waiver request and moves it forward. … Should the commissioner decide he does not want to grant a waiver, then someone who applies for a waiver and is not granted one can litigate the question.”
Rise & Shine Colorado Get Colorado’s most important education stories delivered to your inbox daily Subscribe “Chalkbeat is my go-to education news source. Typically, Chalkbeat is the place to find out about district news before you hear about it anywhere else.” — Amy M.
Voting no were chair Marcia Neal, a Republican from Grand Junction, and Democrats Angelika Schroeder of Boulder and Jane Goff of Arvada.
“If we pass this motion it will cause chaos in the state and in the districts,” Neal said. “This is a terrible motion. We need to defeat it and then we need to work to get this state out of PARCC.”
Neal also said, “I would get out of PARCC if I could. We don’t have that ability with the legislation that’s in place.”
The issue wasn’t on the board’s agenda and was brought up suddenly by Durham, a veteran lobbyist and former Republican legislator who recently was appointed to fill a board vacancy.
Durham said after the meeting that he tried to get the issue on the board’s agenda but wasn’t able to. Referring to his legislative skills, Durham said he tried to “shoehorn” the motion into an appropriate part of the meeting. The board was being briefed on school finance when Durham asked about the cost of testing and then brought up the motion.
The language arts and match PARCC tests are scheduled to be given in two parts, one in March and another at the end of the school year.
Durham argued that districts should be able to give only the end-of-year tests if they choose.
Department of Education staff told the board the two parts can’t be separated. “These are are not two tests. There are two components to the test,” said Department of Education testing chief Joyce Zurkowski, who hustled from her office to the boardroom after the discussion started.
Durham’s comment was “Somehow we walked ourselves … into a two-part test that we’re really not obligated to have.”
Testing is expected to be hot issue during the new legislative session, but many lawmakers are awaiting the report of the advisory Standards and Assessments Task Force, which is due by Jan. 31. (The divided group meets again Friday.)
Durham sounded dismissive of the group, saying, “I suspect the results are going to be tainted by the conflicts of interest or perceived conflicts of interest of those serving.”
Durham said he’d been working on the motion for a few days and that it had been suggested to him by someone whom he wouldn’t identify.
Near the end of the meeting, Durham raised the issue of the Common Core State Standards, indicating he’d like Colorado to get out of them and saying, “One of the things I’d like to see from the commissioner is a series of recommendations that would end in this result.”
“To get out of Common Core does take legislative action,” Hammond said.
Other board members balked a bit at Durham’s suggestion, and everyone seemed to agree to take the issue up as a formal agenda item in February.
Last spring the board (with a slightly different membership) voted 4-3 for a resolution asking the legislature to withdraw Colorado from the PARCC testing group (see this story). Lawmakers took no action.
In November the board issued a unanimous letter suggesting that the amount of state testing be reduced (see story).
Reaction measured on board action
The board’s decision, first reported by Chalkbeat Colorado, spread quickly among lobbyists and lawmakers at the Capitol.
Senate Education Committee Chair Owen Hill said, “The people elect the State board and give it authority over the commissioner. I’m confident the commissioner will do everything in his legal power to do the wishes of his boss, the State Board.”
Hill, a Colorado Springs Republican, said the board vote “obviously will shape this discussion” but that he remains committed to holding off on consideration of testing bills until after the task force makes its report. “We’re going to honor that process.”
Hill also said he’s invited Hammond to meet with Senate Education to discuss the issue of testing waivers.
Sen. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, would only say, “I really hope the State Board understands its authority in making or not making policy.” Kerr is the senior Democrat on Senate Education Committee.
Jane Urschel, top lobbyist for the Colorado Association of School Boards, sat in on part of the board’s discussion. “This is not really a surprise, but will this action truncate the legislative process, where we will have public deliberation on this important and emotional issue?” she wondered.The following are the best books on the planet in each of several genres.
Fantasy/Science Fiction:
1 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy/The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – Tolkien is a master storyteller and world builder. Highly recommended
2 A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Martin has created a gritty and incredibly detailed world with great plot lines, incredible action and intense political intrigue.
3 The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This was a great book with a wonderful story and a really unique perspective on magic. I loved it, though I have yet to read the sequels – The Wise Man’s Fear and The Slow Regard of Silent Things.
4 Dune by Frank Herbert. A classic story of politics, intrigue, adventure, and giant spice worms in an incredible intergalactic universe. This should have been a better movie though I have read it was a basis for George Lucas in the making of Star Wars.
5 Ilium & Olympos by Dan Simmons. A great retelling of the ancient civilizations of Troy and Greece with a couple of major sci-fi additions. I loved it and highly recommend it.
Fiction
1 Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Absolutely magnificent tale of the wild west and how wild it was.
2 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Wonderful tale of escape, treasure and revenge. Way better than the movie.
3 Gates of Fire (or any of the ancient world books) by Steven Pressfield. If you want an authentic look at ancient warfare and the brotherhood of soldiers, this will not disappoint.
4 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Extremely prescient and ironically relevant. We are destroyed by our entertainment. What could be a better commentary on 21st Century America?
5 The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Could have been under Fantasy, but since I didn’t include it there, I had to put it here. Classic tale.
Philosophy
1 Plato’s Complete Works by Plato. An absolute must read for readers interested in philosophy. So much wisdom and insight for the ancient philosopher that when you look at what he was thinking so long ago you might realize how much farther we all have to go.
2 Rhetoric by Aristotle. It is questionable to have Aristotle here at number two when he could easily take the first spot in this category, but the examination of rhetoric as the best available means of persuasion in any given circumstance should help us to understand how brands, politicians, advertisers, and even our friends and loved ones try to persuade us to do what they want.
3 Being and Time by Martin Heidegger. This work represents a major turn in the history of philosophy with a phenomenological investigation into the nature of Being itself. Though he was sympathetic to the Nazi cause (and that has been a problem for students of philosophy interested in his thought), his illumination of Dasein (the Being of human beings) is original and insightful. Word of caution – this is extremely dense and difficult to read.
4 Works of Isocrates. This may be debated but Isocrates gives a perspective on virtue and reflects my admiration for the rhetorical component in philosophical thought. (For a greater introduction to rhetoric see Aristotle and I discuss some aspects of it in this podcast and in this blog post).
5 Pensees by Blaise Pascal. I read this when I was in my early twenties and it so impacted me, particularly his discussion of distraction and the nature of the human being I’ve been back through it multiple times since and each time it still engages my thoughts and captures my interest.
Non-Fiction
There’s too much here and I will put up another post with some smaller categories but for the time being, here are my top 5 focused around media and culture:
1 Technopoly by Neil Postman. So prescient and insightful that you read it and see what we have become. I bought this book used on Amazon five years ago and happened to get a copy autographed by Neil himself (thought it was written to someone else) so I call that a bonus!
2 Alone Together by Sherry Turkle. Take a look at what is happening to us in our social interactions due to the monopolization of digital technologies. Turkle gives a warning that we must heed.
3 The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. Another excellent examination of how the internet is literally re-wiring our brains.
4 Black Ops Advertising by Mara Einstein. If you want to learn how digital marketing in the social media space works and how the internet giants are manipulating us by using our trust in our friends against us, this one is for you. Warning: You may never look at social media and blogs the same – this one included 😉
5 Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan. This is the one that started it all – “the medium is the message.” How simple, yet profound. It began a discussion of how our media extend our senses and reshape our entire being.
This is an incomplete list but it certainly represents some of the work that has deeply affected my own personal thinking and I believe will give you some incredible insight as well.The average Chinese read 7.86 books last year, including 4.65 printed books and 3.21 eBooks, according to an annual poll released by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication on Tuesday.
Students from a primary school in An County in southeast China's Jiangxi Province hold books donated to them by China's Publishers Association on April 14, 2017.[Photo: people.com.cn]
79.9% of China's population was identified as readers in 2016, which remained fairly similar compared to the 79.6% from the previous year, the 14th National Reading Survey shows.
The poll shows that the Chinese still preferred printed books to eBooks, as 51.6 % of the surveyed said they preferred to "hold a printed book" in their hands, while 33.8 % said they liked reading via mobile phones better. 9.8 % said they preferred to read online, and 3.8 % said they loved reading via e-book readers.
[Photo: China Plus]
Xu Shengguo, Director of China Academy of Press and Publication Research Institute, said going back to hard-copy books is a worldwide trend, which has appeared in countries such as the U.S., the UK and France.
"Although digital reading is quick and convenient, it's only suitable for fragmented reading practices, while reading hard-copy books are conducive to in-depth reading," Xu said.
68.2 % of the surveyed said they had read on digital devices (including online, mobile phones and electronic readers) last year, up 4.2 % from the figure of 2015.
[Photo: China Plus]
66.1 % read on mobile phones last year, a sharp increase of 6.1 % compared to 2015. The figure has been growing for eight consecutive years.
7.8 % said they read on an e-book reader, and 10.6 % said they had read on an iPad.
62.4 % of the adults surveyed said they read through WeChat, a popular Chinese messaging app, in 2016, a 10.5-percentage-point rise compared to the year earlier.
[Photo: China Plus]
The annual survey was conducted nationwide, covering a sample size of 22,415 people from 52 cities.
Globally, French people read 15 books a year on average in 2013, according to figures released by the Paris Book Fair. Their U.S. counterparts read 12 books a year on average, according to pewinternet.org.FLINT, MI --A Flint man charged with killing a man in a party store parking lot had his charges dismissed this week after prosecutors realized he had an ironclad alibi.
He was already in jail at the time of the slaying.
An arrest warrant that had been issued June 2 in last month's slaying of Gregory Hodo was withdrawn Friday, June 6, after it was discovered the suspect, Dontavus D. Allen, has been in the Genesee County Jail since March 14 -- more than two months before the shooting.
Hodo was pronounced dead after police found him in the parking lot of the Shop-n-Go on the 1500 block of West Pierson Road after he had been shot.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Flint police came to an assistant prosecutor in his office with information that a witness identified Allen as being involved with the killing. Based upon that identification, Leyton said his office felt they had probable cause to obtain the warrant.
However, Leyton said the officer in charge of the case contacted his office Thursday, June 5, to inform him that Allen was in jail.
"As soon as we were given the information we did the right thing," Leyton said of the dismissal, adding that situations like this are rare.
Genesee Circuit Court records show that Allen was sentenced in April by Genesee Circuit Judge Joseph J. Farah to a year in jail after he violated his probation from a 2013 charge of larceny in a building.
Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell confirmed Thursday, June 5, that Allen was still in the county jail and that he has been there since March 14.
Allen faced charges of first-degree murder and gang membership that could have forced him to serve life in prison without parole if convicted.
Flint police Chief James Tolbert could not be reached for comment.
Two other people are still facing charges in connection to Hodo's death.
Flint police announced during a June 2 press conference that brothers Keonte and Marquel Sadler have also been charged in the killing. The brothers both face first-degree murder, gang and gun charges.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering up to a $10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of Keonte Sadler.
Neither Sadler is currently in custody, according to police.
Anyone with information is asked to call Flint police at 810-237-6801 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.Hourly Aurora Forecast
Using real-time solar wind data from Nasa’s ACE spacecraft, matched with data obtained from a network of magnetometers located worldwide, we are able to forecast, with reasonable accuracy, how the Southern Lights will behave up to one hour in advance. The image shows estimated aurora activity now.
Image should be used as a guide only, it is based on predicted geomagnetic activity. Aurora Australis may or may not be visible.
Right now, the aurora is predicted to be:
What do Kp numbers mean?
System status: All Good.
3 day forecast
Here are the predicted Kp numbers for the next 3 days. They can change at any time due to solar events, so you should check them at least once a day.
Time now in UTC (Universal Time) is:
22:26 26/02/19
Feb 26 Feb 27 Feb 28
00-03UT 1 2 5 (G1)
03-06UT 0 1 4
06-09UT 0 1 4
09-12UT 2 2 3
12-15UT 1 3 3
15-18UT 2 3 4
18-21UT 3 4 3
21-00UT 3 5 (G1) 3
Why do we use UTC?
UTC (Universal Time) is used in science, weather, aviation, military and many other fields. It eliminates confusion with multiple time zones and daylight saving. For more information on UTC click here
Solar Wind Gauges
These gauges are our own system, they are updated every 60 seconds directly from Nasa’s ACE spacecraft data. The data you see here is what the ACE spacecraft monitored only moments ago. It is the very latest live solar wind data available. These 3 components are the most important components of the solar wind (that we as aurora watchers are interested in). You can view all the components of the solar wind on our other solar wind tool here.
Guages are updated every minute live (without the need for page refresh).
How to interpret the gauge activity
Real time solar wind tool
click to launch
Aurora Ovation Oval
(short term prediction)
GOES Magnetometer
The ACE spacecraft has been superseded by DSCOVR (data below).
ACE is still operational however, so now we have two sources of solar wind data.
Data from DSCOVR: Deep Space Climate Observatory – courtesy of SWPC.
ACE Real Time Solar Wind MAG & SWEPAM data
ACE Real Time Solar Wind EPAM (Low Energy Electrons & Protons) data
Magnetometer located in Hobart, Tasmania
Magnetometer located in Launceston, Tasmania
K index for Hobart, Tasmania
K index for Launceston, Tasmania
Why do we use Hobart data?
When chasing auroras you always want to check the geophysical data for a place slightly further south of where you are. The southern lights start at around 100km high up in the atmosphere, so from a flat point on the earth (a beach, or field for example), you can see this aurora activity even if you are many hundreds of kilometres north of it. Think of it along the lines of standing on a hill you can see much further to the horizon than when stood in a flat field. Imagine standing on a mountain 100km high how far you could see? It also works in the reverse. If there is strong aurora australis activity over the Southern Ocean, many hundreds of km away from Australasian landmass, you can often still see it from the shore. For this reason, we choose to use Hobart’s geophysical data sources as they are the first indications of any strong aurora activity. So even if you are on the south coast of mainland Australia and a magnetometer local to you is registering very little activity, if Hobart’s magnetometer is going crazy, then head out and look to the southern horizon and you might just get lucky! Clear skies and good hunting.
What Kp strength do you need to view aurora where you are?SEOUL, Feb. 16, 2015 ― LG Electronics (LG) will unveil its first all-metal luxury Android Wear device, LG Watch Urbane, at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015. As its name suggests, the smartwatch is designed for a sophisticated and cosmopolitan wearer that delivers unparalleled technology and performance. LG Watch Urbane is the perfect device for wearers looking to add both style and high-tech flare to their everyday lives.
The LG Watch Urbane follows closely in the footsteps of the LG Watch R, the first smartwatch with a full circular Plastic OLED (P-OLED) display, which LG launched in October 2014. While the LG Watch R was designed with the active user in mind, the LG Watch Urbane is more formal with a thinner profile making it perfect for either men or women. Resembling a luxury timepiece, LG combined a classic design and innovative features to add style and convenience to everyday life while raising the already high standards set by its predecessor.
The LG Watch Urbane is crafted around the same 1.3-inch full circle P-OLED display as the LG Watch R but features a narrower bezel that gives it sleeker lines. The LG Watch Urbane has all of the hallmarks of a fine watch, making it the perfect fashion accessory. Its stainless steel body is available in polished silver and gold finish and is complemented by a beautifully stitched natural leather strap for a more classic look. The strap can be replaced with any 22mm wide band to suit the occasion or the wearer’s mood. Powering all of this is an intuitive touch-based user interface that makes the LG Watch Urbane compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 and above.
Like the G Watch R, LG’s latest Android Wear device includes a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that can measure a wearer’s heart rate and average pulse during exercise. Always-On ambient mode shows the time on the display at all times in dimmed mode, saving battery life.
“The LG Watch Urbane’s classic design and smart features make it the perfect smartwatch to complement our G Watch and G Watch R, which were designed as more casual and active devices,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “LG Watch Urbane is an important part of our strategy to develop wearable devices that are worn and viewed as everyday accessories, not electronic gadgets.”
Additional details including price will be announced in local markets at the time of availability.
Key Specifications:
Chipset: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 400
Operating System: Android Wear™
Display: 1.3-inch P-OLED Display (320 x 320, 245ppi)
Size: 45.5 x 52.2 x 10.9mm
Memory: 4GB eMMC / 512MB LPDDR2
Battery: 410mAh
Sensors: 9-Axis (Gyro / Accelerometer / Compass) / Barometer / PPG (Heart Rate Sensor)
Colors: Gold / Silver
Other: Dust and Water Resistant (IP67)
# # #Backcountry snowboarding is an expensive sport to take on. You can always go somewhere with car shuttle access like Loveland Pass here in Colorado, or you can trudge your way up in a pair of snowshoes with your board on your back. What I wanted to know was can you start from your resort gear and get out splitboarding on new gear for around $1000?
I suggest renting or borrowing a split set up before plunking down cash for a brand new set up. If you can, scour the local used market for deals. I see people selling whole kits for $500 regularly on craigslist and facebook marketplace, but if the used market is non existent in your area, then maybe buying new is your only option.
This is going to make several assumptions.
First, you have to have some existing snowboarding gear to build off from. Boots, bindings, and clothes. You can use your existing gear to get started, and build a more splitboard specific gear horde once you get into it. Check out my gear list to get an idea of what I use and see what you have that might be similar.
Second, this does not include the price of an Avy 1 course. The price varies so much regionally, so I can’t make that part of this guide. It is something you should budget for though. If anything, you should do your avy course on snowshoes so you’re not fussing with your splitboard. Every avy course has a few newbies without a clue how their brand new splitboard operates, and I think they miss out on learning what they came to learn, and have to have the guides teach them how the climbing skins work. Just make it easy on yourself when learning skills that will save your life!
Avalanche Safety Gear
We are going to start here, because it’s the most important. You can either buy your beacon, shovel and probe seperate, or as a package. I would approach it like this: find the beacon you want, then if it comes in a package get that, otherwise buy it separate. I am going to recommend two different beacons.
Peips DSP Sport
BCA Tracker 2
Those are both very good, mid range beacons, that review well. I use the Peips, and I think it is a very solid and reliable piece of equipment. The BCA is good as well, and can be found in a package deal with shovel and probe for $380. They do go on sale too, so keep watch early and late season for good deals.
If you are looking at other beacons, you need a beacon with three antennae. Dont skimp.
A Note On Used Beacons: If you know what you are doing, and have another beacon you can check to make sure everything works with the used beacon, then by all means get a used one. Just remember this is something that can potentially save your life, or your partner’s life. Saving a few bucks is just stupid in the grand scheme of things. Your life is valuable. Plunk down for a new one and you’ll get years of use out of it. Unless you absolutely know what you are looking for, do not buy used. Some sellers might pass on a bad or outdated beacon. Be aware!
If you don’t get a package deal on the beacon, you might be able to find a used shovel or probe in the usual used gear haunts. If not, Voile makes some nice stuff that is pretty affordable. The probe should be at least 280cm, the shovel must be metal, and ideally telescopes to make it a bit longer so its easier to dig with.
Total Price: $380 – $450
Bindings
We can’t afford a split specific binding without breaking the budget, as nice as they are, so we get to repurpose our normal resort bindings for use on our splitboard. The Voile Splitboard Hardware Kit comes with pucks, climbing wires, and plates so we can use any binding on any splitboard. You can also get the DIY kit if you want the choice to do DIY or not, though go down that route only if you really like DIY projects.
One thing I can recommend is that if you can afford to drop a little more, instead of the Voile kit, go for a split specific binding like the Spark Arc, which is a fantastic upgrade over plate bindings. Be ready for about $400 if you go split specific, but you’ll end up there one day anyways if you get into the sport.
Total Price: $160. Troll ebay for a while and see if you can find some used ones from an upgrader.
Splitboard
DIY is the obvious budget choice, but unless you like fiddling, go for a factory split. You have a few choices here. Buying out of season will save you serious money, though with less choice. If you just have to have it now during peak buying time, here are three options I like at the $500 price point:
Voile Spartan $550
Prowder ATK $530
Nitro Nomad $500
The Voile and Nitro are both pretty basic camber and flat camber boards respectively that are nothing special, but are reasonably priced and will get you out there. Prowder is a pretty interesting company. He is based up in Evergreen, CO, and makes his own boards and sells them for pretty reasonable prices. The ATK have some rocker and camber in it, which I personally like in my Never Summer Prospector. Rocker in powder is tremendously fun, though there are touring issues if the rocker is too pronounced. I have yet to ride one, but it makes my list because at the price it’s pretty intriguing for what you get. They also review well on some forums. The Prowder comes in a smaller women’s version too, and the others do not, so for the ladies it is probably your only choice below $700 for a factory board.
A fourth choice is to pay for someone to split your board for you. Prowder does this too, and while the splitting part costs $60, you can pick and choose how fancy they will make it for you. You can get inner edges, touring inserts drilled, and a few other pretty cool things. I priced it out as being about $300 with everything done I would want. Give them a shout and see what they say for your solid board you might want to split. Google around in your area, you can probably find someone nearby that will do it for you if you’re crap with a saw like yours truly!
Total Price: $500-600 for a factory made board, much less DIY route.
Climbing Skins
Climbing Skins Direct sells splitboard skins for $120 dollars. Everything else when full price sits around $180, so this is the way to go.
Total Price: $120-180
Poles
You want three piece poles so they collapse down small enough to fit in a pack without jabbing into your head. The Black Diamond Expedition 3’s are the standard. Reliable and sturdy, I have had mine for seven seasons and have yet to get a reason to upgrade or replace. You might be able to find some collapsing poles at a big box store like walmart, but just make sure you can get powder baskets on them vs the small little baskets they probably come with. You will want those bigger baskets for skinning.
Total Price: $100
Conclusion
If you can’t borrow a friend’s or find something used, and don’t want to DIY, buying new is your only choice. I tallied up my picks and for about $1300 without taking advantage of sales, you can get out with a very competent setup. Being patient for |
quarry. Relying on a global network of powerful telescopes, they managed to capture a fast radio burst that is broadcasting from a dwarf galaxy some three billion light-years away.
The discovery—described in multiple papers in Nature and the Astrophysical Journal Letters—could have profound implications. It may provide astronomers with a new window into the early universe, while also offering vital clues to a mystery that continues to challenge our perceptions of the cosmos.
“There used to be an expression, ‘as unchanging as the heavens,’” says Shami Chatterjee, one of the astronomers who located the enigmatic burst. “But the heavens are changing very fast. The sky is just boiling and seething with these incredibly powerful events that we don't really understand.”
Counting Electric Sheep
Fast radio bursts were discovered in 2007, when an astrophysicist was studying archived data collected by the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. He noticed that, on August 24, 2001, the telescope had detected a strangely powerful eruption of energy that had lasted only five milliseconds.
Initially, astronomers were skeptical. “People said, ‘What if it's local interference, what if it's sheep running into electric fences?’” says Chatterjee.
Doubts continued to grow when astronomers at Parkes discovered that another series of similar signals had been produced by a microwave oven.
Later observations, however, proved that the phenomenon we now call fast radio bursts did indeed originate in space, and based on what we’ve seen so far, Chatterjee estimates that between 5,000 and 10,000 are flaring across the cosmos every day.
But even with this wealth of activity, nobody is sure what causes them.
“For the longest time, we had this situation where the theories about what caused fast radio bursts exceeded the number of bursts we had found, and that is still true today,” says Chatterjee.
Some speculate the bursts are the result of dense neutron stars—remnants of massive stars that have gone supernova—colliding with one another or with comets. Others say the radio signals could be flares released by fast-spinning, highly magnetic neutron stars called magnetars. Or, the bursts might be the death shrieks of stars collapsing into black holes.
And, as is the case with every enigmatic celestial event, some astronomers even speculated that fast radio bursts were being broadcast by aliens. One intriguing “proof” was a mathematical pattern a team claimed to have found in the bursts, but those patterns became increasingly hazy as astronomers gathered more data.
Ultimately, scientists hope that by finding the precise location of a fast radio burst, they’ll obtain valuable clues about its origins. If, for instance, they found one in an old galaxy filled with dead and dying stars, that would lend credence to the theory of colliding neutron stars.
View Images The search for FRB 121102 was conducted across the world, utilizing the Very Large Array radio observatory in New Mexico and a powerful network of European radio telescopes. Illustration by Danielle Futselaar
But the bursts have been incredibly difficult to pinpoint, in part because fast radio bursts are, well, fast. Although they’re erupting all over the place, radio telescopes need to be pointed in the right place at precisely the right moment to detect them. What’s more, images captured by a single radio telescope will not offer much detail. For that, astronomers need a group of antennas working together—and a lot of computing power to process the data.
“We do not have eyes on the sky in the way people imagine,” says Chatterjee. “We’re actively monitoring only a tiny, tiny fraction of the sky at any given time.”
Luckily, Chatterjee and his colleagues made a discovery two years ago that changed everything: A new object, called FRB 121102, was repeatedly broadcasting signals.
Can You Hear Me Now?
The discovery of a fast radio burst that produces multiple flashes of radio waves had two important implications. First, this burst wasn’t being caused by a cataclysmic event.
“We knew that it has to be some mechanism that is capable of repetition,” says Chatterjee. “It can't be neutron stars crashing into each other and destroying themselves or something like that.”
And although FRB 121102 wasn’t erupting according to any predictable pattern, the astronomers knew that the radio bursts eventually would occur again in the same region of the sky, providing them the unique opportunity to observe it in action with much higher-resolution telescopes.
Chatterjee and his team used all 27 of the 82-foot-wide dishes at the Very Large Array radio observatory in New Mexico. During some 83 hours of observations that took place over a period of six months, the astronomers obtained images of nine bursts from FRB 121102, allowing them to pinpoint its location.
The next step was to point the powerful Gemini optical telescope at FRB 121102. The astronomers found a dwarf galaxy at the site of the radio burst, which they calculated lies three billion light-years away from Earth. And the observations didn’t end there. The team then took another look at FRB 121102 using a powerful network of European radio telescopes, hoping to obtain an even higher-resolution image.
And that’s when they got extremely lucky. During their observations, FRB 121102 inexplicably “went into hyperdrive,” says Chatterjee.
“This repeating fast radio burst was not a very frequent repeater,” he says. But, as if on cue, FRB 121102 began pulsing, on average, once an hour around the time observations began.
The resulting images revealed that the fast radio burst was emanating from near the center of the dwarf galaxy, which appears to be occupied by a supermassive black hole.
View Images A powerful optical telescope confirmed that a distant galaxy was the source of the faint radio burst. Astronomers still don't know why we can't find these signals in our own galaxy. Photograph by Gemini Observatory/AURA/NRC
The Unusual Suspects
The discovery that FRB 121102 is hovering near the outskirts of a huge black hole offers new clues about what is causing these radio wave bursts.
One possibility is that the black hole itself is the source. The extreme gravity in its vicinity creates powerful jets of matter traveling at nearly the speed of light. Blobs of ionized gas known as plasma might occasionally drip into these jets, vaporizing in a flash of energy.
Another theory is that the fast radio burst is the gaseous remnant of a supernova with a highly energetic magnetar at its core. Blobs of plasma inside the gassy remnant might occasionally align in such a way that they create an electromagnetic lens that further intensifies the magnetar’s radio wave emissions.
A third possibility is that an object such as a neutron star or magnetar is orbiting the galaxy’s supermassive black hole, creating an unknown type of interaction that is releasing the energy.
“The honest answer is that we don't know, but those are the three classes of models that we have right now that could be viable,” says Chatterjee.
That answer might come into sharper focus as the astronomers continue their research, gathering data on other fast radio bursts to see if their locations share common characteristics. Do they all reside in dwarf galaxies? Are they consistently found on the outskirts of black holes?
Chatterjee doesn’t rule out the possibility that there are multiple phenomena responsible for these radio bursts. In fact, because FRB 121102 is a repeater, it could be an entirely different type of cosmic event than standard fast radio bursts, which flare up only once and are never heard from again.
But if all such bursts do indeed come from distant galaxies, astronomers are confronted with yet another mystery: Why haven’t we detected them in our own galaxy?
Recall that FRB 121102 is located three billion light-years away, which means that we are observing a phenomenon that occurred three billion years ago.
“One possibility is that it has something to do with the evolution of the universe,” says Chatterjee. “It’s something that happened three billion years in the past, when the universe was slightly different than it is today. That's weird. It was going on three billion years ago, but not three million years ago?”
Another theory is that there are bursts going off nearby, but they’re so intense that they saturate telescopes, and astronomers dismiss them as interference from the persistent radio noise produced by cell phones, microwaves, satellites, and radar.The Transition Initiative, fundamentally, is all about food. It’s also about more than that, but food quickly excites people when it’s withdrawn. Cheap energy has allowed our society to cut a lot of corners in the farm-to-market business, and now we’ve come to expect cheap and abundant food as an entitlement.
So the question has to be asked: will groceries remain plentiful on store shelves in coming years, and if yes at what cost?
This is not a far-fetched speculation. There have been numerous food-shortage riots around the world recently in places with previously ample foodstuffs. And if it can happen there, the possibility exists that it could happen here too.
Oil is fundamental to our times. Like any commodity if it’s in short supply its price will increase. And high-priced oil means food will also get more expensive since petroleum is used to A) plant and grow food, and B) transport food to market (over possibly thousands of miles). This is where Peak Oil and Climate Change, combined, force us to re-examine our modern world.
The Peak Oil premise recognizes that we are not close to running out of oil. However, we are close to running out of easy-to-get, cheap oil. Very close. It might have happened last year or it might be 5-6 years away, but it will arrive. It means we have already used up half of our planet’s petroleum inheritance. From now on new discoveries will not compensate for declining production along with increasing demand. Earth is about to enter Petroleum Descent – the era when, year after year, oil availability decreases. Mind you, other energy sources still exist (e.g. coal, natural gas) but either they lack the convenience and flexibility of oil, or they are difficult to transport internationally (and their peaks are only about a decade behind oil).
Climate change is fact. It will bring us great misery if fossil fuel use continues unabated. Perhaps a better name for the phenomena unfolding around us is climate chaos, because “a climate” (as we define it) will no longer exist.
The Transition Initiative is a proactive, forward thinking response to these realities. It is a set of steps that individuals, groups, towns, cities can take in preparation for the double-barrelled impact of Peak Oil and Climate Change. At its heart it is a process of re-localizing all the essential inputs that a community needs in order to function. For example, growing food locally because long-distance transportation costs will become prohibitive. As well, growers will need to adopt alternative farming methods because intensive, petroleum-based methods will be too expensive.
A precedent for this kind of transition exists: Cuba. After the Soviet Union fell in 1989 Cuba’s oil imports fell dramatically. Since the American embargo remained in place, Cuba had no choice but to rely on local solutions in order to survive. Its government recognized that industrial agriculture was no longer viable with severely limited fossil fuels, so their food production system was re-designed along organic lines, using permaculture techniques.
Farmer’s salaries were increased to match that of engineers. Urban farms and gardens were encouraged. Many other innovations occurred. But the bottom line is that no one starved and after 10 years Cuba was mostly self-sufficient in food. 80% of the food grown on the island came from farms that happened to be organic (because that was the cheapest way). Its people were healthy.
The Cuba example is but one case study of re-localization. The point of the example is to illustrate the Transition goal of increasing resilience, so society can accommodate and adapt to the changes ahead, while preserving a livable environment. Yet how to achieve this resilience? The list below represents some candidate ideas for resilience-building. They probably won’t all happen in every community, but certainly some should happen everywhere.
Electricity from renewable energies (and maybe from nuclear during early years)
Significant power-down (energy conservation)
Highly energy-efficient housing
Local, sustainable agriculture (“permaculture”)
Urban community gardens and backyard gardens
Community/group problem-solving (learn to help each other for times of need)
Well-integrated public transportation
Efficient personal and/or goods transport (bikes, small electric vehicles)
Use of local materials
Local manufacturing for many (but probably not all) goods
Maybe even local currencies (for preserving some capital within the community)
Of course we could just try to maintain our society as we’ve come to know it, in spite of the accumulating harm. One way is to keep doing what we’re doing now (“business as usual”), which will burn through every last ounce of fossil fuel we can extract from the ground, and leading to a thoroughly wretched, despoiled planet and quite probably the loss of our global civilization. Another approach could be a high-tech solution providing abundant clean energy (eg orbiting solar power satellites). That may be feasible given a half-century or more of lead-time (and plenty of capital), but it won’t arrive soon enough to solve our immediate problems.
So the only way through this maze of seemingly endless, imminent crises seems to be to quickly transition society away from its high-power, high-consumption lifestyle toward a lower-powered, localized future. A future with less oil and less energy can be as satisfying as what we have now – IF we consciously design it to be that way.
To wrap up, here is a brief summary of Transition philosophy:
Life with less access to cheap energy is probably inevitable, and it’s better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.
Climate change is real, it’s dangerous, and it’s accelerating.
Most of the modern world has lost the flexibility to cope with “shocks”. Our communities need more resilience – lifestyles that can adjust and adapt to rapid change without “snapping”.
Communities must look out for themselves because no one else cares, and they have to act now.
As an individual, try to purchase fewer goods, but when you must: buy local. Learn to grow some of your own food. Accustom yourself to a lower-energy lifestyle. Generate some of your own energy. And respect the web of planetary interdependencies of which we are all a part.
Robert Haw
Robert Haw is an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is deeply concerned with the consequences of anthropogenic climate change and is active in bringing this awareness to the public.Once a champion, then written off, John Terry has worked his way back to the pinnacle of English football. These are the top 10 moments that got him there...
10. The new contract
It might seem a bit odd to put what is essentially an administrative procedure in a list of on-pitch achievements, but Terry's new contract, awarded to him at the end of last season, was an indication that as his years advanced, his importance to Chelsea grew, rather than faded. It was particularly noteworthy given the two men whose deals were allowed to run their course and leave on free transfers: Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard departing for Roma and Manchester City/New York/the ephemeral entity that owns both clubs, respectively.
While it was quietly recognised the influence that Cole (a couple of weeks younger than Terry) and Lampard (18 months older) had was fading and replaceable, Chelsea and Jose Mourinho clearly thought Terry's wasn't, and going on his performances this season, they were right.
9. The Burnley middle finger
This is cheating slightly as the game took place some time ago, but in many ways his performance against Burnley in January 2010 summed Terry up entirely. This was the first game since allegations (denied by all involved) about him and Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel had dominated the press, something that the opposition crowd obviously spent a good slice of time reminding him of.
In response, Terry provided a faultless performance and scored a late winner, which was basically the football equivalent of him raising a middle finger high and proud, and inviting all those cat-callers to swivel. This was Terry reacting to a problem (almost entirely brought about by himself) by playing football brilliantly, and causing an entire country to darkly mutter "... yeah, he is bloody good though."
8. The fifth FA Cup
John Terry, being the most English man in the world, loves the FA Cup. "I've grown up with watching it on TV, it means the world to me," he said earlier this year, before Chelsea were knocked out by Bradford. "I know it means the world to the supporters... when you get there, there's none bigger to play in at Wembley -- one of the best stadiums in the world, in front of you supporters and on a great pitch as well."
You can probably surmise from those words that winning the FA Cup means a fair amount to Terry, so winning the thing five times, as Terry has done, means plenty too. One would imagine it means that little bit more that he has been captain for all five, meaning he has lifted the FA Cup more times than any other skipper in the competition's history.
Winning the FA Cup is a dream for any footballer, but one gets the sense that John Terry particularly enjoys it.
7. The 39th goal
Defenders generally get their goals through three main sources: free kicks, penalties and headers from set pieces. If you're a full-back or a particularly adventurous centre-back you'll pick up a few more from some rampaging forward runs, but in general your opportunities for glory are relatively limited. Terry doesn't take penalties or free kicks, and is not usually one for a David Luiz-esque foray into opposition territory, so his feat of becoming the Premier League's top-scoring defender becomes even more impressive.
Against Liverpool last week Terry netted his 39th Premier League goal, edging him ahead of David Unsworth, who you'll remember chalked up a good few of his strikes from 12 yards, and Ian Harte in third place, who had a wicked left foot with which to curl in free kicks in his arsenal too. It will no doubt have amused Chelsea fans further that Terry now has five goals, more than any Liverpool striker this season, who have just eight between them.
6. The 500th game as captain
Captaincy shouldn't matter in football. It's a largely ceremonial role that has no strategic or tangible purpose, and after all any player should be able to "lead," by example or just shouting a lot. Of course, it does matter to footballers, even if it doesn't to the rest of us -- one only has to see the way people take leave of their senses when debating who should have the armband for England, something that was taken away from Terry twice, once after relatively insignificant stories about his personal life and once before he was banned by the FA (but found not guilty in court) for racial abuse against Anton Ferdinand.
In a game against Crystal Palace earlier this season, Terry captained Chelsea for the 500th time, having long since passed the previous record for skippering Chelsea, held by Ron Harris, who led them 324 times. And you know he thought it was special, for he wrote a message on a T-shirt under his Chelsea jersey celebrating the achievement. The ultimate sign of recognition by a footballer.
5. The PFA Team of the Year, aged 34
Likewise, footballers will usually tell you that individual awards don't matter, but rather that the success of the team is key. Of course, in the next breath they may well explain that if they're going to have an award, then it's best if it comes from their fellow professionals. The individual trinkets seemed to have dried up for Terry after around 2009, when he was last named in the FIFPro World XI, but this season he was voted in the PFA Team of the Year for the fourth time (the previous three were all a decade ago), with several touting him for the main award, eventually given to Eden Hazard. For a player many thought over the hill (more on that later), that's pretty impressive.
4. The Napoli performance
Terry wasn't supposed to be fit for the second leg of Chelsea's 2011-12 Champions League last-16 tie against Napoli. He suffered a knee injury that required surgery three weeks before the first leg, which Chelsea lost 3-1 without him, but was back in time for the return at Stamford Bridge, in which he was superb at the heart of their defence and scored the second goal as the tie went to extra time. He finally succumbed to his knee in the additional half hour, but it felt like a sort of cartoon Terry performance, playing against all medical advice and sense, forever skirting that thin line between bravery and stupidity.
"This is one of the very best nights for us," said Terry after the game. "The lads put in a great display -- really solid, really resilient -- with real firepower when we went forward. It was really impressive watching the lads fight to the end. We proved we're a team tonight." A cartoon Terry reaction, too. It's easy to make fun of, but it's no wonder Chelsea fans love him so much with an attitude like that.
There are few better working duos in world football than Jose Mourinho and John Terry.
3. The performance against Arsenal
Of course, we all know it's wise to take whatever Mourinho says with some caution, to say the least. However, it's difficult not to pay attention when he says something like this, about Terry's performance against Arsenal in April: "I told John Terry in the dressing room that he has produced some fantastic performances with me but this was his best... today everything was clean: giving cover, the defensive line, interceptions, reading the game so well, interceptions with a pass. The team were phenomenal, but John was one step ahead of every other player."
The whole debate about Mourinho being a boring manager, which of course has long become boring itself, misses the point about him; he's not boring, but he is adaptable, so in some cases the situation requires him to play in a manner not exactly suited to great aesthetics. And part of Mourinho's adaptability is recognising what his players are capable of; he would not have been able to, nor would he attempt to, play in such a manner if he didn't have someone like Terry, whom he could trust to defend like his life depended on it, in his side.
2. The reunion
You'd be hard-pressed to come up with a more perfect union of player and manager than Terry and Mourinho. Both are men who care little about what others say or think, both men would probably have "winners" pretty high in "words they'd use to describe themselves," and both are loved at their own clubs and pretty much despised everywhere else.
Mourinho and Terry have had success with others, but they are at their best when together -- Terry is certainly at his best when with Mourinho, the two periods he's played under the Portuguese being arguably the two best of his career. It would be a stretch to say that Mourinho alone has completely revived Terry's career, but one doubts the defender would still, at 34, be regarded as the best centre-back in the Premier League under another manager.
1. The comeback
"One person said I couldn't play twice in a week. He knows who he is. I have proved him wrong as I'm still fighting, still in the side and feeling great." Terry doesn't really do "arch," but his words just after Chelsea's league title win was confirmed this year were near enough, the unmentioned character passive-aggressively referenced seemingly a former manager. It was almost as if Rafa Benitez felt he wasn't unpopular enough with Chelsea fans so he decided that, upon his appointment as their interim manager in 2012, he would try to make them hate him more by leaving Terry on the bench for much of his tenure.
In fairness, Terry's season had been disrupted by a knee injury, but Benitez selected him to start just 13 of the 31 games he was available for, and perhaps more tellingly they were largely all Europa League or "minor" Premier League games. Significantly, Terry was left on the bench against Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United (twice, once in the FA Cup), indicating that Benitez thought he was done, over the hill, finished. Of course he wasn't, and has missed just four league games in the last 70 since Jose Mourinho returned, and unless an ailment along the lines of losing a limb befalls him in the next few weeks, he'll play every minute of every Premier League game this season.
Nick Miller is a writer for ESPN FC, covering Premier League and European football. Follow him on Twitter @NickMiller79.Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, should resign as a result of the Brexit vote, the Czech foreign minister said on Sunday, as splits emerged over the future direction of Europe among the EU's remaining 27 members.
The EU chief, who has repeatedly called for “more Europe” to fix the continent's mounting crises, was a “negative symbol” of the kind of federalism that British voters rejected, said Lubomír Zaorálek, the Czech foreign minister.
"In my opinion, he [Juncker] is not the right person for that position. We have to ask who is responsible for the result of the referendum in Britain," said Mr Zaorálek on Czech television.
Smaller EU states fear that Britain’s departure could leave them at the mercy of new plans to deepen integration. As Brussels digests the loss of the world's fifth largest economy and the risk that populist parties across Europe will demand their own referendums on membership, officials from the other 27 states met in Brussels to assemble a united front at this week’s EU summit.
When this meeting begins on Wednesday, Britain's representatives will be pointedly left outside the room as “the 27” discuss a raft of measures, including deeper security and counter-terrorism cooperation, designed to demonstrate their “determination” to keep the EU together.
However, as the Czech Republic and other smaller members warned against “integration initiatives”, France and Germany were openly discussing plans for new EU security structures, now that Britain's objection to these steps has been removed.
The plans are likely to be seized on by anti-EU parties across the continent, with leaders from Austria’s far-Right Freedom Party yesterday warning that a centralisation agenda would inevitably lead to demands for more referendums.
"If a course is set within a year further towards centralisation instead of taking [the EU's] core values into account, then we must ask Austrians whether they want to be members,” said Norbert Hofer, the Freedom Party candidate who missed winning Austria’s presidency by less than one per cent last month.
At the same time, there is growing awareness that such grand projects are being rejected across Europe. In a bid to put a less intrusive face on the EU, mainstream French politicians have called for a scaling back of Mr Juncker’s “big Europe” agenda.
"We must put an end to this sad and finicky Europe,” said Manuel Valls, the French prime minister. “Too often it is intrusive on details and desperately absent on what's essential. We must break away from the dogma of ever more Europe.”
However, such calls for reform have not been able to conceal the deep divisions in the Europe over economic policy, with debt-ridden southern states, including Italy, clamouring for an end to German-backed austerity.
In a move that threatens to reopen tensions between Rome and Berlin, Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, pressed his demands for more budget flexibility to stimulate growth. “Austerity policies are clouding the horizon. They have turned the future into a threat. They have given fear a push,” Mr Renzi wrote in an Italian newspaper, arguing that Brexit had been born in part from a collapse in UK manufacturing.
"Without growth, there are no jobs. Without investment, there is no tomorrow. Without (budgetary) flexibility, there is no community,” he wrote. “Europe is not finished. It only needs to be liberated from resentment, bureaucracy and myopia."
Germany has indicated it will not allow Italy or France to use the Brexit vote to bounce them into a shift in economic policy, opting instead to focus on the far less contentious common security agenda.
Mr Renzi is due in Berlin today to discuss how the EU reacts to Brexit, putting on a united front with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, and President Francois Hollande of France over how to handle an orderly British exit.
EU officials said there was at least agreement among the 27 that Britain, in its current state of political crisis, was in no position to invoke Article 50 and trigger immediate exit negotiations. However, despite Mrs Merkel indicating there was no immediate hurry, diplomatic sources in Berlin and in Brussels stressed that this did not imply a “way out” for Britain, but for an orderly departure to begin, ideally before the end of the year.
“Politicians in London should take the time to reconsider the consequences of the Brexit decision,” said Peter Altmaier, the chief of staff to Mrs Merkel. "But by that I emphatically do not mean Brexit itself.”(Dreamstime image: Kati1313)
To persuade women not to have abortions, one must understand why they want them.
The front lines of the pro-life movement can be an eerily irrational place where the normal rules of logic and morality give way to emotion and fear. The recent decision by a post-abortive New Mexico woman to sue an abortion clinic for transferring (or selling) her aborted child’s remains for scientific research — an objection seemingly inconsistent with the woman’s earlier decision to abort — offers a timely example of this phenomenon. The news comes on the heels of the ongoing congressional investigation into the fetal-parts trade.
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The incongruity of the lawsuit demonstrates that abortion opponents must address the chaos and instability that often drive the abortion decision rather than just convince women that they’re killing a baby. It also underscores the need for clear moral education in our families and churches long before the crisis occurs.
The New Mexico woman, Jessica Duran, sued a prominent late-term-abortion clinic in Albuquerque last week for failing to tell her that the remains of her aborted fetus would be sent to the University of New Mexico to be used in scientific experimentation. Duran contends she was horrified to learn her child had been the subject of research. “To know my child was used as a science project, a child I loved and wanted, it’s devastating,” Duran said.
The logic of the lawsuit and the mother’s statement are baffling. As she is bringing an informed-consent case, Duran will have to prove that she never would have consented to the transfer or subsequent research and that she suffered severe emotional distress as a result of it. She says she loved and wanted the child. Yet she chose to take the child’s life. How could a mother who willingly chose to abort her child care so much what happened to his or her body after death? And how could a mother who understood that the child was a person and professed to have cared for the child have taken that child’s life? Some may ask whether she is just trying to make a quick buck through a lawsuit.
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But the same sort of off-kilter mindset exists away from the cameras and the courtrooms. At Human Coalition, almost all of our clients are women on the verge of choosing abortion, and we see this thinking on a daily basis. I recall a recent story from one of our care coordinators who was manning our mobile clinic outside an urban abortion clinic one Saturday morning. A young woman stopped by to see us on the way to her appointment for an abortion. Our ultrasound exam revealed that she had already experienced a miscarriage. The client wept.
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From time to time, our clients tell us that they think they’re doing the right thing for their children by seeking an abortion. They can foresee the challenges of their children’s lives, and they think it better to terminate the pregnancy than to bring the children into their own world of chaotic relationships and economic instability.
From time to time, our clients tell us that they think they’re doing the right thing for their children by seeking an abortion.
What our staff anecdotally reports after spending time listening to our clients is that these conflicted emotions often stem from the client’s desire to regain control over her life. Abortion allows clients to continue their attempts to overcome poverty (through either employment or education) and regain control over the trajectory of their lives. To an abortion-determined mother, our staff has observed, a miscarriage strips away a woman’s sense of control over the situation, her hard-wired mothering instinct then returns, and she mourns the loss of her child.
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Feeling out of control may also help to explain why adoption is not a more common choice for women experiencing a crisis pregnancy. For instance, in our clinics this year, we’ve counseled 2,080 clients seeking or considering abortion, but only 18 have chosen to place their children for adoption. With adoption, the mother brings her child into what she perceives to be a cruel and unforgiving world. She worries the child will be placed with an abusive family or lost to the foster-care system. She believes she will be constantly confronted with the trauma of losing her child. And she fears the thought of knowing that her child will be a stranger to her, preventing closure. Indeed, researchers have equated the position of birth mothers to that of the family members of servicemembers missing in action.
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If the desire to regain control underlies many abortion decisions, it makes sense that a mother who chose abortion would be upset that the remains of her child were used without her knowledge or permission for a stranger’s research.
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While some mothers may certainly contrive an explanation for their abortion to cover the fear and selfishness driving their choice, our experience suggests that the best way to save babies is not to emphasize the immorality of abortion and urge them to choose adoption instead. In fact, many of our clients acknowledge the sinfulness of the procedure they’re considering; yet the fear and desperation they experience often outweigh that moral sense. Thus, when counseling abortion-determined women, we’ve found it more effective to focus on hopefulness and stability and, where we can, to help bring calm and some measure of security. In this way, we can walk with women like Jessica Duran, offering the help and empowerment they need to regain control of their circumstances before a life-shattering abortion decision is made.
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#related#This observation doesn’t mean that moral engagement has no place in the discussion. It means that we must work harder to instill fundamental respect for human life before a woman ever finds herself faced with the choice between life or death for her child. The majority of women in America who seek abortion identify as Christian, and almost half of them attended church regularly at the time of their abortion. Yet, in spite of lifelong exposure to moral instruction, these women are still choosing abortion at rates comparable to non-believers. America’s churches, families, and other mediating institutions must solidify the conviction that all children should be afforded the basic human dignity of being protected in the womb. This conviction must be built over months and years of routine teaching and character formation — it’s not enough to wait until the moment of crisis. By then, it’s too late.Getty Images
The Buccaneers kicked off their season with a dismal 42-14 loss to the Titans on Sunday and one of the reasons why things went so poorly for them was the play of their offensive line.
The unit was an issue over the summer and didn’t look any better against the Tennessee defense, which explains why the team is bringing in some help from outside. Adam Caplan of ESPN and Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times both report that former Falcons center Joe Hawley will sign with the team on Monday.
Hawley visited with the Bucs last week and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is familiar with him as they were both in Atlanta at the same time. Hawley started 23 games during his time with the Falcons and made starts in the first four games of last season before a torn ACL knocked him out for the remainder of the season.
Evan Smith is Tampa’s starter at center and both he and Hawley can also play guard, which gives Tampa some options moving forward if their current starters don’t fix the issues that have been hindering them in 2015.Michael Heiman / Getty When you hear the word "Brooklyn," you probably think "hipster."
But you should really think "staggeringly unaffordable housing."
As New York magazine and Bloomberg report, the borough has become the least-affordable housing market, relative to income, in the US.
In Brooklyn "a resident would need to devote 98 percent of the median income to afford the payment on a median-priced home of $615,000," Bloomberg reports.
That's higher than between 2005 and 2008, at the height of the housing bubble.
The data comes from RealtyTrac, the real-estate-information company. San Francisco and Manhattan are the second- and third-least affordable, respectively, according to that data.
Brooklyn's wallet-destroying real-estate surge comes thanks to a few factors, but the biggest one is the saturation of Manhattan.
The world's super rich have started to use Manhattan as the new Swiss Bank Account. Since 2008, a reported 30% of condo sales in large Manhattan developments have come from overseas. This is pushing the slightly less super-rich to Brooklyn.
And they are ready to buy.
Shutterstock Ninety-eight townhouses in Brooklyn sold for over $3 million in 2014, most of which were in the swanky neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Park Slope, where a historic brownstone went for a record-breaking $10.78 million.
Other trickle-down effects are more socially devastating.
"What's a frustration for middle-class buyers amounts to a desperate crisis for poor renters," reports Andrew Rice in a New York magazine feature on gentrification in East New York.CAIRO — Martin Kobler, the United Nations envoy to Libya, used to regularly joke that the only functioning government in Libya was the Islamic State. Unlike the country’s other three governments, it not only held territory but ran the courts, provided services to the public and ensured security — however harsh its rule.
Fortunately, Mr. Kobler said recently, his joke is now out of date, with the Islamic State reduced to three neighborhoods in the coastal city of Surt, and its headquarters in the hands of militias supporting the new United Nations-backed government. “This is over now,” he said.
The problems of governing Libya, however, are far from over, particularly as its many remaining factions try to figure out what comes next at a potential second round of talks this month, presided over by the United Nations. Surt’s future will loom large in the discussions.
Ever since Libya’s longtime ruler, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, was deposed and killed in Surt in 2011, the country has been divided by tribal and militia rivalries. With a population slightly larger than that of Miami, Libya has no clear central government and scant possibility |
championship is organized by the All England Lawn Tennis Club and International Tennis Federation and officially begins on Monday, July 3.Only one of the defending champions from the 2016 edition of the tournament is back, as women’s champion Serena Williams ended her season in April to focus on giving birth to her first child. Williams had won the previous two editions of the event, leaving the door open for a number of title competitors. Serena’s sister Venus Williams says she will still play in the tournament despite a police report claiming she is at fault in an accident in Florida that caused the death of one passenger in the other vehicle.Andy Murray will seek to retain his world number one ranking and Wimbledon title from 2016. He will face a tough challenge from healthy competitors Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, one of which has won Wimbledon in each of the past 14 years.The tournament concludes on July 16.The Pan American Sports Organization’s new leadership is continuing its National Olympic Committee outreach this week in Miami, Florida.New president Neven Ilic and secretary general Ivar Sisniega are meeting with the presidents and secretary generals of 18 of the 41 PanAmSports NOCs between July 4 and July 8 to understand the specific needs of their country’s sports programs.The meetings with each NOC last approximately three hours and are taking place in the same building that new regional PanAmSports offices will open later this month. The meetings and new office space in Miami is part of the organization’s efforts to make the south Florida city the “nerve center of PanAmSports”.The schedule of the NOC meetings are as follows:July 4 - Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Cayman Islands and EcuadorJuly 5 – Colombia, Aruba, St. Kitts and Nevis and El SalvadorJuly 6 – Grenada, British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and BoliviaJuly 7 – Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Belize and United States Virgin IslandsJuly 8 – Suriname and BermudaThe fourth visit of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games begins on July 4.The six-member commission is led by interim chair Lingwei Li of China. The other members include Danka Bartekova, Barry Maister, Henry Núñez Najera, Andrew Ryan and Adham Sharara.Li was named chair of the commission when former chairman Frank Fredericks stepped down amid a probe into a vote-buying scandal for the Rio 2016 Olympics.The CoComm concludes on July 5.The Around the Rings’ Atlanta office will be closed on July 4 in observance of the United States Independence Day.Our network of correspondents around the world will keep you informed on the latest in the Olympic Movement until we return to the office on July 5.Written by Kevin Nutley and Gerard Farek For general comments or questions, click hereShare. If it’s true, can we expect it on the next PlayStation? If it’s true, can we expect it on the next PlayStation?
Rivals to traditional cable have been sprouting up left and right over the last few years, with services like Netflix, Hulu, HBOGo and more convincing consumers to throw out their cable box and stream content from the ‘net. And if a new report from Variety is any indication, Sony is working on its own “multichannel TV service to rival cable.”
Variety terms Sony’s endeavor an MSO – or Multiple System Operator -- and states that the company is seeking licensing for various channels and “that [the service] could roll out in the U.S. later this year.”
“Few specifics are known about the proposed service,” Variety admits, “but it would be a package of linear channels akin to what pay-TV distributors traditionally provide, only delivered via broadband connection. In contrast to the cable operators who are bound by a geographic footprint, a virtual MSO can conceivably offer TV service to any subscriber nationwide.”
Variety notes that “content and infrastructure” necessary for such an endeavor could cost Sony billions, money it doesn’t necessarily have at the ready considering its well-known (but improving) financial troubles. Then again, Sony has made investments even as the company was hemorrhaging money and laying off thousands of its employees, proven by its $380 million acquisition of cloud gaming firm Gaikai.
Interestingly, Variety reports that “it’s unclear whether Sony would have to create additional hardware to activate a multichannel service… or whether a deployment would even be restricted to Sony products.” However, should this rumor prove true, it’s safe to assume that, like Gaikai, Sony’s MSO is likely to be functional on Sony’s upcoming (but yet unannounced) new PlayStation console.
Though Variety got Sony’s standard “we don’t comment on rumors and speculation” line when they inquired for comment, we’ve reached out to Sony as well for clarification.
Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.Rich Hill reinstated from 10-day DL to make Tuesday start
Rowan Kavner Blocked Unblock Follow Following May 16, 2017
Rich Hill has been reinstated from the 10-day DL to make his third start of the year. (Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers)
The Dodgers reinstated Rich Hill from the 10-day disabled list Tuesday and optioned Grant Dayton to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Hill first went on the 10-day DL with a blister issue on his left middle finger April 6 after allowing one run in five innings in his first start of the year, then returned once eligible April 16. But after going just three innings April 16 against the Diamondbacks, the blister became a problem again, landing him back on the DL.
He made two rehab starts for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, and most importantly got through five hitless innings in his most recent start for the Quakes without experiencing any problems with the blister. He’ll make his third start of the season Tuesday night against the Giants and San Francisco starter Ty Blach.
Hill is 1–1 with a 3.38 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in two starts this season, looking for his first quality start of the year.
Dayton has made 14 relief appearances for the Dodgers, going 1–1 with a 5.25 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, holding opponents to a.209 batting average. He’s tossed scoreless relief in 11 of his 14 appearances this season, but allowed two runs in the series opener this week against the Giants.
The Dodger reliever, who made his first career Opening Day roster, had allowed just two hits in his first seven appearances and 6 1/3 innings of 2017, holding opponents to a.095 batting average before going to the 10-day DL with a left intercostal strain April 18. Dayton threw another perfect inning of relief his first game back April 29, earning his first career win, but allowed at least one run in three of his next six appearances before being optioned Tuesday.Earlier this month, North Korea fired off a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles as part of an ongoing demonstration of its military might. While the U.S. military did not move to intercept any of those missiles, it just did the next-best thing: It shot down a target that simulated a North Korean missile.
In a test event dubbed "Stellar Avenger," the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense-equipped destroyer USS Hopper successfully tracked and engaged an Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicle (ARAV) after the target missile was launched from the Pacific Test Range Facility on Barking Sands, Kauai.
In a statement, Riki Ellison, the plugged-in chief of the Missile Defense Advocacy Association, said the ARAV "represented a ballistic missile similar in speed, acceleration and burn of the same short range missiles fired by North Korea on July 2nd and 4th of this year."
Equally important, this was an "ascent phase" shoot-down: According to a Missile Defense Agency news release, the interceptor struck the target 1oo miles above the Pacific Ocean. By Ellison's count, this is only the second ascent-phase intercept in 23 at-sea firings by the Aegis missile defense system.
As Axe has noted here before, the sea-based combination of the missile-spotting Aegis radar system and the Standard Missile-3 interceptor has the best test record of any U.S. missile defense system, and this latest test marks the 19th successful intercept in 23 practice intercepts. Adding to that, this exercise tested a recent upgrade, and the USS Lake Erie will fire an upgraded SM-3 using this advanced weapon system sometime late next year.
[PHOTO: MDA]
ALSO:If you think it's getting harder and harder to tell the New York Times from The Onion, you have a point. And it's not just the three front page stories every day trying to blame the big election loss on Russian hacking, as if the Russians haven't been trying to hack everything they can, ever since the very concept of hacking was invented.
For another example, consider this big headline today: "As Donald Trump Denies Climate Change, These Kids Die of It." Wait, that one must have been in The Onion. Not at all! It was a lead article on the front page of the Times's Review section, written by none other than Nicholas Kristof -- the very same guy who wrote the completely phony article on Thursday claiming that repeal of Obamacare will kill tens of thousands of people per year. So who are we killing today, Nick?
She is just a frightened mom, worrying if her son will survive, and certainly not fretting about American politics — for she has never heard of either President Obama or Donald Trump. What about America itself? Ranomasy, who lives in an isolated village on this island of Madagascar off southern Africa, shakes her head. It doesn’t ring any bells. Yet we Americans may be inadvertently killing her infant son. Climate change, disproportionately caused by carbon emissions from America, seems to be behind a severe drought that has led crops to wilt across seven countries in southern Africa. The result is acute malnutrition for 1.3 million children in the region, the United Nations says.
So Nick, kindly tell us, how much have temperatures increased in Madagascar as a result of what you claim is human-caused climate change? It goes without saying that you will not find that information in Kristof's article. Real information is not what Pravda deals in these days. And, by the way, the information on historical temperatures in Madagascar is not necessarily that easy to find, since Madagascar doesn't have particularly good weather stations. However, with some looking, I find this from a World Bank report in 2011:
Recent Climate Trends: There is clear evidence that [since 1950] temperatures have increased by 0.2 deg C over northern Madagascar, and by 0.1 deg C over southern Madagascar.
It's an amount of temperature rise that you could never possibly feel, let alone measure without some sort of specialized thermometer. Although that report is a few years old, we all know that world temperatures have been in a warming "pause" since about 1998, so it's hard to imagine that Madagascar temperatures have somehow gone wild in the last five years. I guess you can see why Kristof has decided to suppress the actual amount of temperature rise that is supposedly causing these millions of deaths.
But somehow we are to believe that a tenth or two of degrees of temperature rise is causing over a million deaths by inflicting a rare and unprecedented drought. Can we find out anything about rainfall in Madagascar? Not from Kristof, of course. But in the same 2011 World Bank report we have this:
The character of rainfall across Madagascar has changed significantly, although no obvious trend in rainfall can be surmised from the available record. However, since 1950, the relationship between temperature and rainfall has varied greatly across Madagascar, with increased temperatures yielding decreased rainfall in the northern areas and the opposite in southern areas.
Don't you have to hate the way those crafty Americans can inflict decreased rains on northern Madagascar and increased rains on southern Madagascar just by driving SUVs?
But wait a minute -- maybe it's the opposite! The World Bank report is from 2011. More current information on rainfall in southern Africa, including Madagascar, can be found in a February 2016 post from a NOAA website, climate.gov, showing rainfall in the region from October 2015 to February 2016 (last year's rainy season):Construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under a limited license began in Turkey on Sunday, TASS reported from the site.
The ceremony was in Mersin. It featured Rosatom’s head Alexei Likhachev, and Turkey’s First Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez.
The limited license is the first permission, which Rosatom received in October. Under it, the company will build the so-called non-nuclear facilities.
It was reported earlier that Rosatom expects to receive the full license for the NPP in the first quarter of 2018.
The construction project of the Akkuyu NPP in Turkey is being implemented based on the Intergovernmental Agreement signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey in Ankara in May 2010. The project, estimated at $20 bln, stipulates the construction of four power units with VVER-1200 reactors with total capacity of 4,800 MW
Turkey will issue a full license to Rosatom for construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in March 2018, Fatih Donmez told a news conference on Sunday.
"In March of next year we shall issue a license for the full works at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant," he said. "We continue very intensively building of the first reactor and hope it will be ready in 2023. We shall do everything possible to speed up our cooperation with the Russian counterparts.".
Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important newsA Republican lawmaker on Tuesday defended Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE in the controversy over his remarks about a judge's ethnicity by saying accusations of racism could also be lodged against President Obama.
"You can easily argue that the president of the United States is a racist with his policies and his rhetoric," Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) said during an appearance on CNN's "At This Hour."
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"My purpose here isn't to just go through the list and call everyone a racist. I'm saying that we all can up our game with rhetoric and policy because America, we are a nation of immigrants, we are a melting pot," he added.
The Republican accused Democrats of racial "microtargeting" in politics and policies, adding he didn't believe Trump considered himself to be of a "superior race."
Still, the lawmaker said he agreed with Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Five takeaways from McCabe’s allegations against Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Sanders set to shake up 2020 race MORE's (R-Wis.) assessment that Trump calling Judge Gonzalo Curiel biased because of his Mexican heritage is an example of "textbook" racism.
"The way I subjectively define racism, I agree as well. I think that Mr. Trump made a regrettable mistake with his statement," Zeldin said during the interview.
Zeldin also said it was a "regrettable legal strategy" for Trump to claim that Curiel's ethnicity is a conflict of interest in presiding over lawsuits against Trump University.
"I think we shouldn’t be going after ethnicity and race with a judge to assume that they are unqualified to serve as a judge in a particular case because of it," Zeldin said.
Asked if he was put in an awkward position supporting a candidate accused of being a racist, Zeldin said, "I don't feel uncomfortable at all."For most of us, our experience on Facebook is a benign – even banal – one. A status update about a colleague’s commute. A “friend” request from someone we haven’t seen for years (and hoped to avoid for several more). A picture of another friend’s baby, barely distinguishable from the dozen posted the day before.
Some four billion pieces of content are shared every day by 845 million users. And while most are harmless, it has recently come to light that the site is brimming with paedophilia, pornography, racism and violence – all moderated by outsourced, poorly vetted workers in third world countries paid just $1 an hour.
In addition to the questionable morality of a company that is about to create 1,000 millionaires when it floats paying such paltry sums, there are significant privacy concerns for the rest of us. Although this invisible army of moderators receive basic training, they work from home, do not appear to undergo criminal checks, and have worrying access to users’ personal details. In a week in which there has been an outcry over Google’s privacy policies, can we expect a wider backlash over the extent to which we trust companies with our intimate information?
Last month, 21-year-old Amine Derkaoui gave an interview to Gawker, an American media outlet. Derkaoui had spent three weeks working in Morocco for oDesk, one of the outsourcing companies used by Facebook. His job, for which he claimed he was paid around $1 an hour, involved moderating photos and posts flagged as unsuitable by other users.
“It must be the worst salary paid by Facebook,” he told The Daily Telegraph this week. “And the job itself was very upsetting – no one likes to see a human cut into pieces every day.”
Derkaoui is not exaggerating. An articulate man, he described images of animal abuse, butchered bodies and videos of fights. Other moderators, mainly young, well-educated people working in Asia, Africa and Central America, have similar stories. “Paedophilia, necrophilia, beheadings, suicides, etc,” said one. “I left [because] I value my sanity.” Another compared it to working in a sewer. “All the ---- of the world flows towards you and you have to clean it up,” he said.
Who, one wonders, apart from the desperate, the unstable and the unsavoury, would be attracted to doing such an awful job in the first place?
Of course, not all of the unsuitable material on the site is so graphic. Facebook operates a fascinatingly strict set of guidelines determining what should be deleted. Pictures of naked private parts, drugs (apart from marijuana) and sexual activity (apart from foreplay) are all banned. Male nipples are OK, but naked breastfeeding is not. Photographs of bodily fluids (except semen) are allowed, but not if a human being is also shown. Photoshopped images are fine, but not if they show someone in a negative light.
Once something is reported by a user, the moderator sitting at his computer in Morocco or Mexico has three options: delete it; ignore it; or escalate it, which refers it back to a Facebook employee in California (who will, if necessary, report it to the authorities). Moderators are told always to escalate specific threats – “I’m going to stab Lisa H at the frat party” is given as the charming example – but not generic, unlikely ones, such as “I’m going to blow up the planet on New Year’s Eve.”
It is, of course, to Facebook’s credit that they are attempting to balance their mission “to make the world more open and connected” with a willingness to remove traces of the darker side of human nature. The company founded by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard bedroom is richer and more populated than many countries. These moderators are their police.
Neither is Facebook alone in outsourcing unpleasant work. Adam Levin, the US-based chief executive of Criterion Capital Partners and the owner of British social network Bebo, says that the process is “rampant” across Silicon Valley.
“We do it at Bebo,” he says. “Facebook has so much content flowing into its system every day that it needs hundreds of people moderating all the images and posts which are flagged. That type of workforce is best outsourced for speed, scale and cost.”
A spokesman for Twitter said that they have an internal moderation team, but refused to answer a question about outsourcing. Similarly, a Google spokesperson would not say how Google+, the search giant’s new social network, will be moderated. Neither Facebook nor oDesk were willing to comment on anything to do with outsourcing or moderation.
Levin, however, estimates that Facebook indirectly employs between 800 to 1,000 moderators via oDesk and others – nearly a third of its more handsomely remunerated full-time staff. Graham Cluley, of the internet security firm Sophos, calls Silicon Valley’s outsourcing culture its “poorly kept dirty secret”.
The biggest worry for the rest of us, however, is that the moderation process isn’t nearly secretive enough. According to Derkaoui, there are no security measures on a moderator’s computer to stop them uploading obscene material themselves. Despite coming into daily contact with such material, he was never subjected to a criminal record check. Where, then, is the oversight body for these underpaid global police? Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Facebook itself is guarding them, according to a previous statement to which the Telegraph was referred. “These contractors are subject to rigorous quality controls and we have implemented several layers of safeguards to protect the data of those using our service,” it read. “No user information beyond the content in question and the source of the report is shared. All decisions made by contractors are subject to extensive audits.”
And yet in the images due for moderation seen by the Telegraph, the name of anyone “tagged” in an offending post – as well as the user who uploaded it – could be clearly discerned. A Facebook spokesman said that these names are shared with the moderators to put the content in context – a context sufficient for Derkaoui to claim that he had as much information as “looking at a friend’s Facebook page”. He admits to having subsequently looked up more information online about the people he had been moderating. Cluley is worried that Facebook users could be blackmailed by disgruntled moderators – or even see pictures originally intended for a small circle of friends pasted all over the web.
Shamoon Siddiqui, chief executive of Develop.io, an American app-building firm that employs people in the developing world for a more generous $7 to $10 an hour, agrees that better security measures are needed. “It isn’t wrong for Facebook to have an Indian office,” he says. “But it is wrong for it to use an arbitrary marketplace with random people it doesn’t know in that country. This will have to change.”
In Britain, for example, all web moderators have to undergo an enhanced CRB check. eModeration, whose clients range from HSBC to The X-Factor, pays £10 an hour and never lets its staff spend too long on the gritty stuff. They wouldn’t go near the Facebook account. The job, says Tamara Littleton, its chief executive, is too big, the moderating too reactive, and they couldn’t compete on cost with the likes of oDesk.
So, if no one can undercut the likes of oDesk, could they not be undermined instead? If Mr Zuckerberg will not dig deeper into his $17.5 billion pockets to pay the street-sweepers of Facebook properly, maybe he could be persuaded by a little moral outrage?
Levin disagrees. “Perhaps a minute percentage of users will stop using Facebook when they hear about this,” he says. “But the more digital our society becomes, the less people value their privacy.”
Perhaps. But maybe disgruntled commuters, old schoolfriends and new mothers will think twice before sharing intimate information with their “friends” – only to find that two minutes later it’s being viewed by an under-vetted, unfulfilled person on a dollar an hour in an internet café in Marrakech.President Obama arrives to deliver the commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
(CNSNews.com) – Three years ago, President Obama said he did not “foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in Syria, American boots on the ground in Syria would not only be good for America, but also would be good for Syria.”
It was a stance repeated on a number of occasions since then, even as U.S. forces have been sent both to Iraq and, in much smaller numbers, to Syria, to help local forces in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL).
On Monday he announced he was authorizing the deployment of 250 troops to Syria, where around 50 special forces operators have been based since late last year.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said Monday that the deployments in Syria and Iraq do not constitute “boots on the ground” in the sense of a conventional ground combat mission.
At a press conference in Costa Rica in May 2013, at a time when claims of the small-scale use of sarin gas in the Syrian conflict were under investigation, Obama was asked about the possibility of sending troops to Syria.
“As a general rule, I don’t rule things out as commander-in-chief because circumstances change and you want to make sure that I always have the full power of the United States at our disposal to meet American national security interests,” he replied.
“Having said that, I do not foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in Syria, American boots on the ground in Syria would not only be good for America, but also would be good for Syria,” the president continued.
Weeks later, the White House confirmed that sarin gas had been used – the first crossing of Obama’s “red line” on chemical weapons by the Assad regime.
A much larger chemical weapons attack two months later triggered an international crisis. Obama threatened limited military strikes, which he said during a weekly address on September 10 would be “a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective.”
In the context of that planned mission, he repeated the no troops pledge.
“I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria,” he said. “I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan.”
Obama subsequently backed away from the threat of limited airstrikes, after Russia proposed a deal to remove and destroy Assad’s chemical stockpile instead.
In June 2014, Obama sent up to 300 military advisers to help the Iraqis face the growing threat of ISIS. The jihadists had overrun large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, including Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul.
That number of U.S. troops was quickly doubled, and on July 3, then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stated, “None of these troops are performing combat missions. None will perform combat missions. President Obama has been very clear that American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again.”
That August, when Obama announced plans to start carrying out targeted airstrikes against ISIS positions in Iraq, he emphasized that “as commander-in-chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq.”
“And so even as we support Iraqis as they take the fight to these terrorists, American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq, because there’s no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq,” he said.
When in September he announced the launch of a coalition against ISIS, coupled with an additional U.S. troop deployment, Obama again stressed U.S. combat troops would not be “fighting on foreign soil.”
“Any time we take military action, there are risks involved – especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions,” he said. “But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.”
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State Dep’t Spokesman: Phrase ‘Boots on the Ground’ Has Reporters ‘Wrapped Around the Axle’This was the last album released by the entire group; drummer John Bonham passed away shortly after the release of In through the Out Door (1979). Although I do not rank this up there with my favorites by Led Zeppelin (III; Houses of the Holy; side 3 (vinyl LP) of Physical Graffiti), there is enough of the Led Zeppelin “thing” on this album that I generally liked it. Come to think of it, I really liked the tune All of my Love back in the day, so this album also has sentimental value.
The album has an overall softer sound to it and seems to me to be more reflective. I don’t mind this one bit – Led Zeppelin always had a softer side to them, so it really was not that much a departure. I think the playing on the album is actually very good and Jimmy Page got some great tones out of the electric guitar. I also like the use of synthesizers too (mostly Yamaha GX-1) – it lends the album an atmospheric feel. The greater use of synthesizers likely reflects the fact that John Paul Jones (and Robert Plant) did most of the writing. At the time, Jimmy Page and John Bonham were struggling with substance abuse problems.
The only track on the album that did not sit well with me was the rockabilly of Hot Dog – although I appreciate the fact that the group was trying to shake things up a bit, this one tune did not work for me.
This remastered version is awesome and attempts to recreate the old LP. The "LP sleeve" comes in the original brown paper wrapper and there is a small booklet that has photos of the group. The sound quality is generally pretty good although it sounds as if the levels of various instruments have been fiddled with. For example, the (admittedly) cheesy synth sounds on Carouselambra have been pushed further down i the mix. Overall though, the general sound is as I remember it.
All in all, this is a decent album that has a least a few gems on it. It is a little quieter than other Led Zeppelin albums but has enough of the Led Zeppelin sound that it makes for a pretty enjoyable listen.Rangers’ Derek Holland says Stars’ Bieber prank is there new ‘rally Beiber’ by Mike Dyce
The Minnesota Timberwolves just completed a wicked weekend back-to-back on the road, defeating the Golden State Warriors 121-120 on Friday night and then falling to the Portland Trail Blazers 115-104 on Saturday.
When it comes to those portions of the NBA schedule, teams have to keep their expectations realistic. A split of back-to-back road games against playoff teams? You bet the Timberwolves are happy with that. Other than that, teams just want to stay healthy, especially with their key players.
It’s in that area that the Timberwolves got dinged a bit this weekend, as Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio both sustained ankle injuries (Love bumped his knee as well). Both players took those hits Friday night and played through the injuries in Saturday’s loss in Portland.
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports the following:
Rubio sprained his ankle drawing a charge from Andre Iguodala late in Friday’s game and couldn’t finish at the very end because of it. ‘Not a big deal,’ Rubio said. Love turned his ankle twice and banged his knee Friday, but finished the game even though he limped his way through a good portion of it. ‘I was a little worried about him; him and Ricky seemed to be the two that were real aggravated,’ Wolves coach Rick Adelman said, referring to Love.”
J.J. Barea was also hurt, bruising his back on a wicked fall in Golden State Friday night.
At 21-22 for the season, the ‘Wolves have to make a move soon if they want to hang around the back of a crowded playoff picture in the Western Conference. Their ability to do so will depend on the health of these guys, especially Love. They need these injuries to be nothing more than the bumps and bruises of the season.Before the season began, Jared Bednar's biggest concern with TJ Tynan was his size.
The rookie is listed at 5-foot-8 -- the smallest on a Springfield Falcons roster made up of mainly players 6-foot-plus -- and plays a defensively demanding, two-way position in center.
But now, after almost a full American Hockey League season, the Falcons coach's concerns have been completely alleviated.
"I think at first when you see a smaller, undersized guy that has some skill, you wonder as a coach, 'How is this guy going to play in traffic against bigger opponents every night for the course of a really long season?'" Bednar said. "The worries I had as a coach have really dissipated over the course of the season. He's proven to me that he has the ability to be a top player every night on both sides of the puck."
TJ Tynan doesn't possess a lot of size, but the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has the desire to be a difference-maker every night for the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League. (Photo: Chris Marion) TJ Tynan doesn't possess a lot of size, but the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has the desire to be a difference-maker every night for the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.
After finishing his collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame with 161 points in 164 games, Tynan, a third-round pick (No. 66) of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2011 NHL Draft, made his professional debut with Springfield last April.
Though he was scoreless in those three games with the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate, Tynan's familiarity with the club helped the 23-year-old jump right in at the start of the 2014-15 season.
"I think your first year you're just learning, because obviously I've never been a part of anything like this," Tynan said. "It's my first experience, but coming in this year already knowing some of the guys and the coaches really helped a lot."
The grind of the 76-game AHL schedule almost always becomes any rookie's biggest adjustment, with the long bus trips and the three-in-three sets on the weekends. Players coming out of college feel this the hardest, usually having played the equivalent of two full NCAA seasons by the end of one AHL regular-season calendar.
"It's definitely been different. Playing three games in a weekend is not something I'm used to," Tynan said. "But I think talking to the other guys, they help you out. You just have to listen to your body and get the proper rest and hydration and nutrition and things like that. The people around me have definitely made it easier."
Tynan has missed only one of the Falcons' first 70 games, a note that has not gone unnoticed by Springfield brass.
"He's a durable player," Bednar said. "To be able to take that physical play against players every night is something that's really impressed me. He's earned my respect and his teammates' respect. He's a player that we lean on every night."
A native of the Chicago suburb of Orland Park, Ill., Tynan leads the Falcons in assists (32) and points (42), and heads into the weekend riding a four-game point streak. He has pieced together an impressive rookie season as Springfield continues to battle for a Calder Cup Playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
As a freshman with the Fighting Irish in 2010-11, Tynan led the team in scoring with 54 points in 44 games and was named the CCHA conference's rookie of the year, joining a list of winners that includes the Montreal Canadiens' Max Pacioretty, the Columbus Blue Jackets' Mark Letestu and the Philadelphia Flyers' R.J. Umberger.
Tynan majored in business marketing, completing all four years at Notre Dame before turning pro last season. The decision to stay in school was never in question, nor was the decision to be a hockey player.
"Getting my degree and staying four years was really important to me, but I never really thought about what I wanted to get into," he said. "I just always wanted to be a hockey player, and that's what I was always working towards. I was lucky enough to be signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets and it's been a great experience so far."
After Tynan had 10 points in 15 games in the month of November, Bednar saw a slight decline in his energy. But like clockwork, the coach's worries were eased as quick as they arose.
"It was short-lived. He's really done a good job at being one of our most consistent players all season," Bednar said. "For a young guy, his compete level and his will and want to make a difference every single night is exceptional. He holds himself to a high standard and wants to be a go-to guy every night, and I think that is what makes him a successful player."
For a team that has seen four of its players make their NHL debuts this season with the Blue Jackets and 10 more spend significant time on recall, Tynan's durability and consistency has been a mainstay on the Falcons' offensive front. His number is bound to be called soon.
But for now, Tynan, like most players, knows that call is out of his hands.
"I'm happy to see guys go up and a lot of them do really well. Hopefully that happens, but it's out of my control and I know that," he said. "I'm just worried right now about the Springfield Falcons and making the playoffs."
For more news, scores, and stats from around the American Hockey League, follow @TheAHL on Twitter and visit theahl.com.What happens if a robot is raised by apes? Perhaps you get something along the lines of Tarzan the Robot.
Despite its rather comical means of locomotion, this robot is designed with a serious purpose in mind: its on-board cameras keep a watchful eye on crops so that large fields needn’t be constantly tended by farmers. But instead of scrabbling around on the ground (where there are many obstacles) or fly through the air (which is energy intensive), it swings its arms to traverse a guy wire strung up across a patch of land.
For what it’s worth, the robot isn’t strictly modeled on Edgar Rice Burroughs’s fictional jungle-dwelling character—but, rather, on sloths. “A sloth is really energy efficient,” explains Jonathan Rogers, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in a video describing the device. “We’re trying to design this robot to be very energy efficient so essentially one day it can be powered by the sun.”
Tarzan isn’t the only high-tech way to keep an eye on crops, of course. Drones can be used to monitor plants, offering high-resolution images and incredible speed, but they can generally only spend a short time aloft before they need to be recharged. Data-gathering poles can be erected to provide cost-efficient surveillance, but they’re stationary |
situation seen last summer". In a speech she hailed the EU’s deal with Turkey, under which all economic migrants are returned back across the Aegean Sea, as a perfect model to pursue with African countries like Egypt and Tunisia.
GETTY Germany has taken in more than a million migrants
GETTY Opposition to Mrs Merkel's migration policies has been growing
She also called for Brussels to lavish far more development aid on impoverished countries to prevent people from wanting to leave them for Europe in the first place. The remarks are a far cry from her hubris last summer, when she flung open Europe’s doors to millions of migrants from Africa and the Middle East with her infamous ‘we can do it’ rallying cry. Amid mounting criticism of her migration policies Mrs Merkel was initially defiant - deliberately repeating the controversial phrase - but under intense pressure she has recently ditched it. More than a million migrants poured into Germany last year after the chancellor recklessly offered to house anyone who moved their from the Middle East.
But speaking today she said: “It's important that we give the African countries perspectives for the future. "We either have to let people come to us, or we have to combat the root causes of migration so that people see prospects for staying there, close to their homes." The German leader gave no specific details about possible migrant deals between the EU and African countries, which unlike Turkey are not candidates for membership of the bloc. The EU and Turkey agreed in March that Ankara would stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe in exchange for financial aid and the promise of visa-free travel. In June Mrs Merkel described Africa with its population of 1.2billion people as "the central problem" in the migration issue, and she has since raised the issue at the recent G20 summit in China.
Migrant Crisis: Mass exodus from the migrant camp continues Tue, October 25, 2016 Hundreds of migrants are continuing to arrive in Europe as they flee the scenes of chaos and brutality of the Islamic State in the Middle East. Play slideshow 1 of 224Ryan mentioned that Republicans will use an arcane process called “reconciliation” in order to defund the group, which allows lawmakers to bypass the regular legislative process on certain issues having to do with spending and taxes. This is exactly what House Republicans attempted to do last year when they tried to repeal Obamacare before President Obama stepped in to block it.
But there is already a law on the books that prevents federal funds from paying for abortions, known as the Hyde Amendment. Planned Parenthood only uses federal dollars to pay for routine health services, like cancer screenings, STI/HIV testings, and patient counseling. In other words, defunding Planned Parenthood would simply mean taking money away from providing low-cost pap smears, not abortions.
Republicans, of course, have been trying to strip federal funding for Planned Parenthood for years because the organization provides abortions, in addition to routine low-cost reproductive health services. Republicans shut down the government for more than two weeks in 2013 over the issue.
“With this bill, we are standing for life,” Ryan said at his first news conference of the year.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that Republicans will seek to defund Planned Parenthood as part of their effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
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House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that Republicans will seek to defund Planned Parenthood as part of their effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
“With this bill, we are standing for life,” Ryan said at his first news conference of the year.
Republicans, of course, have been trying to strip federal funding for Planned Parenthood for years because the organization provides abortions, in addition to routine low-cost reproductive health services. Republicans shut down the government for more than two weeks in 2013 over the issue.
But there is already a law on the books that prevents federal funds from paying for abortions, known as the Hyde Amendment. Planned Parenthood only uses federal dollars to pay for routine health services, like cancer screenings, STI/HIV testings, and patient counseling. In other words, defunding Planned Parenthood would simply mean taking money away from providing low-cost pap smears, not abortions.
Ryan mentioned that Republicans will use an arcane process called “reconciliation” in order to defund the group, which allows lawmakers to bypass the regular legislative process on certain issues having to do with spending and taxes. This is exactly what House Republicans attempted to do last year when they tried to repeal Obamacare before President Obama stepped in to block it.
Republicans’ effort to defund Planned Parenthood are likely to be helped by the incoming Donald Trump administration. President-elect Trump has said repeatedly he supports defunding the organization (despite acknowledging last year “millions of women are helped by Planned Parenthood”) because they provide abortions. He also signed a letter to anti-choice activists asking for their support and promising he would “defund Planned Parenthood as long as they continue to perform abortions” and vowed to appoint an anti-choice Supreme Court justice.
Democrats slammed Ryan’s proposal.
“This is a priority for the Republicans, so I just would like to speak individually to women across America,”said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Thursday afternoon, according to CNN. “This is about respect for you, for your judgment about your personal decisions in terms of your reproductive needs, the size and timing of your family or the rest, not to be determined by the insurance company or by the Republican ideological right-wing caucus in the House of Representatives.”
Follow Olivia Becker on Twitter: @oliviaLBeckerOver the weekend, thousands of conservative evangelical Christians gathered in Washington for the annual Values Voter Summit. That label leads to a natural question: What values were actually encouraged by the speakers and attendees at this event?
The answer is clear. Bigotry, intolerance, hypocrisy, divisiveness, dishonesty and violence.
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Donald Trump, the first sitting president to attend the event, was a featured speaker. He is a man who almost literally embodies the Seven Deadly Sins as explained by the Bible. Yet the so-called Christians at the summit gave him a 20-second ovation and repeatedly interrupted his speech with cheers. He told them, "We don't worship government, we worship God," and proclaimed, "We are stopping all our attacks on Judeo-Christian values."
Roy Moore, the Republican senatorial nominee in Alabama, was also a featured guest. He told attendees: "When you forget God, you can forget politics. When you forget God you forget, just like it says, your heritage, your rights, your freedoms."
We forget that what they really want to do in this land is remove the knowledge of God. That won’t happen, as far as I can see, because I think the people of God are rising up in this land today. In 2016 we were given a new lease, a new reason, and it’s upon us now. This is not complicated.
For Moore, the commandment to "follow God's law" is allied to his belief that gays and lesbians are committing blatantly immoral acts akin to bestiality.
Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, who has since returned to his role as the head of Breitbart News (which a recent investigative report by BuzzFeed has revealed to be a white nationalist and "alt-right" propaganda clearinghouse) told the audience, "This is not my war. This is our war. And y'all didn't start it. The establishment started it. But I will tell you one thing — you all are going to finish it."
Even in this swamp of radical right-wing talking points and political con artists who confuse some version of revanchist conservatism with "God's will" and "Christian values," former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka's comments were perhaps the most dangerous.
In a speech on Saturday, Gorka included the following threat: "The left has no idea how much more damage we can do to them as private citizens, as people unfettered." On the surface, this comment suggests that right-wing Christian evangelicals do not need the help of the United States government in order to win their war against liberals, Muslims or whoever else they identify as the enemy. But the context of Gorka's speech -- and what is known about his values -- highlights a deeper and more sinister intent.
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Gorka is an apparent Nazi sympathizer who has proudly worn a medal given to his father by the Hungarian far-right anti-Semitic group Vitézi Rend. In an interview with the far-right propaganda site World Net Daily, also over the weekend, Gorka said that "radical leftists" were among the three greatest threats to America along with "radical Islamic jihadists" and China.
Bannon also shares many of Gorka's beliefs. Trump's former strategist has a nihilistic vision of destroying the cosmopolitan and multicultural society of the United States (and the West) in favor of a majority white Christian empire where nonwhites, Muslims and other "non-desirables" are not welcome.
Viewed in isolation, Gorka's threats against "the left" are another example of the eliminationist rhetoric and direct threats of violence made by Trump and his political and media allies against Democrats, liberals and progressives broadly defined.
When placed in a broader context, however, Gorka's comments -- along with those made by Trump, Bannon, Moore and others -- signal at how white Christian evangelicals are being folded into a broader fascist movement.
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In 2007, Chris Hedges explained this danger in an interview with Democracy Now!:
When you follow the logical conclusion of the ideology they preach, there really are only two options for people who do not submit to their authority.... Either you convert, or you’re exterminated. That’s what the obsession with the end times, with the rapture, which, by the way, is not in the Bible, is about. It is about... saying, ultimately, if you do not give up control to us, you will be physically eradicated by a vengeful God. And that lust for violence... is very common to totalitarian movements, the belief that massive catastrophic violence can be used as a cleansing agent to purge the world. And that’s, you know, something that this movement bears in common with other despotic and frightening radical movements that we’ve seen... throughout the past century.
In her 2007 book, “Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism,” former Salon reporter Michelle Goldberg communicates a similar warning about the threat to American society posed by the Christian right. She describes a New York Times interview from a few years earlier with Fritz Stern, a refugee from Nazi Germany who became a historian at Columbia University:
It quoted a speech [Stern] had given in Germany that drew parallels between Nazism and the American religious right. "Some people recognized the moral perils of mixing religion and politics," he was quoted saying of prewar Germany, "but many more were seduced by it. It was the pseudo-religious transfiguration of politics that largely ensured [Hitler's] success, notably in Protestant areas." It's not surprising that Stern is alarmed. Reading his forty-five-year-old book "The Politics of Cultural Despair: A Study in the Rise of the Germanic Ideology," I shivered at its contemporary resonance. "The ideologists of the conservative revolution superimposed a vision of national redemption upon their dissatisfaction with liberal culture and with the loss of authoritative faith," he wrote in the introduction. "They posed as the true champions of nationalism, and berated the socialists for their internationalism, and the liberals for their pacifism and their indifference to national greatness." Fascism isn't imminent in America. But its language and aesthetics are distressingly common among Christian nationalists.... Speaking to outsiders, most Christian nationalists say they're simply responding to anti-Christian persecution. They say that secularism is itself a religion, one unfairly imposed on them. They say they're the victims in the culture wars. But Christian nationalist ideologues don't want equality, they want dominance.
When discussing the Values Voter Summit (and the evangelical right), journalists and pundits should always deal in specifics. Language such as "Christian" and "values" must be interrogated. Unstated assumptions must be exposed to the light of critical inquiry.
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For example, "Christian" does not necessarily mean good or benign. The white supremacist terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan was and is a Christian organization. White Christian evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Jim and Jane Crow and its campaign of racial terrorism against black Americans. White evangelicals have also backed the racist policies of the Republican Party during the post-civil rights era, and have consistently opposed equal rights for women and gays and lesbians, as well as other marginalized groups. Like Republicans and conservatives in general, white evangelicals apparently possess little empathy for poor and working-class people.
Ultimately, the Bible ought not to be a shield -- especially when too many people are willing to wield it as a cudgel against their fellow Americans in a quest to replace the rule of law under a secular constitution with a fascist theocracy.Syrian President Bashar al-Assad voices solidarity with the Iranian nation in the wake of a pair of Daesh attacks in Tehran, saying the two nations will eventually emerge victorious in their battles against terrorism.
In a Thursday phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, Assad offered heartfelt condolences to the Iranian nation over the deaths of 17 citizens in two Daesh terror attacks.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Parliament and the mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini came under attack by Daesh-affiliated armed men.
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The assaults, the first claimed by Daesh on Iranian soil, killed at least 17 people and injured some 50 more people. The Iranian Intelligence Ministry has identified the five assailants involved in the two incidents.
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Assad further said Syria will stand by Iran in the battle against terror, adding that the “resort by terrorists and their masters to such cowardly measures shows their failure in dealing a blow to Iran and its people.”
People gather outside the Iranian parliament during an armed attack inside the building in downtown Tehran, June 7, 2017. (Photo by Tasnim)
The masters of terrorists are using their mercenaries to make their desired political changes, said the Syrian president, emphasizing, however, that “Iran and Syria will eventually emerge victorious in the fight against savage terrorism.”
Rouhani, in turn, said what happened in Tehran on Wednesday cannot shake Iran’s resolve to fight terrorism.
He said the Islamic Republic will keep up its support for Syria until the full restoration of calm and security to the Arab country.
Over the past years, the Islamic Republic has been providing military advisory support to Syria and neighboring Iraq, where the Takfiri Daesh terror group is mainly active. Backed by the Islamic Republic, the two Arab countries have made numerous gains against the terrorist groups on various fronts.What is autoimmune disease? You are likely hearing this term more and more every day, and you are likely meeting more and more people who claim to have one. What does it mean, though?
"A disease in which the body's immune system attacks healthy cells."
That is the generic definition. Basically, it means that in some way that person's body has turned against itself. It has begun to view healthy tissue as "the enemy" and the immune system starts to attack and break down things that it shouldn't. This starts to make certain organs within the body function improperly, creates a wide variety of sometimes debilitating symptoms, and usually means that person gets to be on a lifetime of medications to help control their disease and keep their organs functioning properly so that they can live their lives as best as possible.
It's really hard to fully describe what having an autoimmune disease is like to someone who is not experiencing it themselves. I feel that even the description above doesn't do full justice to trying to get someone to understand what it's like living with an autoimmune disease.
I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, as an example. With this autoimmune disease my immune system has viewed my thyroid tissue as an enemy, and has thus started attacking and killing my thyroid, which has placed me into a state of hypothyroidism. The kicker with this version of hypothyroidism vs. a state of hypothyroidism that comes without Hashimoto's is that wider array of symptoms I mentioned above. What are some of these symptoms? Some that I, personally, have experienced include: brain fog, severe joint pain, muscle weakness, weight gain, dry/itchy skin, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, puffy eyes, sensitivity to cold, tightness in throat, enlarged lymph nodes...
The disease that I have is just one of many, many autoimmune diseases that have been identified (see a full list here). They are exceedingly hard to diagnose because many of them have cross-over symptoms with each other and various non-autoimmune diseases as well. If not properly diagnosed, treated, and monitored, there are some of these diseases which can be fatal as well.
They are hard for doctors to predict and diagnose because the jury is still out on what really, really causes these autoimmune diseases to form within people. There is no set formula and no way to fully predict that someone may or may not develop one. There are documented cases that link people with autoimmune disease to environmental pollution and prescription drugs, but genetics can also highly play a role here as well. One viewpoint on autoimmune diseases calls it finding "the perfect storm." Meaning, when a person's body experiences their own perfect storm of genetics + environment + medications + nutrition = autoimmune disease outbreak within.
One of most frustrating reasons that they are hard to diagnose is that many, many doctors still don't fully understand autoimmune diseases and there are some, yet still, who don't really believe in their existence fully. Most people with autoimmune disease diagnosis have seen multiple doctors to try and figure out what's wrong with them before they are able to finally find a doctor who believes them and doesn't think they are "making things up." To get an idea of what this is like, I can't describe it any better than this article from The New Yorker called "What's Wrong With Me?" It describes, so closely, what I went through and what I continue to go through as an autoimmune sufferer. Please, take the time to read this, especially if you know someone with an autoimmune disease. This will give you such a greater understanding of what they've been through and what they continue to go through.
You see, most people with autoimmune diseases "look fine." Meaning, we don't have any outward characteristics that are easy "tells" for our illnesses. Because of this, many people have a hard time believing us when we mention our symptoms and how we are feeling on any given day, because nothing can be wrong with us... we look fine. Top that off with the fact that we don't want to burden anyone with how we may feel, so we've gotten really good at "faking it," and with overcoming it. Ask us how we feel and we'll likely reply, "I'm fine." Those with autoimmune diseases are some of the strongest people I know because of this very reason.
The truth is, we really don't want pity either, as we fight every day to learn how to live with our diseases and learn what we can do, lifestyle wise, to ease the burden of the disease itself. What we do ask, though, is for a greater understanding of autoimmune diseases in general, as well as how they affect our daily lives. We also hope that you'll understand what we may be like when we are experiencing an autoimmune flair up and to be kind and understanding with what we are going through. Sometimes we may not be thinking as clearly due to brain fog, we may have trouble finding words, we may not want to go out due to extreme fatigue or bodily pain, or we may feel anxious or depressed. Mostly, though, we just want you to believe us when we mention what we are experiencing, and not to brush it off as "all in our head" simply because we "look fine."
These are the faces of autoimmune disease sufferers. We are all beautiful people fighting every day to live normal lives, and we are succeeding at it pretty well, I'd say, because you can't tell what we have by looking as us, can you?
Those pictured above suffer from an array of autoimmune diseases including, but not limited to: Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Vitiligo, Fibromyalgia, Interstitial Cystitis, Celiac Disease, Pressure Urticaria, Crohn's Disease, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sjögren's Syndrome, Scleroderma, Lupus, Lichen Planus, Raynaud's Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis.
(Thank you to the friends who let me share your photos, and also to those whose photos I wasn't able to fit into the collage.)
Don't know what all of those autoimmune diseases are? Are there some you've never heard of? You aren't the only one. Learn more about autoimmune disease, and the variations thereof, at https://www.aarda.org
... and please, read this article in The New Yorker - "What's Wrong With Me"The Crystal Maze is a British game show devised by Jacques Antoine, in which a team of contestants take on a range of challenges set within a labyrinth of the same name consisting of four time zones, winning a "time crystal" (golf ball-sized Swarovski glass crystals) for each one they successfully complete. Reaching the centrepiece of the Maze, "The Crystal Dome", the team work together collecting a certain amount of gold tokens to win a prize, with the allotted time inside the Dome being determined by the number of crystals they obtained in the previous zones.
Broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, The Crystal Maze was originally aired over six series and five Christmas specials between 15 February 1990 and 10 August 1995; the first four series and three specials were hosted by Richard O'Brien, with the remaining two series and specials hosted by Edward Tudor-Pole. In October 2016, Stephen Merchant hosted a one-off celebrity edition of the show for Stand Up to Cancer, before Channel 4 announced the return of the show a month later, to be hosted by Richard Ayoade and featuring a revamped format. The broadcaster originally commissioned twenty episodes for the first series, which consisted of fifteen civilian episodes and five celebrity specials.[1] On 22 January 2018, a second series was commissioned with twelve episodes, which consisted of six civilian episodes and six celebrity specials.[2] On 7 March 2018, the revival began airing in Australia on SBS Viceland.[3]
In March 2016, The Crystal Maze Live Experience opened, allowing the public to buy tickets and compete in a replica of the game show's zones and challenges.[4][5]
Creation [ edit ]
Upon seeing Fort Boyard, producers at Chatsworth Television decided to devise a British version and began work on making a concept. According to Richard O'Brien, who was selected to be the host for this project, the original outlined concept was "kind of like "Dungeons and Dragons", with the host acting as the "Dungeon master". A pilot of the British version was filmed with O'Brien as host, yet it soon became apparent that the fort used by Fort Boyard would be unavailable for filming due to its ongoing refurbishments between 1988–89. As Channel 4 had commissioned the production company for a full series, producer Malcolm Heyworth contacted Fort Boyard's creator, Jacques Antoine, about developing an alternative format, with a proposal that it used themed zones as a means of keeping the show visually fresh. The concept of The Crystal Maze was developed in just "two days", creating a show which although similar to Fort Boyard, was substantially different in presentation and style.[6]
It was later adapted in France for children under the title of Les Mondes fantastiques (Fantastic worlds) and broadcast from 9 September 1992 to 15 November 1995 on France 3.
Format [ edit ]
For the games used in "The Crystal Maze", see List of The Crystal Maze games
Each team that competed on The Crystal Maze have to undertake a series of challenges (referred to as games) within four different themed "zones" within the Maze, each consisting of six game rooms, referred to as "cells". Teams begin at a pre-determined zone, and first must complete a simple challenge together to enter the Maze, whereupon they compete in a series of games in each zone, amassing as many time crystals as they can before completing their last zone and travelling to the large "Crystal Dome" at the centre of the maze to meet their final challenge. For each game, a member of the team is nominated by the team's leader, who can volunteer themselves if they wish. Upon entering a game's cell, the goal of the puzzle is usually determined by a clear written message or by cryptic clues. The rest of the team watches their teammate's progress either through a cell's windows or via monitors, and may give advice to the contestant unless advised against doing so. The host will serve reminders of the time limit and of any special rules, and generally will not give hints unless the contestant is struggling badly.
Each game falls under one of four categories:
Physical - These are aimed at testing a contestant's physical abilities such as strength, agility and stamina, and can range from climbing over, between and around obstacles, to lifting, using, cranking, or manipulating objects with their hands, arms and feet. [7]
- These are aimed at testing a contestant's physical abilities such as strength, agility and stamina, and can range from climbing over, between and around obstacles, to lifting, using, cranking, or manipulating objects with their hands, arms and feet. Mental - These are aimed at testing a contestant's mental and memory skills, and can range from simple brainteasers, to acute memory and 2D/3D puzzles. [8]
- These are aimed at testing a contestant's mental and memory skills, and can range from simple brainteasers, to acute memory and 2D/3D puzzles. Skill - These are aimed at testing a contestant's dexterity, accuracy and eye–hand coordination, and can include target-shooting, skillful timing tests, and careful miniature vehicle driving. [9]
- These are aimed at testing a contestant's dexterity, accuracy and eye–hand coordination, and can include target-shooting, skillful timing tests, and careful miniature vehicle driving. Mystery - These are aimed at testing a contestant's problem solving abilities, and range from treasure hunts, to solving mazes and searching a cell for clues to the location of the crystal.[10]
A principal risk is that of being locked within a game's cell. If a contestant is locked in, they are unable to take any further part in proceedings unless they are released by their team. A locked-in contestant may be absent for the remainder of the episode, and thus increase the difficulty for the team completing the final challenge. If the team's captain is locked in, the vice-captain takes over. A locked-in contestant may be released at any time by the team's leader in exchange for a time crystal.
There are two ways a lock-in can occur in The Crystal Maze:
Exceeding the time limit: Each game is usually set within one of three time limits - 2 minutes, 2 and a half minutes, and 3 minutes. While contestants may usually leave the cell whenever they wish, staying within a cell beyond the allotted time will cause them to be locked-in.
Each game is usually set within one of three time limits - 2 minutes, 2 and a half minutes, and 3 minutes. While contestants may usually leave the cell whenever they wish, staying within a cell beyond the allotted time will cause them to be locked-in. Automatic Lock-In: In a number of games, contestants may be locked-in if they breach a game's special rules or restrictions, irrespective of their progress in obtaining the crystal. For some games, a rule strictly forbids the contestant from making contact with the floor, while other games follow a "three-strikes" rule, in which a contestant will be allowed a maximum of two errors. An example of the latter is making contact with a restricted part of the game's puzzle.[11][12]
Several games were derived from familiar, commercially available children's or fairground games, including steady hand testers, mazes, and sliding puzzles; games in some zones sometimes appeared in other zones with some cosmetic changes and some variations to previous incarnations, with some game designs tending to become more elaborate in later series.[13] A small number of games differed from the traditional style of those that were featured; while they fell under one of the four categories available, they did not comply to the traditional style for the games on the show:
Some games had a special condition that would forfeit the crystal after it is obtained, if the contestant broke a rule. In some games, for example, a contestant could not wade back through a body of water after getting the crystal, but could earn it only by returning through the use of specified platforms or a raft. In other games, dropping the crystal would render it forfeit.
A game designed for the Futuristic Zone featured a humanoid "robot" opponent whom the chosen contestant had to shoot with a light gun, while the robot could shoot back at them; if the contestant lost all their lives against the robot, they were locked-in. If the robot was defeated, the contestant then had to complete a second puzzle to secure the crystal, located behind the robot. [14]
A maze game used on the show was designed with 'virtual reality' properties. In it, a contestant is given a special piece of headgear and had to be navigated around a maze by their teammates, who could shout commands on how they should move, seeing the maze on a monitor outside the game's cell, along with a special marker on the contestant's headgear that marked where they were. The contestant was restricted from letting this marker touch the walls of the maze, being locked-in if they did this a third time, but could freely leave the cell once they had navigated round to the crystal's location and picked it up from the cell's floor. [15]
Some games involved contestants donning special equipment, sometimes for protection. Contestants frequently became submerged during water-based challenges, following which they would be sent by the host to change into fresh clothing.
In some games, a contestant could be penalized by having their progress cancelled out by any mistakes they made. One example of this was a game in Aztec Zone, which was designed so that contestants needed to get balls into a "win" basket, in order to secure the crystal, thus if any were missed, they landed in a "lose" basket and counter-weighed against any in the win basket. [16]
Several skill games involving target shooting only had a limited number of instruments and each can only be used once. If a contestant uses all of them, the game is over. Similarly, in series 3's Futuristic Zone, one game involved a player taking out bars from an apparatus but at the risk of dropping tennis balls. If the player dropped more than four tennis balls, the crystal's path would be blocked.
During the fourth series, a game in Medieval Zone did not directly reward the successful contestant with a crystal. Instead, the successful contestant would emerge from the cell with a sword containing a crystal-like object in the hilt. The host would then place the sword with a suit of armor, thereby retrieving a crystal locked in the armor's glove.
Once the team arrives at the Dome, they are told how much time that they have to complete the final challenge, based on the number of crystals they have brought with them. At this point, the team enter the Dome, and upon the challenge beginning, they must collect as many gold (foil) tokens as they can and deposit them into a container along a wall of the Dome, while avoiding any silver tokens mixed in with them; these are blown about by fans beneath the floor of the Dome. Once time is up, the fans are switched off and no more tokens can be deposited into the container; a slot is opened during the challenge, which closes up when the time is up. Once the team is outside the dome, they, along with any members who were not present for the final challenge, are given the tally of their efforts by the host. If the team can accumulate a total of 100 gold tokens or more, after deduction of any silvers they collected, the team wins the grand prize that they chose for themselves before partaking in the show. All contestants who participate in the show win a commemorative crystal saying "I Cracked the Crystal Maze", which acts as a consolation prize if a team fails to secure the required number of gold tokens.[17]
Original series [ edit ]
During the run of the original series between 1990 and 1995, teams consisted of three men and three women, each aged between 16 and 40, who were put together by the production team and did not know each other before appearing on the show[18] From their pre-determined starting zone, teams either travelled clockwise or counter-clockwise around the maze, engaging in at least three games in each zone, sometimes being given the opportunity to play a fourth game in a zone during their trip around the maze. Between the first and fourth series, the total number of games that could be played varied between 14 and 16 per episode, but for the fifth and sixth series, the number of games played was reduced to standard of 13. Throughout the run, 3D maps of varying sophistication were used to highlight where the host and team were. Until the end of the third series, each contestant on the team could win a prize for themselves that they chose before taking on the Maze if the team succeeded at collecting 100 or more gold tokens, but from the fourth series, this format was changed to the team choosing a prize that they shared together if they won the final challenge. During the first series, a runner-up prize could also be chosen by each member of a team, which they won if the final tally of tokens was between 50-99, but this format was dropped by the start of the second series.
During the Christmas specials, the teams consisted of similar setup, with each aged between 8 and 16,[citation needed] and selected by the production team. While the format was similar to the adult version, there were notable differences, such as easier games with fewer chances of a lock-in, more lenient time limits and additional clues from the host. The prize would always be awarded at the end, irrespective of achievement.
One-off special [ edit ]
For the Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) special in 2016, the format was slightly changed. The team, which consisted of celebrities, was reduced to five members, and because the show did not take place on the original set, fewer games were played. However, the one-off special stuck to the format of the captain choosing the type of game and nominating a member of their team to play it. The brain-teaser game was featured but operated slightly differently, in that there was no time limit, and the nominated contestant had to get two out of three correct to get the crystal. The show was not filmed on the set used in the original run, which was dismantled in 1999. The show featured a revamped map which retained the same layout, as well as indicating the team's position. The Futuristic zone was renamed Future zone.
For the final challenge at the Dome, the team were given an extra crystal, and were charged as normal with collecting as many gold tokens as they could. More than 200 gold tokens were acquired (net), securing the maximum cash prize of £25,000 for charity.
Revived series [ edit ]
A year after the Stand Up to Cancer edition Channel 4 revived the show. It returned the original setup of zones, used the same map design from the SU2C special, included a brand new collection of games and a newly designed taller set, it also revamped the format:[19]
The team setup was based on that from the SU2C edition, with all five contestants knowing each other, rather than being a group of strangers put together by the production team. The roles of captain and vice-captain are still retained and the host now spends time at the start of each episode getting to know each contestant, usually asking them about themselves and giving or getting interesting trivia preceding the opening Zone.
edition, with all five contestants knowing each other, rather than being a group of strangers put together by the production team. The roles of captain and vice-captain are still retained and the host now spends time at the start of each episode getting to know each contestant, usually asking them about themselves and giving or getting interesting trivia preceding the opening Zone. The number of games that can be played is reduced to 10 - two in two zones (usually, but not always, the first and last zone), and three in the other two zones.
The specific category of games to be played next is now pre-determined by the host. The captain now only needs to determine who to nominate in the team to tackle each game.
Teams don't necessarily travel in a circular fashion as they did in the original series, meaning the order in which the zones are visited can be completely random - for example, if the team begins in Medieval, they can move on to Aztec directly after playing all the games that are available, without having to do so via Industrial or Futuristic.
The riddle game format from the SU2C edition is retained; the nominated contestant may confer with the team. A variation of this game now requires the contestant to get two out of three correct answers to avoid being locked-in.
edition is retained; the nominated contestant may confer with the team. A variation of this game now requires the contestant to get two out of three correct answers to avoid being locked-in. Each zone now has its own background music which is played while a contestant is engaged in a game.
The on-screen timer, used on all versions of The Crystal Maze, is no longer used during the Crystal Dome. Instead, viewers are left to rely on both the host and a shot of the crystals to know how much time the team has left.
A series of celebrity episodes was initially broadcast. Like the one-off edition in 2016, the contestants taking part were given an extra crystal upon reaching the Dome to add to those that they had brought, and would earn cash for Stand Up to Cancer depending on how many gold tokens they got, after deduction of silver - £5,000 for less than 50 gold tokens, £10,000 for 50 to 99 tokens, and £20,000 for 100 or more tokens.
Hosts and characters [ edit ]
Throughout its history, The Crystal Maze has been presented by a series of hosts. Each takes on the role of the Maze's custodian, responsible for guiding each team around the various zones, keeping them updated on their progress, leading each nominated team member to the respective games, acting as the timekeeper on all games and the final challenge at the Dome, and taking safe custody of each crystal won by the team. During each game, while the team is focused on watching and helping their nominated member tackle it, the host will sometimes conduct a short monologue to camera, sometimes being more disparaging about a contestant's attempt at a game in 'private', and occasionally interacting with props left around the maze, talking about them and even giving fictional'side stories' about them, the zones and the 'other inhabitants' of the Maze. In addition to the host, the show employed a series of performers |
to look outside the WWE main roster — say, to NXT stalwart Sami Zayn — for assistance. The French-Canadian sensation has everything Cena could want in a partner: He’s fearless and undeniably skilled, plus he seems to take pride in fighting for what’s right, much like Cena. Never mind the fact legends like The Undertaker and The Rock both debuted in classic Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Matches. If you’re looking to make a splash in WWE, you could do far worse than premiering at WWE’s second-longest-running event as a member of the 15-time World Champion’s squad. — JOHN CLAPP
Goldust
For certain victory at Survivor Series, the Cenation leader needs to build a team made from bold choices. And the boldest move Cena could make is undoubtedly a bizarre one.
Few, if any, current Superstars can bring to the Team Cena table what Goldust can. Everyone sees the current WWE Tag Team Titleholder’s outlandish appearance, but they also miss his rise in becoming one of the 15 most decorated champions in WWE history. As much of that success came in partnership with an eclectic mix of grapplers from Ricky Steamboat to Booker T to Stardust, Goldust can offer countless examples of his ability to work well with others when the stakes are high.
Sure, Goldust hardly has any shared experiences with Cena. If they can get along for one night, however, then a partnership between the Cenation leader and The Bizarre One could easily create the foundation for an unstoppable team at Survivor Series.
Zack Ryder
So anyone who joins Team Cena at Survivor Series will be on The Authority’s “naughty list.” Sounds like a nothing-to-lose opportunity for Zack Ryder. Long Island Iced-Z singlehandedly led WWE’s charge into social media and made himself star in the process. This was well before WWE management even saw the value in social media and made it a major part of the company’s marketing strategy. A former WWE Tag Team and United States Champion who still trends worldwide on Twitter when he sporadically appears on TV for even a minute, the Broski has been overlooked by The Authority for years and even excluded from WWE 2K15! Survivor Series could be Ryder’s opportunity to become a player again and stick it to the man (and woman). Woo Woo Woo, You Know It! — @JOEYSTYLES
Dean Ambrose
Filling out the ranks of John Cena’s Survivor Series team to face off against The Authority should be none other than Cena’s most recent uneasy ally, Dean Ambrose. Sure, The Lunatic Fringe has his hands full with Bray Wyatt, and The Eater of Worlds’ involvement is a dangerous variable. However, Dean Ambrose is the personification of a variable — he’s so unpredictable and so unorthodox that it’s nearly impossible to predict his next move.
Watch: Wyatt strikes inside Hell in a Cell
Issues with Wyatt aside, he’d make a perfect addition to Cena’s team for two reasons. He has no love for The Authority and certainly no love lost for his former Shield brother Seth Rollins. Even if his one-on-one battle with Rollins was cut short by the mysterious and frightening cerebral tactics of Bray Wyatt, there is no doubt Ambrose would give Cena a huge advantage. — KEVIN POWERS"They delayed my swearing-in here in Massachusetts for a couple weeks so they could ram (the health care law) through."
Former Massachusetts Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown took a stroll down memory lane Monday while talking about the health care law with Fox News’ Gretchen Carlson.
Brown, who is now a Fox News contributor, claimed the architects of Obamacare delayed Brown’s swearing-in in 2010 to help "ram" the law through Congress.
"They rammed it through before I got there, knowing I would be there in a week or two," Brown said on The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson. "They delayed my swearing-in here in Massachusetts for a couple weeks so they could ram it through and did not pass one amendment to make it better for the American people, and they should be held accountable."
As Brown finished his point about his swearing-in, people watching could hear Carlson say, "I remember."
But did she remember right?
Brown was elected in a 2010 special election to finish the term of the late-Sen. Edward Kennedy. When Kennedy died on Aug. 25, 2009, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appointed a Democrat, Paul Kirk, to hold his seat. State law requires a special election for federal seats to be held between 145 and 160 days of when the vacancy occurred -- or in the case of Kennedy’s seat somewhere between Jan. 17, 2010, and Feb. 1, 2010.
Massachusetts’ election was Jan. 19, 2010, the first Tuesday in that window. Brown, who had campaigned on being the 41st vote against the health care legislation, defeated Democrat Martha Coakley by a vote of 52 percent to 47 percent.
Brown’s victory did not mean he could just move to Capitol Hill and start casting votes the next day. Brown was sworn in Feb. 4, 2010, 16 days after his election.
Was his swearing-in ceremony delayed?
No.
Cities and towns in Massachusetts have 15 days to send final results to the Massachusetts Secretary of State, including a 10-day window for counting absentee and overseas ballots.
"It wasn’t delayed," said Brian McNiff, a spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin. "This process had to be done."
In fact, Brown was sworn in a week earlier than he had planned, according to media reports. After receiving criticism of his "three-week victory lap" from a newspaper columnist, he wrote state officials asking for his election results to be certified immediately. The results were certified by the governor’s council and sent to the U.S. Senate "as soon as the ink was dry," McNiff said.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill
So if anything, Brown’s swearing-in actually came a week earlier than originally planned. But what about the Democrats in Washington? Did they scramble to pass health care reform before Brown took his seat?
Again, no.
Weeks before Brown’s election, the Senate had already passed its version of health care reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, on Dec. 24, 2009, on a 60-39 vote. (Kirk voted yes.)
But the legislation needed to pass the House, and House Democratic leaders wanted to make changes that echoed their priorities. Problem was, any big changes to the Senate bill would send it back to the upper chamber for final approval, where the 39 Republicans and the newly elected Brown could now filibuster the bill.
Top Democrats wondered what to do. One option widely reported before Brown’s election was to pass the health care law before Brown took his seat. But on Jan. 20, 2010, the day after Brown’s election, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nv., took that plan off the table.
"We’re going to wait until the new senator arrives until we do anything more on health care," Reid said.
In the end, the House passed the Senate bill on March 21, 2010. On that same day, the House passed a slew of their own measures in a separate bill, which the Senate passed March 25, 2010, through a filibuster-proof process known as reconciliation.
One last point: Brown’s 16-day wait from election to swearing-in is in line with other recent Senate special elections. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was elected after the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg on Oct. 16, 2013, and sworn in 15 days later on Oct. 31, 2013. And Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey won the special election to replace John Kerry on June 25, 2013, and did not take the oath of office until July 16, 2013 -- 21 days later.
Our ruling
Brown said, "They delayed my swearing-in here in Massachusetts for a couple weeks so they could ram (the health care law) through."
We never heard back from Brown, but the record is pretty clear on this. His swearing-in wasn’t delayed, and the Senate did not "ram" the health care law through in the time between his election and his taking the oath of office.
We rate his claim False.Pat Robertson: Creationists 'Deaf, Dumb, and Blind'
Television minister Pat Robertson said on the May 13 episode of CBN's 700 Club, "The truth is, you have to be deaf, dumb, and blind to think that this earth that we live in only has 6,000 years of existence."1 The eight staff doctorates at the Institute for Creation Research, and the many other biblical creation scientists who agree with their position, might like to know what they supposedly haven't heard, don't understand, and haven't seen.2
Robertson was responding to a letter that asked, "I've heard arguments from both sides of whether our Earth is 6,000 years old…Please explain further."1
But Pat's explanation sounded far more emotional than factual.
He said, "I think to deny the clear [geologic] record that's there before us makes us look silly." Of course the "us" refers to Christians in general, who, in Robertson's view, should accept millions of years as a scientific fact that geology has left in a "clear record."
Where in Earth's many rocks can we find this "record"? We may only have seen it in books that men wrote, not in rocks that carry no literal records. Do Earth layers really present as clear a "record" of millions of years as Robertson so assertively persuaded?
Robertson referred to an age of dinosaurs including a Jurassic Period, "radiocarbon dating," and oil as three icons representing millions of years. Good science refutes each.
For example, fossils confront the notion of a Jurassic "age of reptiles" in at least three ways. First, dinosaur fossils occur alongside many living creatures that belong to this current age, including palm, ginkgo, and sycamore trees; frogs, turtles, crocodiles and lizards; snails, clams, and fish; dragonflies, spiders, and lobsters; Tasmanian devils, shrews, and otters; ducks, loons, and parrots.3
Second, dinosaur fossils occur in sandwiched rock strata with little or no erosion between layers. Where is the evidence for either millions of years of slow and gradual deposition—which would have failed to preserve these creatures before they could fossilize—or of weathering—which would have eroded ruts and rills into the top of each layer? The strata's layer-cake appearance looks instead like many strata were deposited in rapid sequence.
Third, some dinosaur fossils still have original tissues, including animal proteins, inside them. This is consistent with tissue decay rate studies showing proteins can last thousands but certainly not a million years. Actual rocks exist that men have labeled "Jurassic," but those very rocks, and especially the Cretaceous layers above them, refute the notion of a dinosaur "age." They look like massive flood deposits.
And what about Pat Robertson's "radiocarbon dating"? Perhaps he would be embarrassed to learn that secular scientists do not radiocarbon-date dinosaurs since the method is in theory useless for dating anything older than 90,000 or so years.
Unfortunately, too many have turned deaf ears and blind eyes to the many secular reports of still-present carbon-14 found throughout the very rock "record" to which Robertson refers, including oil, coal, fossils, natural gas, and marble.4 Like the original tissue fossils, this positive evidence powerfully aligns with recent creation.
Robertson almost certainly meant to instead use the term "radioisotope dating," which secularists routinely use to estimate ages for igneous rocks that lie above or below dinosaur layers. Here again, too few have heard, understood, or seen the main reason why we know these methods don't work. When radiometric dating is used on rocks of known age (whose formation was observed) it most often gives highly inflated, erroneous age estimates.
Oil presents some major problems for the long-age view, too. First, the organic algae parts of which it is comprised should long ago have either been eaten by Earth's abundant oil-eating bacteria or have faded away as spontaneous chemical reactions converted it to carbon dioxide.5
Also, oil continues to push upward, being less dense than water. After only hundreds of thousands of years, Earth's oil should all have finished its vertical migration through rock strata, since all rocks are porous. But oil wells continue to gush with underground pressure. Last, how can one conceive of burying that much algae beneath that much sediment without a recent catastrophe of global proportions?
Pat passionately pleaded with 700 Club viewers, "There's no WAY that all this that you have here took place in 6,000 years."1 Oh, yes there is. All you need is a Creator, a flood, and His Word to know that. Good thing that good science confirms it, though.
References
The 700 Club – May 13, 2014. CBN TV. Posted on cbn.com, accessed May 15, 2014. These are:
Clarey, Tim, Ph.D., Geology, Western Michigan University
Cupps, Vernon, Ph.D., Nuclear Physics, Indiana University-Bloomington
Guliuzza, Randy, M.D., University of Minnesota
Hebert, Jake, Ph.D., Physics, University of Texas at Dallas
Jeanson, Nathaniel, Ph.D., Cell and Developmental Biology, Harvard University
Lisle, Jason, Ph.D., Astrophysics, University of Colorado, Boulder
Morris, John, Ph.D., Geological Engineering, University of Oklahoma
Tomkins, Jeffrey, Ph.D., Genetics, Clemson University Werner, C. 2008. Living Fossils. Evolution: The Grand Experiment, vol. 2. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press. Baumgardner, J. 2005. Carbon-14 Evidence for a Recent Global Flood and a Young Earth. In Radioisotopes and the Age of The Earth: Results of a Young-Earth Creationist Research Initiative, Vol. 2. Vardiman, L., A. A. Snelling, and E. F. Chaffin, eds. San Diego, CA: Institute for Creation Research and Chino Valley, AZ: Creation Research Society, 369-373. Clarey, T. 2014. Rapidly Forming Oil Supports Flood Timeframe. Acts & Facts. 43 (3).
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
Article posted on May 16, 2014.Open Letter to South San Francisco Officials Regarding Their Proposed E-Cigarette Moratorium
Here is a letter I sent to several South SF City Council officials (their names, titles, and email addresses are included below) against their proposed ban on e-cigarette stores such as the one I frequent, the Vapor Den. I suggest others in the Bay Area with similar sentiments use those email addresses to tell them so.
And BE POLITE.
Hi,
This is in regard to your proposed moratorium on e-cigarette stores. As a former smoker who was able to quit cigarettes because of this device, I suggest this is a very bad idea. I had been smoking for 25 years, and had tried to quit many, many times. Nothing ever worked. Not the patch (which also causes my skin to itch, so I couldn't stay on it anyway) nor the gum (which I cannot use because it dissolves fillings).
My only option was cold turkey, and when I tried it that way, I never, ever lasted more than a month. The vicious headaches, the nervousness, the sleeplessness, and the complete inability to concentrate on ANYTHING but trying to not smoke eventually would get to me. These are not issues of will, or character. They are physical things that cannot be ignored. Non-smokers do not understand what this is like. I lost count of how many times I tried to quit after twenty.I have issues with anxiety, which makes it especially hard to quit.
In May I tried using an e-cigarette instead. And from that point onward I have not felt a single craving for a cigarette. Not one. Nor any of the other effects of it. And the one time I tried one again, I couldn't--it now tasted terrible, as it had before I got used to it. It was a compromise. If my body gets the nicotine, it does not care about the other stuff a cigarette has--which is what, after all, causes cancer. I was always a considerate smoker who tried to keep it away from others. and I remain in that habit even though the e-cig does not pose any risk to others. There has not been a single downside to it. I've even saved money.
If you make it impossible for people to get that anymore, all you will be doing is forcing a lot of people to resume smoking. Period. Unless you're also going to ban the sale of cigarettes, trying to keep people from buying e-cigs will in fact force people back to the thing you're trying to get them to quit. I don't WANT to return to smoking. But I also do not want to go through withdrawal. I will not win. I know this. I will just start smoking again.
It could be argued to be hypocritical to ban this but not the sale of cigarettes. Personally, I have no issue with the rules of vaping being the same as those of smoking; as I mentioned I still remain in those habits--I don't vape in restaurants or stores, etc.
But to ban their sale entirely would be a major mistake. I urge you to consider the harm you will cause and how counter-productive this action would be.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
John RobersonTwo Orthodox Jewish rabbis were sentenced to prison Tuesday for their involvement in a plot to kidnap Jewish men in an effort to coerce them into granting their wives religious divorces.
Rabbi Mendel Epstein, 70, of Lakewood N.J. was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Rabbi Binyamin Stimler, 40, of Brooklyn, received three years and three months, according to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.
Epstein was convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping in April. Stimler was also convicted on the same charge, as well as attempted kidnapping.
The men were arrested along with eight others after the FBI raided several locations in October 2013, including Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Suffern, a home in Brooklyn and at least one other location in New Jersey.
The initial investigation stemmed from four incidents occurring between 2009 and 2013.
Prosecutors said the team used brutal methods, including handcuffs and electric cattle prods, to torture men into granting religious divorces.
Jewish law mandates that a husband present his wife with a document, known as a “get,” to make divorce official.
In November, Avrohom Goldstein, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. Ariel Potash, of Monsey, New York, got a sentence of one year and two months, and Sholom Schuchat, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to time served. Moshe Goldstein, 32, of Brooklyn, was also sentenced to four years in prison.
The New Jersey District Attorny’s office said Jay Goldstein, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and attempted kidnapping, is scheduled to be sentenced this week.At first glance, Sushant Ajnikar looks like any other passionate biker; wearing his biker gear like a second skin, and always found next to his Royal Enfield Classic 500. But dig a little deeper, and one understands that Sushant is cut from a different cloth. This 31-year- old has ridden 11,000 kilometres on the bike, spanning three countries, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, all for one reason; to spread awareness around street dogs.
Not surprisingly, this is Sushant’s second long journey. The first one included travelling 9,000 kilometres from Bengaluru to Leh and Ladakh, spreading the same message. His adventures and the aspiration to create a more hospitable environment for street dogs (indies) has given rise to his own small social enterprise, Paws of India.
“Riding to Leh-Ladakh was always on my bucket list, so when I finally decided to do it, my wife suggested that we can actually make this trip bigger than it is. We had adopted two Indian dogs already by then and were very keen on advocating the adoption of Indian dogs. Hence, being in this frame of mind, we decided to add some more meaning to my trip. I had also observed the attention a solo rider receives when I rode from Bangalore to Rajasthan and back and how easily people open up to you and listen to your experiences. Deriving from all of the above, we decided to create an entity for our initiative - thus Paws of India was born,” explains Sushant.
An animal lover since he was a kid, Sushant knew that his long-term goal would be to initiate projects that would make the lives of his four-legged friends better. “As a kid, my mom would give me pocket money for myself, and I would use that to buy biscuits to feed dogs, much to her chagrin. Her anger didn’t stop me, though,” he says.
Sushant tells people to remember that one need not be a canine behaviorist or any kind of animal expert to understand the core basics of animal behaviour - no animal will harm you unless provoked by you, or by circumstance. “No animal does anything without a reason - nature has coded animals to do what they need to do for survival - no other reason other than to sustain and stay alive.
Animals are far more intelligent than humans and contrary to popular belief, they know how to adapt and coexist, unlike the human race. If we simply observe the nuances of animals, we will understand how they function, and our fear and antagonistic attitude will transform to intrigue, tolerance and eventually acceptance. The problem today is that people don’t want to take the effort to understand and neither do they want to accept the fact that the ecosystem cannot function without other species - that intentional harming of any species is harming their own kind, more than anyone else, as the resulting imbalance cannot be corrected at the pace with which humans are consistently trying to wipe out some species. We should leave the ecosystem clean-up to nature - any human interference will only make things worse,” he says.
Preparations for the trip:
Undertaking such a long and tedious journey required Sushant to meticulously plan out every single detail. “I start by saving for any trip almost two years in advance. The biggest cost of the trip is petrol, then comes the gear and spares. My last trip in 2014 cost me a lakh, of which 60% was spent on petrol, rest were spent on hotels and food. That trip was for 9,000 kms and I fed around 200 dogs. I also met countless inspiring people and some who were inspired by me as well,” he adds.
In this trip, Sushant rode 11,000kms! “And, I fed more than 200 dogs, and spent around 2.5 lakhs,” he says.
Speaking of the price of the travel always earns Sushant some detractors. “Some have told me that this model doesn’t work and that I could use the money to rescue dogs instead. But I point out that their advised method will allow me to only rescue a handful of dogs. The biking trips on the other hand, will enable me to reach out to a larger audience and also feed a greater number of dogs. Thereby, making the trip more impactful,” says Sushant.
Before undertaking the journey, Sushant invested a lot of time in doing stamina building exercises. “Other exercises include those that increase lung capacity and help to get a flexible back and neck. These preparations are very important as the body endures a lot on any trip that I have undertaken,” he says.
The trip:
Needless to say, the trip was not an easy one. Sushant had to battle rough terrain, and moody weather conditions, among other hardships. “The initial plan was to ride for 16,000 kilometres, but I ended up riding for only 11,000, as I encountered a lot of rains, harsh sun, and very bad roads. I rode through three countries, India, Nepal, and Bhutan,” he explains. Sushant started from Bengaluru, rode through the eastern coastal highway of India passing through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Mizoram. “In Nepal, I entered through Kakarbitta border near Siliguri, rode to Kathmandu through Sindhuri highway, then went to Pokhara,” he adds.
Sharing the problems he went through, Sushant says, “Sometimes I would stay in the cheapest hotels thinking that I won't get any sleep, but I was so tired I crashed within five minutes. I once got lost on the highway because of the fog and found myself in the middle of a jungle trying to make my own roads, got caught in flash floods, bike stuck in slush with its wheels locked waiting for the sun to come so that the wet mud dries off and i could move the bike, rode for 950 kms in 12 and half hours one day and so many more crazy experiences like these,” he says.
Creating awareness:
The modus operandi of Sushant was very simple. When taking breaks, he would feed dogs, and educate people around him about why it is important to love and care for our own indies. “My heavy-duty biker gear almost always gets people’s attention. They are curious about what a person like me is doing by feeding, talking to, and petting dogs. A conversation is then struck between them and I. I use this opportunity to talk about my initiative, and try and make the listener see the importance of these dogs,” he says.
Sushant is also extremely grateful to have met some amazing people on his way, who have humbled him with the amazing work done by them. “In Jowai near Shillong, I met a lady Kongka Passah who has managed to influence her small town to look after animals and report if any animal has met with an accident or so. I also met another lady, Tashnim Mawlong, who started an NGO called SARS to rescue and spread awareness in Shillong along with my friend Lorina Richmond,” he says.
“After this trip, I have decided to take it on myself to correct the wrong image that is created of our eastern part of the country. Our friends from the northeast are a lovely lot, genuine at heart, not at all harmful or scary and no they also do not feast on dogs! We really need to travel a lot more to the northeast to learn and understand from their culture to appreciate their beauty,” he adds.
Traveling to various places has sensitised Sushant to the varying attitudes shown to street dogs by people in different places. “In Nepal and Bhutan, there is a general respect for all living creatures. One can find dogs in every part of the city, and people have learned to live with them and have no problems. Both Bhutan and Nepal are living examples how compassion and coexistence are the answer, while on the other hand, we have Kerala and other such states in our country who have taken upon themselves to kill every street dog out there,” says Sushant.
Sending a message:
Urging people to be more compassionate, Sushant says, “It is very easy to be empathetic. All it takes is five minutes and a biscuit packet worth Rs. 5. Rescuing requires commitment, money, effort, time and most of all, a very strong resolve to be able to withstand the emotional drain that comes with rescuing dogs - it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. However, feeding a dog, although smaller in action, is definitely easier to do, and anyone can do it.”
An IndiaPromise story.
(IndiaPromise.org is a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit. FactChecker.in is fact-checking initiative, scrutinising for veracity and context statements made by individuals and organisations in public life.)
The serial adventurer adds that adventures are a risky business, and if something goes wrong, his work should go on. “And, lastly, the most important thing is to prepare for the worst case scenario. I get my wife to understand it and accept it. It’s an adventure and anything can go wrong. So if I do not come back just remember me for what I was set out to do.”
An IndiaPromise story. www.indiaPromise.com is a media initiative to collate and curate positive stories from all across India on a single platform.Disasters come in many different forms and levels of intensity, but one common theme they all share is the destruction they leave in their wakes. Whether it’s a hurricane, tsunami, or tornado, the once civilized land will turn into a field of debris, wreckage, and trash.
When you open your shelter doors on the day after SHTF to find an apocalyptic wasteland, it will be easy to become discouraged and dismiss your surrounds as remnants of a time gone. You’ll see destroyed homes and buildings, toppled infrastructure, and heaping piles of nothing more than garbage. You might look out feel as hopeless as the area around you appears.
When every drop of water, ounce of food, and night of sleep matters, nothing can be considered waste. And that is where you have to change your mindset, starting now! If you find yourself in a survival situation, no matter how desperate you become or desolate your surroundings, eliminate the existence of trash in your mind.
You’d be surprised at the nearly endless amount of possibilities to recycle and reuse what could easily be dismissed as trash. Let’s see a few objects and materials that are likely to remain in abundance after a disaster that could be used for a variety of survival needs. But your very first step is to start thinking outside the box and unconventionally.
Until then, look at any weaknesses you may have in your home preps now, and see how you could save money by refurbishing instead of replacing. When SHTF and you, your property, and your possessions start taking some hits, you’re only choice will be to use what you find around you to make quick fixes to a multitude of problems.
Common Items and How to (Re)Use Them
1. Tin cans – Tin cans (usually made of aluminum) can be recycled into a variety of tools. They will be in abundance when SHTF, as many people will have a plenty of them after consuming their food supplies.
If you’re bugging out and camping somewhere new each night, you know how useful would be a rocket stove made from those used tin cans.
Also, tied together along a string (think the back of a newlywed’s limo), tin cans make an effective primitive alarm system.
A tin can alarm may be the difference between a run in with a hostile threat or hungry animal and a peaceful night’s sleep.
From there, the cans can be shaped back into a flat surface, essentially turning them into sheet metal.
Flattened cans could be used for paneling a variety of surfaces or cut into different tools and blades.
2. Corrugated steel – Continuing the theme of sheet metal, corrugated steel is one of the most commonly used forms of sheet metal for covering primitive structures around the world. It lasts a long time, is resistant to the elements, and is sturdy and flat. Corrugated steel can be used to help stop a leaky roof, fortify the outside of a home, or serve as the material for an entire structure.
3. Paper/Cardboard – Basically anything that comes packaged in paperboard or corrugated cardboard can be burned. It makes great kindling for fires and also acts as emergency insulation in extreme cold conditions. It would be easy to fill your house up with paper and cardboard with the amount of packaging the average household discards.
While you should consider saving a good quantity of paper and cardboard for fire kindling and other emergency uses, don’t go overboard. Also keep in mind that certain dyes, inks, and glosses can emit dangerous toxins when burned, so be careful what you put in the fire and what you use for cooking.
4. Steel drums – 55-gallon steel drums are great survival tools. They can be used as an outdoor burn barrel for both heating needs and incinerating unusable debris. They can also be fashioned into a homemade blacksmith forge, barbeque grill, or distillation pot, depending on the specs of the drum. Also consider 55-gallon plastic drums, as they can be valuable for storing potable water, fuel, and dry goods.
5. Glass containers – Glass containers and bottles can be recycled to be repurposed. Glass is one of the best vessels for keeping food and liquids sanitary and fresh, and many varieties of glass container offer more airtight lids than their plastic counterparts.
Anything with a tight-fitting lid can be reused to store both dry and wet food products, along with other various goods and supplies.
Glass jars can also be used to make candles and oil lamps for DIY low-cost lighting.
You could also use glass bottles to build houses or greenhouses, and that’s not a joke. Actually, more than 50 years ago, Alfred Heineken designed the wobo bottle which he called “the brick that holds beer”, and was used also when building bottle walls and houses.
6. Automobiles – Cars and trucks are made up of a variety of components that can be repurposed for many different survival uses. If an environmental disaster tears across a landscape, most of the cars and trucks will be put out of commission.
However, they will retain their tires, engines, interiors, and body paneling regardless of the hell they go through. Most of these parts can be reused in one way or another.
Tires can be used to build earthen walls for defense or raised planter boxes for homegrown produce. Transmission and engine oil can be used as lubricant and burned as fuel for heat and lighting. The cushioning and fabric of seats can be used in emergency shelter building or to help insulate a drafty home.
A car itself can be flipped over and left along a road or path (that is, if you can move it) as an enemy deterrent. Again, it’s all about thinking outside the box and finding a use for everything.
7. Tarps/Plastic sheeting – Tarps and plastic sheeting are often recommended for carry in any bug out bag. They make great ground coverings, serve to make a primitive tent, and can be suspended as a makeshift hammock.
Tarps/sheets can also be used to transport goods, wrap food products or fresh game, collect water, radiate heat from a fire into a shelter, or be worn as insulation or a rain poncho.
These are just a few ideas to get your brain start thinking of sustainable survival. You may live a privileged life now, but when SHTF you may have no choice but survive on what you once considered garbage.
The list above is by no means comprehensive; it only represents a few items that will likely be common after a disaster that can be repurposed to help you survive. Start to look at things in a new light now to increase your chances of making the most out of very little when SHTF.
If you have your own DIY project from garbage, speak up your mind and share it with the other preppers using the comment form below or the Contact page on our website.
This article has been written by Cody Griffin for Survivopedia.
Photo sources: 1, 2, 3.Which college major should I choose?
Summary This article highlights the advantages and disadvantages of choosing a technical (e.g., science, engineering) versus non-technical (e.g., business, humanities) college major. One's looks and personality are pivotal in determining whether one will be happier and/or more successful upon choosing a technical or non-technical major.
Technical vs. non-technical majors
In my over-simplified view of the world, there are two kinds of college majors: technical and non-technical. Typical examples of technical majors include engineering, applied math, and science; typical examples of non-technical majors include the arts, humanities, business/administration, and communications. When deciding on a college major (or assessing the decision made by, say, one of your kids whose hefty tuition bill you've just paid), one must first choose between these two kinds of majors. In this article, I will present my assessments of each kind of major and how well they mesh with students' expectations of college, looks, personality, and high school social status.
Expectations of the college experience vs. choice of major
I am not making a value judgment as to which kind of major is better in any absolute sense; the more appropriate question is: which kind is better for you? To begin your assessment, try thinking about your expectations for your college experience. There are two common (opposing) expectations for the undergraduate experience:
College should be a time of social and intellectual enrichment
College should be preparatory job training for a future career
In reality, most people's college experiences incorporate a combination of these two philosophies. However, if you desire more of the former (college as enrichment), then you should consider a non-technical major. Not surprisingly, if you desire more of the latter (college as job training), then you should consider a technical major.
If you view your college experience primarily as a time of social and intellectual enrichment, then it really doesn't matter what you major in, as long as you major in something that will keep your interest and motivation for long enough to get you to pass all of your classes and to eventually earn a Bachelor's degree. You have the freedom to major in just about anything you enjoy without worrying about what kind of job you can obtain after graduation.
On the other hand, if you view your college experience primarily as preparatory training and a stepping stone to a specific future technical career (e.g., engineering, scientific research, medicine), then you have much less freedom in choosing your major and even your classes (e.g., majoring in Human Biology is going to make it tough for you to get an engineering job working on the latest jet at Boeing).
High school popularity vs. choice of major
How popular are (or were) you in high school? If you are one of the popular kids, then that means that you are more likely to have an extroverted personality and to be assertive, bold, and/or charismatic. The more popular you are in high school, the more likely that you can be successful in your career with a non-technical college degree. Non-technical jobs heavily emphasize soft skills involving interpersonal interactions or qualitative abilities, and being popular in high school is a great pre-requisite for such jobs. If you are a popular kid, then you are likely to excel in soft skills like |
, a drawback the next version of Android is aimed at fixing.
In addition to speeding up the framerate, increasing how quickly the Nexus 5 can fire off a picture, the camera app should launch a second faster than before. There will also be a progress indicator in the HDR+ mode that makes the mode easier to manage. Yet while the update focuses on speed, picture results will be altered in other ways. See for yourself.
The update should also fix the Nexus 5's face unlock bug, where relying on facial recognition to unlock the device would occasionally ruin the camera app until the entire phone was rebooted.
The Nexus 5's camera is already a solid shooter in its current form, but its drawbacks have kept it from being the perfect shooter for any moment that Google has made it out to be. With this new update, owners should soon be able to whip out the phone with more confidence.
Source: The VergeAt least one person vandalized the greens on four golf courses run by the Trump organization over the weekend in New York and New Jersey.
Among the Trump Organization golf courses hit was Trump National in Bedminster, N.J., where President Trump has a residence and was staying when the vandalism occurred. Slogans critical of the administration were scribed into putting greens using chemicals, police said.
The Trump Organization said one suspect has been identified.
In all, nine greens at Trump courses in Hudson Valley, Ferry Point and Westchester in New York – in addition to Bedminster – endured similar acts of vandalism, according a report in the Irish Times.
“We take all acts of vandalism very seriously, and would like to thank local law enforcement officials for their efforts,” the Trump Organization said in a statement. “The individual responsible is in custody, and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Various messages on greens included an adapted portion of Macbeth, “President Pence has a bad ring to it” and “Product of too much Propecia.”
Trump’s doctor said earlier this year the president does take the hair-growth drug under its generic name – Finasteride.
The Westchester County district attorney’s office is investigating an incident on Sunday at Trump National Golf Club Westchester. One person related to the case is scheduled to be in court there on Sept. 27th.
Trump has visited his various properties 57 times since his inauguration.iTunes, iBooks, and App Store gift cards as well as app promo codes are all redeemed the same way. One of those ways is through iTunes on your Windows PC or Mac. If you've received a gift card or a promo code, you can fire up iTunes and redeem your card for store credit in just a matter of seconds.
That's all there is to it, you can now start looking for apps, books, and music to spend your iTunes credit on! If you regularly redeem iTunes or App Store gift cards, what method do you use? Do you use iTunes at all or do you prefer redeeming gift cards on your iPhone or iPad instead? Let me know in the comments!
Note: Originally published May 2013. Updated May 2014.Image caption Western governments used to think that financial panics were a problem of the distant past
R is for run. As in bank run.
If you're wondering what a bank run is, think of Northern Rock. It is a sensitive topic, not least here at the BBC.
But it is a subject that is being increasingly discussed by investors and economists in the eurozone. One can assume it is also being discussed in private by European policymakers too.
Because the fact is that Europe's banks already face what amounts to a slow-motion run by big institutional investors.
They're not queuing up at branches. Instead they are withholding their money at the click of a mouse.
Major US money managers and lenders are pulling out of the eurozone, as is clear from the cost to eurozone banks of borrowing in dollars right now, which has returned to extreme levels last seen during the global financial crisis.
Moreover, data from the European Central Bank (ECB) suggest that Europe's banks themselves are losing confidence in each other - though not yet quite as badly as in 2008.
They have increasingly been putting their cash in the safe hands of the central bank, rather than lending it to each other, despite the punitively low interest rate the ECB pays them.
Lessons learned
To be clear, there is no immediate risk of banks running out of cash.
Greece is at the forefront of the crisis: Deposits at the country's banks have fallen 21% since January 2010, according to Greek central bank data.
But the Greek banks have been on ECB life support for over a year now, and they have duly paid out every cent that has been demanded from them.
They borrow the money from the central bank by providing Greek government bonds (ie loans they have made to their government) as collateral - just as you would offer your house as collateral to take out a mortgage.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How is the European Central Bank helping the banks?
And the ECB has continued to provide cash to the Greek banks even as that collateral has become increasingly worthless - leaving the ECB exposed to big losses if Greece stops repaying its debts.
As Greece's credit rating has been cut and cut by the big three ratings agencies, so the ECB has lowered and lowered the minimum standard of collateral it is willing to accept, because it is determined to keep the Greek banks alive.
The ECB has learned the lesson of 2008 - which is that if one big financial institution is allowed to fail, then panicky lenders will pull the rug from under the entire financial system.
Indeed, before the global financial crisis, Western governments thought that such panics had been laid to rest decades ago.
After the bank runs of the 1930s, US and European governments instituted two important changes to make sure they were never repeated.
Firstly, the central bank agreed to act as "lender of last resort". That meant that - so long as a bank was fundamentally sound - the central bank would always lend it cash to stave off a panic, just as the ECB is doing now.
Secondly, the bank accounts of ordinary depositors like you or me were guaranteed by the banks' respective governments. So that even if a bank goes bust, ordinary folk do not need to worry about losing their savings.
That formal guarantee currently amounts to 100,000 euros (£86,000; $133,000) in eurozone countries.
What governments did not do was to guarantee the multi-million deposits of institutions such as money managers, big companies or other banks. These investors were supposed to be sophisticated enough to bear their own risk.
But by 2008, banks had become so dependent on the money they got from these large depositors (and they still are), that governments in effect had to extend their guarantee to cover these investors too, or else face another 1930s-style financial meltdown and depression.
Incredible guarantees
That's why the ECB is currently pulling out all the stops to keep Europe's banks afloat.
And it's also why Europe's governments have promised to pour even more money into recapitalising their banks - which basically means taxpayers will provide a buffer to absorb the banks' losses.
Crisis jargon buster Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of key financial terms: AAA-rating AAA-rating The best credit rating that can be given to a borrower's debts, indicating that the risk of borrowing defaulting is minuscule.
But, if their money is effectively guaranteed these days, why are the big institutional depositors in the eurozone's banks still losing their nerve?
The reason, it appears, is that they no longer fully believe in the guarantee.
Greece is the most extreme example.
It is widely accepted that the country will never repay its debts. The only question is whether it will negotiate a write-off of much of its debts by its lenders, or just thumb its nose and stop repaying them.
But if Greece cannot pay its debts, how much is its guarantee of the Greek banks worth?
What's more, Greece's biggest lenders are - unsurprisingly - none other than the Greek banks themselves.
So even if Greece manages to agree a significant write-off of its debts, it will then have to bail out the biggest losers - its own banks. In effect, it would be stealing money from its own pocket.
Nonetheless, if the Greek banks really did go belly-up, would the Greek government let the savings of its own citizens be wiped out?
Almost certainly not. As the case of the UK's Northern Rock amply demonstrated, governments will always put the money of their own voters first.
Which means that all the burden of loss would fall on the banks' other lenders - which is one of the things that is making those other lenders so nervous.
Playing Argentina?
There is, of course, an alternative scenario. Greece could leave the euro - a possibility openly discussed by eurozone leaders these days.
On the plus side, Greece's debts would be converted into drachmas, meaning the government could rely on the newly independent Greek central bank to print all the cash it needs to repay them - although if it actually did this, it would probably cause massive inflation.
The deposits at Greek banks would also be converted into drachmas. So there should be no question of the government honouring its guarantee of people's bank accounts in drachmas.
But here is the big problem. Who on earth would want their savings to be converted into a new currency that would then very likely lose much of its value against the euro?
The large institutional depositors at Greece's banks certainly wouldn't.
Which raises the question, if people start to think that a Greek exit from the euro is inevitable, would ordinary Greeks also start to exercise their right to convert their deposits into euro cash, or - more prudently - to transfer their deposits to a newly-opened account in Germany?
And this is where it gets nasty.
Because big investors fear that, in a worst-case scenario, Greece might decide to "do an Argentina" - that is, to stop paying its debts, unhitch and devalue its currency, and blow a raspberry at the rest of the world, like Argentina did in 2001-02.
In which case the government may have a perverse incentive to permit a run on its own banks.
Why? Because when a Greek closes his or her account in Athens, their bank turns to the Greek central bank for the money.
Then, depending on the depositor's request, the Greek central bank either prints the banknotes needed, or - through the system of central banks inside the eurozone - borrows the money from the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank.
Either way, as depositors' money flows out of Greece's banks, the Greek central bank ends up becoming more and more indebted to the European Central Bank.
And if the Greek government has secretly decided to renege on its debts, then why not let its citizens do what they must to preserve the value of their savings ahead of the big announcement?
Speaking volumes
What does all this mean for the much bigger eurozone economies - Italy, Spain, France and even Germany?
Greece is small, and the losses to the rest of Europe from a Greek implosion may be manageable. What may not be manageable is the precedent it would set.
First of all, many other eurozone economies share characteristics with Greece. They have too much debt (considering government and private sector debt together), and in the case of southern Europe, their economies are fundamentally uncompetitive.
That means they face little prospect of the strong economic recovery that may be needed to make their debts repayable. Indeed, the current financial crisis appears to be plunging Europe back into recession.
Secondly, Europe's banks may not be too-big-to-fail, so much as too-big-to-rescue. This is the big concern hanging over France - can the country actually afford to prop up the French banks that have lent so much to Italy and Spain?
Thirdly, a failure in Greece will speak volumes about the lack of political will to solve the eurozone's problems.
Germany has refused to put more of its taxpayers' money on the line to prop up fellow eurozone governments, somehow imagining that China would be willing to do this instead.
The Germans fear that if they go easy on southern Europe, it will just encourage more profligacy, and they will be left carrying the can.
For similar reasons, the ECB - under the Bundesbank's influence - has likewise refused to print the trillions of euros needed to bail out Europe's struggling governments.
It has also refused to even consider tolerating a higher inflation rate - something that many economists warn will be needed to make Europe's debts repayable, and to help southern European workers regain a competitive edge.
Lastly, and most worryingly, is that panic is highly infectious. Once depositor bank runs start in one place, they have a worrying tendency to spread quickly to other places.
That was the biggest lesson of the 1930s bank runs, and one that the world thought it had learned.ModZero is warning the issue (CVE-2017-8360) could lead to the leaking of sensitive user information, such as passwords. Anyone with access to the unencrypted file system could recover the data. Furthermore, since the program isn't considered malicious, malware authors wouldn't have trouble capturing victim's keystrokes either. Researchers say the keylogger comes registered as a Microsoft Scheduled Task, so it runs after each user login. While the file is overwritten each time, ModZero says it could easily be recruited by a running process or analyzed by someone with forensic tools.
Researchers surmised the software has been recording keystrokes since version 1.0.0.31 was released, on Christmas Eve 2015, but stress that the same problem exists in the most recent version, 1.0.0.46, released last October.
ModZero also warns the audio driver comes installed on a slew of HP machines, including its EliteBook, Elite x2, ProBook, and ZBook lines, but could exist in other machines. The company also delivers audio drivers for Dell, Lenovo, and Asus machines although at this point it's not certain they feature the same audio driver.
The firm says the following HP products are affected however:A little Background…
I am a 23 year old photographer who moved to Chicago from Nigeria 6 years ago. I started photography about 3 years ago. After playing around with a DSLR in Target, I was hooked. I shoot mostly fashion photography, and female models. I have shot full frame since late 2011 with the 5D mk2, then the D800 since November 2012.
Why the RX1?
I honestly just had some extra money 2 months ago, and wanted a new toy. It was either the camera or a new road bike. Boy am I glad I went with the RX1. I was lucky enough to get a used one in excellent condition for $1900 with a very nice leather case.
First Impressions
It’s really small, but substantial. There is a solid heft to it, even though it’s not heavy by any means. The compactness makes me marvel at how far technology has come. Everything on the camera feels solidly built and very premium.
Using the Camera
It’s such a joy to use. It gets out of your way, and just lets you shoot. The controls are very intuitive, and the feedback from the buttons are very good too. Before getting this camera, my preferred lens was the Nikon 50mm 1.4. I don’t like zooms, so a fixed lens that gave me more room to add the environment was perfect. It took me a little while to get used to the 35mm focal length, but now it just feels natural. I have only shot with the camera in available light. I tried using my generic Calumet flash triggers, but they didn’t fit completely into the hotshoe. The strobe syncing worked fine, but the contact was finicky, so it wouldn’t flash when it secured tightly. I prefer to shoot with available light when I shoot outdoors anyways, so strobing with the RX1 wasn’t a priority for me. That just takes the simplicity of using this camera out of the equation. The auto white balance on the RX1 is wonderful. It always metered much better than my D800 in every situation.
One big advantage with shooting outside on location with the RX1 is how little attention you gather. It’s unbelievable. Cops just walked on by when I was shooting a model in a vest and panties in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day without saying a word. Contrary to my experiences with my D800, we would have been asked to present permits, and all sorts of documentation. People don’t crowd around to watch, because it just looks like I’m with my hot friends taking pics for Instagram.
The autofocus is good. It’s not going to win any awards for speed and accuracy, but it’s good enough to capture what I want quickly enough. Especially in sufficient light. It does struggle in low light, but I rarely ever shoot in low light, so that hasn’t been a problem. Speaking of low light performance, the RX1 is really good at high ISO’s. Better than my D800 from 3200 and up.
The dynamic range and sharpness from that 35mm f2 lens are just wonderful. I don’t even add sharpening in post, because the photos come out nice and sharp. With tons of shadow and highlight detail which makes post-processing a joy.
I didn’t get the EVF, because it adds bulk to the camera, is quite expensive, and makes it feel like a very formal/professional affair which goes against the philosophy behind the RX1 in my opinion. The LCD works just fine even in direct sunlight. I do not have a single complaint with it.
Battery life is quite bad, but the batteries are really cheap, and I have five of them with two chargers. I usually use 2 batteries for a full 2-3 hour fashion shoot. It’s also disconcerting to models who are used to using loud shutter clicks as cues to switch poses, but they get used to it after a while.
I shoot weddings occasionally, and I use the RX1 for all the pre-ceremony and reception shots where I have more time to be creative.
My only gripe with using it is that I still haven’t had a bride, groom, or client freak out that I was shooting with this tiny camera. It’s a little disappointing because I expected to get that reaction every time I whipped out the RX1 instead of my big DSLR. My D800 now sits at home collecting dust, and it takes me a while to re-adjust when I have to shoot with it because it really is cumbersome working with DSLR cameras. They’re heavy, bulky, and I hate not being able to see what my photo will look like before I click the shutter. Optical viewfinders are so old-fashioned.
I LOVE my RX1. It has been a revelation shooting with this little beast of a camera. I can’t stress how easy it makes shooting become. It makes something as serious as a high-end fashion shoot feel like a leisure time activity. It makes it easier for me to interact with my models, because everyone is more relaxed and having a blast during the shoot, and it shows in the images. I can’t speak for others, but for my purposes it is the perfect camera for my uses. I recently went on a trip to LA, and I left my DSLR at home. I didn’t miss having it for one moment. That was when I realized that small mirrorless Full-frame cameras are the future. I’ve only done a handful of shoots with the RX1, but it will be my main camera for the foreseeable future.
You can ask me any question you like, and I will be glad to answer in the comments section.
You can see more of my work on www.isispiks.com
Thanks for reading!
Isi AakahomeBefore the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan communities of various religious and ethnic background lived in the land. South of the Hindu Kush was ruled by the Zunbil and Kabul Shahi rulers. When the Chinese travellers (Faxian, Song Yun, Xuanzang, Wang-hiuon-tso, Huan-Tchao, and Wou-Kong) visited Afghanistan between 399 and 751 AD, they mentioned that Buddhism was practiced in different areas between the Amu Darya (Oxus River) in the north and the Indus River in the south.[1] The land was ruled by the Kushans followed by the Hephthalites during these visits. It is reported that the Hephthalites were fervent followers of the god Surya.[2]
The invading Muslim Arabs introduced Islam to a Zunbil king of Zamindawar (Helmand Province) in 653-4 AD, then they took the same message to Kabul before returning to their already Islamized city of Zaranj in the west. It is unknown how many accepted the new religion but the Shahi rulers remained non-Muslim until they lost Kabul in 870 AD to the Saffarid Muslims of Zaranj. Later, the Samanids from Bukhara in the north extended their Islamic influence into the area. It is reported that Muslims and non-Muslims still lived side by side in Kabul before the arrival of Ghaznavids from Ghazni.
"Kábul has a castle celebrated for its strength, accessible only by one road. In it there are Musulmáns, and it has a town, in which are infidels from Hind."[3] Istahkrí, 921 AD
The first mention of a Hindu in Afghanistan appears in the 982 AD Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam, where it speaks of a king in "Ninhar" (Nangarhar), who shows a public display of conversion to Islam, even though he had over 30 wives, which are described as "Muslim, Afghan, and Hindu" wives.[4] These names were often used as geographical terms by the Arabs. For example, Hindu (or Hindustani) has been historically used as a geographical term to describe someone who was native from the region known as India, and Afghan as someone who was native from a region called Bactria.
Archeology [ edit ]
Table of pre-Islamic dynasties of Afghanistan [ edit ]
Islamic conquest of Afghanistan [ edit ]
The region around Herat Province became Islamized in 642 AD, during the end of Muslim conquest of Persia. In 653-4 AD, General Abdur Rahman bin Samara arrived from Zaranj to the Zunbil capital Zamindawar with an army of around 6,000 Arab Muslims. The General "broke off a hand of the idol and plucked out the rubies which were its eyes in order to persuade the Marzbān of Sīstān of the god's worthlessness."[19] He explained to the worshippers of the solar deity, "my intention was to show you that this idol can do neither any harm nor good."[2] The people of southern Afghanistan began accepting Islam from this date onward. The Arabs then proceeded to Ghazni and Kabul to convert or conquer the Buddhist Shahi rulers. However, most historians claim that the rulers of Ghazni and Kabul remained non-Muslim. There is no information on the number of converts although the Arabs unsuccessfully continued their missions of invading the land to spread Islam for the next 200 or so years. It was in 870 AD when Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar finally conquered Afghanistan by establishing Muslim governors throughout the provinces.
"Arab armies carrying the banner of Islam came out of the west to defeat the Sasanians in 642 AD and then they marched with confidence to the east. On the western periphery of the Afghan area the princes of Herat and Seistan gave way to rule by Arab governors but in the east, in the mountains, cities submitted only to rise in revolt and the hastily converted returned to their old beliefs once the armies passed. The harshness and avariciousness of Arab rule produced such unrest, however, that once the waning power of the Caliphate became apparent, native rulers once again established themselves independent. Among these the Saffarids of Seistan shone briefly in the Afghan area. The fanatic founder of this dynasty, the coppersmith's apprentice Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, came forth from his capital at Zaranj in 870 AD and marched through Bost, Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, Bamyan, Balkh and Herat, conquering in the name of Islam.".[20] Nancy Dupree, 1971
By the 11th century, when the Ghaznavids were in power, the entire population of Afghanistan was practicing Islam, except the Kafiristan region (Nuristan Province) which became Muslim in the late 1800s.
See also [ edit ]
Professor Abdul Hai Habibi See article The Cultural, Social And Intellectual State Of The People Of Afghanistan In The Era Just Before The Advent Of Islam by eminent Afghan historian Abdul Hai Habibi
Shahi Coins in the Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000 By Colin R. Bruce, Thomas Michael Page 35
Afghan caves contain world's first oil paintings
Buddhist Sites in Afghanistan and Central AsiaOne of the entries in a Google search for “Frank Ocean sophomore album” is an article with the headline: “Frank Ocean is a liar and his album is never, ever coming out” That’s how mad people are about the absence of Frank in the marketplace. It’s been a long four years since his Grammy-winning 2012 debut, channel ORANGE, which if you think about it is not that long for an artist more focused on attention to detail than content frequency.
Fans remain on edge, despite knowing the best bet is to let Frank take his perfectionist time to produce a masterpiece. Chances are, it’ll be worth the wait. While his fans weep and pray daily in the meantime (self included), we compiled a tracklist of potential songs, producers, and collaborators we would love to see on his second LP. Perhaps inspiration will spring from this well and, eventually, an album.
ARTIST: Frank Ocean
TITLE: Vivere
Executive Producers: Christopher Breaux & Everest
1. “Love Letters From Frank (Intro)”
(F. Ocean, J. Ho)
Produced by Malay for Bughouse/Bhamboo Music Publishing. Keyboards by Frank Ocean. Recorded by Jeff Ellis and Paul Meyer at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA.
2. “Comeback”
(F. Ocean, J. Ho)
Produced by Malay for Bughouse/Bhamboo Music Publishing. Keyboards & Guitars by Malay. Bass by Charlie Hunter. Recorded by Ryan Kennedy at WestLake Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA.
3. “Running in Space” Feat. Syd Tha Kid
(F. Ocean, P. Williams, S. Taylor, S. Bennett)
Produced by Pharrell Williams for EMI April Music, Inc. Keyboards & Drums by Pharrell Williams. Strings by Chuck Palmer. Additional programming by Pharrell Williams. Recorded by Jeff Ellis and Paul Meyer at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Syd Tha Kid appears courtesy of Columbia Records.
4. “Eraser”
(F. Ocean, J. Ho)
Produced by Malay for Bughouse/Bhamboo Music Publishing. Keyboards & Guitars by Malay. Recorded by Jeff Ellis at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Contains elements of “Sweet Love” by Anita Baker.
5. “False Gods” Feat. Kanye West & Kendrick Lamar
(F. Ocean, K. West, K. Duckworth)
Produced by Kanye West for Very Good Beats/Hip Hop Since 1978. Keyboards by Jeff Babko. Strings by Dave Eggar. Drums by Matt Chamberlain and Kanye West. Recorded by Stuart White at Jungle City Studios, New York, NY. Kanye West appears courtesy of GOOD Music/Def Jam Records. Kendrick Lamar appears courtesy of Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope Records. Contains elements of “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys.
6. “The Wild”
(F. Ocean, J. Ho)
Produced by Malay for Bughouse/Bhamboo Music Publishing. Keyboards by Jeff Babko. Guitars by Martin Gore. Bass by Charlie Hunter. Recorded by Jeff Ellis and Paul Meyer at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA.
7. “Beautiful Noise” Feat. Beyoncé
(F. Ocean, B. Knowles, J. Ho, J. Fauntleroy)
Produced by Malay for Bughouse/Bhamboo Music Publishing. Keyboards by Malay. Strings by Dave Eggar. Recorded by Peter Mack at Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Additional vocals by James Fauntleroy. Beyoncé appears courtesy of Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records. Contains elements of “The Beautiful Ones” by Prince.
8. “(Intermission)”
(F. Ocean, O. Keith)
Produced by Om’mas Keith for the Analog Genius Corporation. Keyboards by Om’mas Keith. Guitar by Charlie Hunter. Recorded by Jeff Ellis at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA.
9. “To Infiniti”
(F. Ocean, C. Stewart, S. Taylor)
Produced by Tricky Stewart for RedZone Entertainment. Keyboards by Malay. Drums by Matt Chamberlain & Kanye West. Recorded by Stuart White at Jungle City Studios, New York, NY.
10. “Boys Don’t Cry”
(F. Ocean, O. Keith)
Produced by Om’mas Keith for the Analog Genius Corporation. Keyboards by Om’mas Keith. Recorded by Jeff Ellis and Miguel Lara at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Contains elements of “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by the Four Seasons.
11. “Hundreds” Feat. James Blake
(F. Ocean, J. Blake, R. Jenkins, S. Taylor)
Produced by Rodney Jerkins for Darkchild Entertainment, Inc. Keyboards by Om’mas Keith. Recorded by Peter Mack at Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. James Blake appears courtesy of Polydor Limited. Contains elements of “It’s Great To Be Here” by the Jackson 5.
12. “a.m. longing” Feat. Erykah Badu
(F. Ocean, E. Badu, J. Ho)
Produced by Malay for Bughouse/Bhamboo Music Publishing. Keyboards & Guitars by Malay. Recorded by Jeff Ellis and Paul Meyer at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Erykah Badu appears courtesy of Motown Records.
13. “noon”
(F. Ocean, O. Keith)
Produced by Om’mas Keith for the Analog Genius Corporation. Keyboards by Om’mas Keith. Strings by Dave Eggar. Recorded by Jeff Ellis and Paul Meyer at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Background vocals by Jessie Ware.
14. “p.m. sweat”
(F. Ocean, J. Ho)
Produced by Malay for Bughouse/Bhamboo Music Publishing. Guitars by John Mayer. Keyboards by Malay. Guitars by Taylor Johnson. Recorded by Jeff Ellis and Paul Meyer at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA.
15. “Escape”
(F. Ocean, S. Taylor)
Produced by S. Taylor for Downtown DLJ Songs. Keyboards by Shea Taylor. Contains elements of “Thinkin’ Bout You” by Frank Ocean. Recorded by Jeff Ellis at EastWest Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA.In this short essay, Thanissaro Bhikkhu explains that Buddha didn’t offer the concept of “emptiness” as an abstract metaphysical truth about the world. The Buddha taught “emptiness” as a skillful way to disentangle ourselves from the causes of suffering by not identifying with things like anger as being “me” or “mine.”
Emptiness
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
“Emptiness is a mode of perception, a way of looking at experience. It adds nothing to and takes nothing away from the raw data of physical and mental events. You look at events in the mind and the senses with no thought of whether there’s anything lying behind them.
This mode is called emptiness because it’s empty of the presuppositions we usually add to experience to make sense of it: the stories and world-views we fashion to explain who we are and the world we live in. Although these stories and views have their uses, the Buddha found that some of the more abstract questions they raise—of our true identity and the reality of the world outside—pull attention away from a direct experience of how events influence one another in the immediate present. Thus they get in the way when we try to understand and solve the problem of suffering.
Say for instance, that you’re meditating, and a feeling of anger toward your mother appears. Immediately, the mind’s reaction is to identify the anger as “my” anger, or to say that “I’m” angry. It then elaborates on the feeling, either working it into the story of your relationship to your mother, or to your general views about when and where anger toward one’s mother can be justified.
The problem with all this, from the Buddha’s perspective, is that these stories and views entail a lot of suffering. The more you get involved in them, the more you get distracted from seeing the actual cause of the suffering: the labels of “I” and “mine” that set the whole process in motion. As a result, you can’t find the way to unravel that cause and bring the suffering to an end.
If, however, you can adopt the emptiness mode—by not acting on or reacting to the anger, but simply watching it as a series of events, in and of themselves—you can see that the anger is empty of anything worth identifying with or possessing. As you master the emptiness mode more consistently, you see that this truth holds not only for such gross emotions as anger, but also for even the most subtle events in the realm of experience. This is the sense in which all things are empty. When you see this, you realize that labels of “I” and “mine” are inappropriate, unnecessary, and cause nothing but stress and pain. You can then drop them. When you drop them totally, you discover a mode of experience that lies deeper still, one that’s totally free.
To master the emptiness mode of perception requires training in firm virtue, concentration, and discernment. Without this training, the mind tends to stay in the mode that keeps creating stories and world views. And from the perspective of that mode, the teaching of emptiness sounds simply like another story or world view with new ground rules. In terms of the story of your relationship with your mother, it seems to be saying that there’s really no mother, no you. In terms of your views about the world, it seems to be saying either that the world doesn’t really exist, or else that emptiness is the great undifferentiated ground of being from which we all came to which someday we’ll all return.
These interpretations not only miss the meaning of emptiness but also keep the mind from getting into the proper mode. If the world and the people in the story of your life don’t really exist, then all the actions and reactions in that story seem like a mathematics of zeros, and you wonder why there’s any point in practicing virtue at all. If, on the other hand, you see emptiness as the ground of being to which we’re all going to return, then what need is there to train the mind in concentration and discernment, since we’re all going to get there anyway? And even if we need training to get back to our ground of being, what’s to keep us from coming out of it and suffering all over again? So in all these scenarios, the whole idea of training the mind seems futile and pointless. By focusing on the question of whether or not there really is something behind experience, they entangle the mind in issues that keep it from getting into the present mode.
Now, stories and world views do serve a purpose. The Buddha employed them when teaching people, but he never used the word emptiness when speaking in these modes. He recounted the stories of people’s lives to show how suffering comes from the unskillful perceptions behind their actions, and how freedom from suffering can come from being more perceptive. And he described the basic principles that underlie the round of rebirth to show how bad intentional actions lead to pain within that round, good ones lead to pleasure, while really skillful actions can take you beyond the round altogether.
In all these cases, these teachings were aimed at getting people to focus on the quality of the perceptions and intentions in their minds in the present—in other words, to get them into the emptiness mode. Once there, they can use the teachings on emptiness for their intended purpose: to loosen all attachments to views, stories, and assumptions, leaving the mind empty of all greed, anger, and delusion, and thus empty of suffering and stress. And when you come right down to it, that’s the emptiness that really counts.”
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
♡♡♡Andrew Hyde wrote and self-published a great-looking travel book and put it up for sale on Amazon, iBooks, B&N, and an indie marketplace called Gumroad that retails the PDF. The book had an exciting launch and the sales on Amazon were really high, but he got some sticker-shock when he found out that Amazon was charging very high "delivery fees" for his books, even when the buyers were buying from WiFi. He calculated the book-delivery markup over the rate Amazon charges for website hosting and concluded that Amazon charges authors a 129,000% markup for moving a file from A to B. Apple did better, but are total jerks about it. B&N didn't sell enough to move the needle for him. The whole post is a bracing reality-check.
The file itself is under their suggested 50MB cap Amazon says to keep it under at 18.1MB. The book contains upwards of 50 pictures and the one file for Kindle needs to be able to be read on their smallest displays in black and white and their full color large screen Mac app). I’m confused. Amazon stores a ton of the Internet on S3/EC2, they should have the storage and delivery down. If I stored that file on S3/EC2 it would cost me $.01 PER FIVE DOWNLOADS. Hat tip to Robby for that one. Use Amazon to run your website:.01 to download a file. Use amazon to sell your book: $2.58 per download + 30% of whatever you sell.
Amazon’s markup of digital delivery to indie authors is ~129,000%
...Apple is actually quite good at a flat looking $7 per $9.99 purchase. They host the file and their iBooks Author is fantastic for book creation. Their app store customer service is about as bad as I can immagine (no phone, email or ticket support). You have to play by their rules and their rules happen to include error messages that block your book from being published with the descriptive “Unknown Error.” As a testament to their not giving single fuck, their “ |
argue that Obama's campaign advocacy for the war's end influenced the making of that agreement, but the Year End 2011 withdrawal date was agreed to by the Bush administration and codified by them in a binding agreement.
Second, the Obama administration has been working for months to persuade, pressure and cajole Iraq to allow U.S. troops to remain in that country beyond the deadline. The reason they're being withdrawn isn't because Obama insisted on this, but because he tried -- but failed -- to get out of this obligation. Again, listen to the White House itself:
The Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and Iraq expires at the end of the year. Officials had been discussing the possibility of maintaining several thousand U.S. troops to train Iraqi security forces, and the Iraqis wanted troops to stay but would not give them immunity, a key demand of the administration.... “The Iraqis wanted additional troops to stay,” an administration official said. “We said here are the conditions, including immunities. But the Iraqis because of a variety of reasons wanted the troops and didn’t want to give immunity.”
The Obama administration -- as it's telling you itself -- was willing to keep troops in Iraq after the 2011 deadline (indeed, they weren't just willing, but eager). The only reason they aren't is because the Iraqi Government refused to agree that U.S. soldiers would be immunized if they commit serious crimes, such as gunning down Iraqis without cause. As we know, the U.S. is not and must never be subject to the rule of law when operating on foreign soil (and its government and owners must never be subject to the rule of law in any context). So Obama was willing (even desirous) to keep troops there, but the Iraqis refused to meet his demands (more on that fact from Foreign Policy's Josh Rogin).
Third, there will still be a very substantial presence in that country, including what McClatchy called a "small army" under the control of the State Department. They will remain indefinitely, and that includes a large number of private contractors.
None of this is to say that this is bad news (it isn't: it's good news), nor is it to say that Obama deserves criticism for adhering to the withdrawal plan (he doesn't). It would just be nice if these central facts -- painfully at odds with the two self-serving narratives that started being churned out before the President even spoke -- were acknowledged.
I believe the country has not even gotten close to coming to terms with the magnitude of the national crime that was the attack on Iraq (I think that's why we're so eager to find pride and purpose in the ocean of Bad Guy corpses our military generates: tellingly, the only type of event that generates collective national celebrations these days). Needless to say, none of the responsible leaders for that attack have been punished; many continue to serve right this very minute in key positions (such as Vice President and Secretary of State); and (other than scapegoated Judy Miller) none of the media stars and think-tank "scholars" who cheered it on and enabled it have suffered an iota of stigma or loss of credibility. The aggressive war waged on Iraq began by virtue of a huge cloud of deceit and propaganda; perhaps it could end without that.
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The schedule for my book tour, beginning next week, has been updated and changed; that will likely continue to happen, so those interested should periodically check that schedule, though I'll try to note significant changes here as well.
UPDATE: Over at Wired, Spencer Ackerman documents the ongoing reality in Iraq and writes: "President Obama announced on Friday that all 41,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq will return home by December 31. 'That is how America’s military efforts in Iraq will end,' he said. Don’t believe him." Digby adds that the administration "clearly didn't want this outcome and lobbied hard to get the Iraqis to push back the deadline" and thus concludes: "after everything our government has done in this region over the past few years, I think these facts argue for skepticism rather than celebration." But as we've seen over and over, nothing is less welcome that these sorts of clouding facts that get in the way of a political celebration.
UPDATE II: Here's the headline and first couple paragraphs on the "Iraq withdrawal" from National Journal:
Watch to see whether these facts are included or ignored in the prevailing narrative about this event.
UPDATE III [Sat.]: This Washington Post article provides more details about the private contractor force being assembled by the State Department (h/t Teri49):
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The State Department is racing against an end-of-year deadline to take over Iraq operations from the U.S. military.... Attention in Washington and Baghdad has centered on the number of U.S. troops that could remain in Iraq. But those forces will be dwarfed by an estimated 16,000 civilians under the American ambassador — the size of an Army division.
Think Progress previously described the State Department's efforts to block oversight actions with regard to its new private army.
On a separate note, this commenter voices some accurate objections to my use of the term "scapegoat" for Judy Miller; my reply is here.The oldest Whales on the Planet are more Ancient than 'Moby Dick' and have the Harpoons to prove it
With all the pressure that nature has been and continues to be put under by the modern world, it always manages to fight back and its resilience never ceases to amaze me. Reading a recent post by Upworthy, created in association with The Wilderness Society, I was astounded to find out that there are whales currently roaming this planet, that were alive before the famous novel ‘Moby Dick’ was published back in 1851. This makes them an incredible 164-years-old minimum—WOW!
In case you’re not familiar with the story line of Moby Dick, here’s the gist: Moby Dick is a huge albino sperm whale. There’s this ship captian, Captain Ahab, who really hates the whale, and he goes crazy in his quest to hunt and kill it. In the end, it’s a story with a strong moral undertone…or something like that I guess.
The book details every aspect of the whaling trade, which can make the reading a bit dry in parts. That being said, it gives an in-depth insight into what was, at the time, a ubiquitous way of life. It’s a sad fact that humans used to hunt more than 50,000 whales each year for their oil (seriously—it went into everything), meat and baleen (that’s the filter-feeder system inside the mouths of baleen whales.) Thankfully however, in 1946, the International Whaling Commission stepped in to ban whaling in an effort to protect the handful of these majestic creatures left on the planet at the time. Even then, commercial whaling was still legal in some parts of the world until as recently as 1986.
Looking at these majestic ocean giants, it’s hard to imagine them under threat. Check out this awesome GoPro footage of a humpback whale breach:
After reading the last few paragraphs you might think that the situation is pretty bleak. Well, by some astonishing feat of nature, some whales managed to survive the extensive whaling, even after being harpooned themselves. More incredible still, is that some of these survivors have been found to be older than the ‘Moby Dick’ novel and are still alive and cruising the ocean today!
It’s testament to the impressive adaptability and toughness of these whales that, even after being harpooned and getting a fragment snapped-off and lodged in their blubber, they are able to survive, live and breed successfully for over one hundred years.
Ironically it’s partly due to the harpoon fragments, these whales have been carrying around with them, that researchers were able to age the whales. In collaboration with traditional Inupiat whalers (who are still allowed to sustainably hunt for survival), scientists used amino acids in the eyes of whales and harpoon fragments lodged in their carcasses to determine the age of these enormous animals.
The study found at least three bowhead whales who were living prior to 1850!
The discovery has particularly settled the doubts of Craig George, a biologist with the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management in Barrow, Alaska, who first mooted the idea that these whales could be more than 200 years old. “We were a little frightened when we first published that,” George told Nature. But this latest finding, he says, adds to a collection of evidence that these whales can rack up 150 years or so. “I think it’s time to believe it,” he says.
In one case, Nature explains “The century-old harpoon fragment was found in May by an Eskimo whaling crew, which harvest the bowhead under a subsistence quota system monitored by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The metal projectile can be traced back to an 1879 patent and a narrow window of time in which it was likely to have been fired, indicating that this whale was between 115-130 years old when it died.”
It’s sad, that after so many years, these whales were finally hunted today. On the other hand, if they weren’t hunted, we wouldn’t have discovered their age in the first place; ironically—perhaps more people will now be inspired to protect whales. Many would argue that whaling of any kind, even by traditional Inupiat communities, should be banned. Whether or not you agree with Inupiat whalers or not though, at least it’s now controlled and sustainable—giving the whale population a better chance to thrive.
Still, let’s focus on the positive news and conclude that there must be more 150-year-old whales roaming the seas. This is even more remarkable when considering that the entire species was dwindling near extinction not too long ago. Due to whaling, between the 18th and 20th centuries, most whale populations were reduced to 10% or less, meaning that most whales alive today are aged between 20 and 70 years old.
It’s credit to conservation efforts that sperm whales are now considered one of the most populous species of massive marine mammals. Bowheads, on the other hand, are still in trouble, making the remaining ‘ancient’ whales even more precious. On a positive note, there has been a 20% increase in the bowhead population since the mid-1980s.
Clearly there’s more work to do; oil exploration and other destructive industries continue to pose a huge threat to nature. ‘Big Oil’ companies now employ new, supposedly-safer, technologies (such as sonic-blasting). However, these technologies are still thought to cause damage to the health of whales as individuals and as a species—it’s never been more important to ensure the protection of our planet’s ocean giants.
So if you want to see another whale make it to their 164th birthday, you can sign this petition to protect the waters from ‘Big Oil’ and other industrial threats.
Featured Photo: Michael Dawes/Flickr
Via: UpworthyThe man who was died in a failed terror attack on Paris's Champs-Elysées on Monday had failed to attend two interviews with police in May and was supposed to have another one that very day, police sources have revealed. Adam Djaziri, 31, had managed to build up a stockpile of arms, despite being placed on a terror watchlist.
Having discreetly kept tabs on Djaziri for several years, gendarmes in the area near Paris where he lived changed tack this year and summoned him to be interviewed twice in May.
But he said he was unavailable for both the appointments, citing reasons of health.
He was told to present himself again at 2.00pm on Monday 19 May but launched his attack on a police van in the morning, dying, apparently from a cardiac arrest, shortly afterwards.
Djaziri was first brought to the French police's attention in 2013 by their Tunisian counterparts after he was found in an apartment with armed terrorist suspects.
The Tunisians issued an Interpol search warrant, which advised other forces not to attract the subject's attention and was later cancelled.
Firearms licences
French police started to take an interest in him in 2015 after he was stopped at the Turkish-Greek border with his wife and two children.
They found that he moved in Islamic fundamentalist circles and was trading in gold, leading to frequent voyages abroad, and placed him on the terror watchlist.
That did not prevent Djaziri, who was a member of a shooting club, obtaining a firearms licence and amassing a collection of weapons that included the Israeli assault rifle that was found in his vehicle along with two gas bottles after his attack, as well as a stockpile that was found at his home afterwards.
The first licence was issued before he was spotted and the legal grounds for refusing one - a previous conviction or involuntary confinement for mental health reasons - did not exist later, according to Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
Interior Minister Gérard Collomb has asked for a reevaluation of people on the watchlist who might obtain a firearms licence.
New anti-terror law drafted
The government is currently preparing a new anti-terror law that should be put before the new cabinet this week.
Djaziri's father, brother, ex-wife and sister-in-law were all detained by police when they raided the house where they have lived for the past 28 years on Monday evening.Mark Creech, who as the head of the Christian Action League of North Carolina has been a leading proponent of the state’s new law mandating discrimination against transgender people, wrote on his group’s website this weekend that LGBT rights advocates opposing the law are “social terrorists” using “totalitarian tactics.”
North Carolina, Creech wrote, “has had its name maligned about as bad as calling a virgin a whore” when it was simply trying to “rise up and take the whip from the task masters [sic] hand.”
To smear someone means to sully, vilify, or soil a good reputation. It carries with it the idea of smudging or blurring the truth.
Since the North Carolina General Assembly passed HB 2, my beloved state has had its name maligned about as bad as calling a virgin a whore. The state has certainly been as innocent.
But who is interested in the truth when a leftist media, celebrities, sports organizations, and various corporate entities are crying out, “bigot,” “hater,” “homophobe,” etc. When you sling mud it sticks. It doesn’t have to be true. People move away as fast as a Jew did in Bible times from possible contact with a leper whenever hearing, “unclean, unclean.”
…
Thank you. Well said, Governor. Still, figuratively speaking, don’t expect these social terrorists like the HRC to let-up on the pressure. There is no meaningful dialogue with them, only total domination. They are an unbending, immovable, aggressive, insistent force that would have every norm and moral turned on its head – every objection to their way vilified, penalized, fined, and criminalized by law.
Even though some big businesses have come out against the Tar Heel state, threatening to leave or not to bring their companies as promised because of HB 2, in a way they’re victims of HRC’s totalitarian tactics too.
…
Nevertheless, there is only so long one can get away with coercing people into submission. Eventually they will rise up and take the whip from the task masters hand. For the present, that appears to be happening in states like Mississippi and my own, North Carolina.
So call us names. Smear our state’s character. Listen to the parrots of political correctness. Heed the heavy hand of the HRC, if you will. Eventually, the truth will win out and the fog of a million lies will ebb away in the brightness of God’s light.Most media accounts depict an unequivocal reign of terror under Islamist rule in northern Mali. That’s inaccurate in some important ways.
On 17 May, AFP reported that an unmarried couple had been stoned to death by Islamists near Aguelhoc in northern Mali. Details were provided: between “11 and 21 persons” had attended the stoning which was filmed; there were four executioners; “everybody was calm”. The next day, RFI confirmed the events.
Both of the news pieces relied on testimonies of “notables” and “elected officials” from the region, where Islamist militancy remains intense despite a substantial foreign military presence. The story gained global attention and was covered by major media outlets including Le Monde and The Guardian.
However, local journalists and others on Twitter soon raised concerns about its veracity. They confirmed that a young woman accused of having a relationship out of wedlock was kidnapped by armed men on 16 May, but could not ascertain what happened next. As researchers working on the region for several years, we also mobilised our network of well-informed friends and contacts, but could not get confirmation of a stoning.
The story of execution had been plausible since a similar event happened in 2012. But this time it turned out to be wrong. A week after the original AFP wire, rumours spread that the young woman had in fact been released and sent home. Jama’ah Nusrah al-islam wal-muslimin (JNIM), the dominant jihadi movement in the region, denied any stoning had taken place and warned the media against the fabrication of fake news.
Finally, on 29 May, AFP withdrew its original report, saying that a sentence of stoning had been pronounced but not executed. RFI revised its claim soon after too.
This unfortunate diffusion of false news may seem like one more minor case of news organisations failing to check their facts. But it actually tells us a lot about how news in northern Mali is produced and invites reflection.
Seeking the truth in northern Mali
The episode stresses how complicated it is to gather information about northern Mali. AFP and RFI work from Bamako and Paris, respectively 1,500 km and 4,500 km away from the town of Kidal, where the reported events unfolded. Researchers operate from similar distances for the same security reasons.
The consequence of this is that journalists and researchers rely on indirect sources of information that are far from perfect and then do their best to triangulate them. It can often be difficult to tell whether two accounts are distinct or if they derive from the same source of information, since the same story can circulate through networks under multiple guises.
These constraints on access to information demand extreme prudence. This was severely lacking in AFP and RFI’s reporting. They took the word of “notables” and “elected officials” for granted and ignored more sceptical voices.
This is particularly problematic in northern Mali given that the region is replete with communal feuds. There is much antagonism, for example, between members of the Imghad community who are part of an armed pro-government coalition, and members of the Ifoghas tribe to which JNIM leader Iyad Ag Ghaly belongs.
The timing of the stoning story is also important. It came as some civil society activists and politicians were calling for negotiations with Islamist leaders – calls that were abruptly rejected by authorities. It also immediately preceded French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Mali in which he met with French troops and re-affirmed France’s pledge to fight terrorism.
[Macron and the Maghreb]
In this context, it is to be expected that contacts on the ground may be biased. The only way to overcome this is to ensure sources of information come from different parts of the political spectrum.
Behind the media narratives
The false stoning episode doesn’t just reveal the practical difficulties of wartime reporting. It also exemplifies how aspects of everyday life in zones of Mali where jihadi movements operate are systematically overlooked. The mishandling of the story illustrates a broader trend of Western, but also African, mainstream media misrepresenting the complex relationship between the radical groups and local populations.
Most media accounts depict an unequivocal reign of terror under Islamist rule in northern Mali. But field interviews reveal a more ambiguous situation in which egregious violence by radical groups coexists with a non-violent governance agenda and willingness to deliver services.
In central Mali, jihadi movements forcibly gather local population to preach. They also regularly assassinate those perceived to be collaborating with state officials and foreign armed forces. But at the same time, these groups provide mobile justice courts in places where judges have long been absent. They advocate for the suppression of land rights that benefit a tiny and contested aristocracy. They offer much-needed protection to cattle herders during seasonal migrations. And the simplified marriage procedures they impose allow youths to escape elder’s control over marital engagements.
This is not to deny appalling violence against civilians, especially women. Although the vast majority of people killed by jihadi groups are men, gender violence – including abduction and forced marriage in places like Gao in 2012 – should not be underestimated.
It is important to note though, that women have sometimes resisted. In Kidal in 2012, for instance, women protested against the decision of Iyad Ag Ghaly’s former group, Ansar Eddine, to impose strict rules on their travel. Here again, the relationship between Sahelian women and jihadi movements is not fully encapsulated in a singular narrative of domination and violence.
In the Lake Chad area, several organisations – including The International Crisis Group – have documented that a significant number of young Kanuri women have voluntarily joined Boko Haram in order to find a suitable husband or benefit from new economic opportunities. For some women living in particularly impoverished rural areas, joining the jihadi insurgency may be more attractive, at least to start, than their daily routine in the strict patriarchy of rural villages.
Crimes and punishments
When we asked local friends and contacts about the kidnapped woman, their narratives did not indulge in the emotional, outraged narratives seen in the media. Instead, they mostly pondered the rationale of the kidnappers and the risks the woman was incurring within legal Islamic parameters.
Although many versions of the story circulated, all had two elements in common: first, the woman’s husband was detained in Algeria for some criminal offence; second, she had a baby from her lover. The main questions on our sources’ minds were: Was the woman de jure or de facto divorced from her detained husband? Was she still breastfeeding her baby?
These questions, among others, matter for an eventual sentence to be pronounced by an Islamic judge in an alleged adultery case. Whether to inflict physical punishment on the woman was framed as a legal discussion, not as the unilateral whim of blood-thirsty sociopaths.
The above legal questions relate to broader discussions regarding punishments under Shariah Law – specifically those which are mandated and fixed by God and are applicable in cases of fornication, apostasy etc. Questions over these penalties (known as had, plural hudud) were debated at length in 2012 when allied Islamist movements occupied Mali’s three main northern regions: Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Timbuktu; the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) in Gao; and Ansar Eddine in Kidal.
At that time, judiciary decisions were delegated to local Islamic judges (cadis). Crucially, there were many differences in the application of hudud across these three regions. For instance, there were multiple cases of amputations for robbery in Timbuktu and Gao. But in Kidal, Ansar Eddine agreed with local Islamic judges that sentences would be maintained in line with local customs that historically prefer detention over physical punishment.
Despite this, a stoning did occur in Aguelhoc in 2012. Why this happened requires more research. According to a good number of testimonies gathered locally (including among people politically opposed to Iyad Ag Ghaly), the stoning was decided by a Mauritanian cadi without Iyad Ag Ghaly knowing about it. The same sources say that Iyad Ag Ghaly later disapproved the stoning. It is unclear who the cadi recognised as his legitimate leader, as northern Mali was then under the influence of different Emirs.
Such complexities and variations between regions supposedly governed by the same Shariah provisions demands additional investigation. Why would hudud, a pillar of political and social legitimation across jihadi movements, be suspended in some places but not others? Is it to do with the organisational structure of the armed groups, the population’s agency, or something else? Either way, the jihadi occupation of 2012 proved to be large-scale social experiment, which generated intense debate over the codified use of violence as a governing instrument.
Easy narratives vs. difficult thinking
The media’s portrayal of jihadi groups’ horrific rule in the Sahel is a double-edge sword in the fight against these armed movements. On the one hand, their typical coverage provides a classic and possibly efficient form of war propaganda, which calls for unity against the common enemy.
But on the other hand, the depiction of Islamist presence and political influence as unequivocally oppressive misses some critical points: namely, the jihadis’ interest in managing their use of coercion rather than just unleashing it; and their ambition to govern aspects of life through both violent and non-violent ways, sometimes in accordance with local customs.
Obscuring the governance project promoted by Islamists fails to account for why an increasing number of Sahelians, especially among the youth, are ready to support and sometimes join these groups in a context where official authorities are performing appallingly.
One-dimensional narratives serve warlike projects well. The search for political solutions requires more complex thinking.Figures for December and January are branded a "badge of shame", but police say victims are more prepared to come forward.
Police have described the rising trend in domestic abuse in Scotland as "worrying" after new figures showed a 23.5% increase in the period covering Christmas and New Year.
Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) said police had recorded 9,812 incidents of domestic abuse in the months of December and January, up by 1,870 on the previous year.
Police said that while the figures suggested victims were more confident about coming forward, they remained a "badge of shame for Scotland."
Chief Inspector Graham Goulden, who heads the Anti-Violence Campaign on behalf of the VRU, said: "When we released the December figures, I said they were a badge of shame for Scotland.
"However, we should draw confidence from the fact these stats are based on reported crime - increasing numbers of people are coming forward to report, they are less tolerant of domestic abuse, have increased confidence that help is available and now know they don't have to put up with this intolerable behaviour."
As well as enforcement activity, police forces are using analysis to identify prolific domestic abuse offenders and where appropriate, visit them and give them advice on their behaviour.
They have also participated in White Ribbon Scotland's 16 Days of Action, worked with pub-watch schemes to raise awareness of domestic abuse via licensed premises, and delivered inputs on domestic abuse in schools, universities and local authorities.
Mr Goulden said that while it is encouraging to see more reporting of these incidents, the people of Scotland need to look at attitudes towards relationships and what is considered acceptable behaviour.
He said: "Parents need to speak with their children. Friends need to speak with friends, work colleagues need to speak with work colleagues and team-mates need to speak with team-mates.
"No one should stand by as others are being abused in a relationship, be that physically, verbally or psychologically."While CNN withers amid the biggest journalistic scandal in the network’s history, network president Jeff Zucker has turned to the New York Times for help.
“I don’t sleep that much anyway,” Zucker told the Times’ Michael Grynbaum in a rare interview in his office on the fifth floor of CNN’s Midtown Manhattan, New York City newsroom. Grynbaum noted he is not “getting a lot of sleep lately,” either —something that comes as the network faces what amounts to perhaps the biggest scandal in journalism history—but definitely the biggest in CNN history.
Three senior editorial staffers at CNN—a Pulitzer Prize winning editor, a Pulitzer Prize nominated reporter, and the head of the network’s investigative reporting unit—resigned over a week ago as a result of an embarrassing retraction of a very fake news hit piece on President Donald Trump and his associates.
CNN was forced to retract the faulty hit piece after a Breitbart News investigation discovered the entire piece was untrue. It falsely alleged that associates of President Trump—particularly SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman—were under Treasury Department and Senate Intelligence Committee investigation for supposed ties to a Russian fund.
It turns out that not only did the “meetings” that CNN alleged to have occurred never actually happen, but the Senate Intelligence Committee is not investigating it—and the Treasury Department already looked into the matter but found it to be entirely “without merit,” per a senior administration official’s comment to Breitbart News.
CNN retracted the piece after Breitbart News’s investigation—and under pressure from the threat of hefty a lawsuit from Scaramucci—and apologized to Scaramucci. CNN has not apologized to President Trump or to Stephen Schwarzman for maligning them, nor has the network apologized to anyone else falsely smeared in the now-retracted hit piece.
A few days after the embarrassing retraction—reportedly the first of Zucker’s tenure at the top of the network—the reporter on the byline, Thomas Frank, resigned, as did the story’s editor Eric Lichtblau. Investigative unit chief Lex Haris also resigned.
From there, the network has spiraled into chaos that has lasted nearly two weeks. The chaos is fueled by further mistakes: a lack of transparency from the network’s public relations team and from Zucker, a refusal to course correct away from deep problems with journalistic integrity inside CNN, and by more damning revelations about CNN including from undercover videos of CNN producers and talent published by James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas.
Grynbaum wrote:
On Wednesday, CNN found itself facing another backlash — and additional online threats — after it posted a story about a man who created a version of the wrestling video that was later tweeted by Mr. Trump; it did not identify him but said it reserved the right to do so if he resumed his activities. Some users on Reddit took that caveat as a threat, and it prompted a hashtag, #CNNBlackmail. CNN said it had only meant to make it clear that it had cut no deal with the subject of the article, though some media critics called it an unusual choice. For CNN, it was yet another dust-up felt by its 3,500 employees as they pursue day-to-day responsibilities and worry about the usual industry concerns, like ratings. CNN has recently placed third in weekday prime time, behind the more ideologically driven coverage of Fox News and MSNBC.
Now, for the first time, Zucker is himself on the record in the scandals. CNN is still refusing to provide Zucker for an actual interview rather than a puff piece in the New York Times, as Breitbart News and many other outlets have been asking him for a sit-down interview. Zucker is also still refusing to appear in public for an on-camera press briefing about the scandal consuming CNN from the inside out, something President Trump’s son Donald Trump, Jr. is calling on Zucker to do since CNN thinks on-camera briefings are so important.
Zucker allies inside CNN touted the interview as some sort of accomplishment.
Jeff Zucker talking about Trump's attacks: "He's trying to bully us, and we're not going to let him intimidate us." https://t.co/25yQLCiDI7 — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 6, 2017
But despite the gentle treatment the New York Times gave him, Zucker—and the Times scribe with whom he sat for this interview—admit publicly now that the network is under siege.
Grynbaum wrote that there is a “foxhole-like mentality inside CNN’s offices, where security measures have been tightened and some hosts have considered abandoning their social media accounts because of abuse.”
CNN’s New Day anchor Chris Cuomo—whose producer Jimmy Carr has been exposed in O’Keefe’s Project Veritas videos—even compared CNN to “the Thunderdome.” And the day after the three senior editorial staff resigned, Grynbaum notes, Zucker “phoned in from London to a companywide conference call, telling employees that the heightened scrutiny meant there could be no room for error.”
But besides all that, even the appearance of Zucker in the media on this front—it is extraordinarily rare for a chief executive of a television news network to appear in the media during a crisis—has to be worrisome for network investors and corporate leadership. In other words, it is less about what Zucker is actually saying and more about the fact he is even sitting for an interview at all that is mere proof that CNN is burning.
Despite the now public admission the network is in serious crisis, and cannot afford more mistakes than it has already made, Zucker is trying to brush off the dire situation in which he and his team find themselves.
“My job is to remind everyone that they need to stay focused doing their job,” Zucker, nonetheless, told Grynbaum, adding of President Trump: “He’s trying to bully us, and we’re not going to let him intimidate us. You can’t lose your confidence and let that change the way you conduct yourselves.”
The piece also quotes Zucker being worried about CNN employees’ safety thanks to the war with Trump. Zucker told Grynbaum that Trump “has caused us to have to take steps that you wouldn’t think would be necessary because of the actions of the president of the United States.”
Another buried revelation in Grynbaum’s piece is that administration officials are considering using the looming merger between CNN parent Time Warner and telecommunications giant AT&T as a leverage point in the war with CNN. Grynbaum wrote:
White House advisers have discussed a potential point of leverage over their adversary, a senior administration official said: a pending merger between CNN’s parent company, Time Warner, and AT&T. Mr. Trump’s Justice Department will decide whether to approve the merger, and while analysts say there is little to stop the deal from moving forward, the president’s animus toward CNN remains a wild card.
When he asked Zucker about the merger, Zucker brushed it off.
“It’s not something I think about,” Zucker told Grynbaum.
Grynbaum was not buying it, because Zucker lost his last job at NBC thanks to that company’s merger with Comcast. “Mr. Zucker, who was ousted as chief executive of NBCUniversal after that company merged with Comcast, declined to comment on the pending deal, except to say that the merger had not affected his journalistic or management choices,” Grynbaum wrote.
Perhaps the most important revelations in the Zucker interview with the New York Times published late Wednesday, however, are what is not said and not asked. There are dozens upon dozens of questions CNN’s public relations team and Zucker are refusing to answer about this network-wide scandal.
More from Breitbart News’s investigations into CNN is forthcoming in the days and weeks ahead.On Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia. The nomination will now pass to the Senate for confirmation or rejection. Last week, as reported by Reuters, Trump consulted with four Senate leaders – Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein – who are poised to be key players in the upcoming confirmation process. This post will look at the roles they, as well as several other senators, are likely to play moving forward.
Gorsuch’s previous experience with the Senate confirmation process was largely uncontroversial, as described in 2006 by The Denver Post. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), serving as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was the only senator to attend Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings, and the Senate confirmed Gorsuch by voice vote on July 20, 2006. As Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) observed today on the Senate floor, 31 of the senators who approved Gorsuch in 2006 are still serving, including 11 Democrats. With the stakes higher for a Supreme Court nomination, Democrats indicating plans to filibuster and Trump already urging Senate Republicans to pursue the nuclear option, Gorsuch faces a much more contentious confirmation this time around.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), majority leader of the Senate
McConnell has been at the center of the Supreme Court vacancy debate since its very beginning. Last February, only hours after Scalia’s death, McConnell laid out the strategy and rationale that Republicans would follow for the remainder of the election season: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” McConnell did not waver from this stance even as President Barack Obama’s nominee, Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, waited a record length of time without a hearing.
In November 2013, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), then the majority leader of the Senate, enacted a rule change to eliminate the filibuster for certain types of nominations, excluding those for the Supreme Court. A filibuster is a parliamentary device in which a senator or group of senators can delay a vote by prolonging debate, perhaps indefinitely. Typically a filibuster is broken by a separate vote of 60 senators (three-fifths of all senators) to end debate and force a vote on the issue, known as cloture. This 60-vote hurdle makes the filibuster a minority-strengthening rule. After Reid’s rule change, known as the “nuclear option” to those who see it as “blowing up” the Senate and as the “constitutional option” to those who see it as returning to majority-friendly rules in the Constitution, only a 51-vote majority was required to confirm a cabinet or lower court nomination. The “nuclear” or “constitutional” option remains in play in the event of future filibusters of Supreme Court nominees.
McConnell declared Reid’s rule change “a sad day in the history of the Senate.” As he warned Democrats, “Some of us have been here long enough to know the shoe is sometimes on the other foot”; perhaps in a moment of foreshadowing, he added, “You’ll regret this, and you may regret it a lot sooner than you think.”
McConnell is sure to be heavily involved in any decision by Republicans to end the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, should the Democrats choose to attempt one against Trump’s nominee. Trump has stated that he would want McConnell to execute the nuclear option, saying, “it’s up to Mitch, but I would say go for it.” McConnell has not indicated whether he would actually do so, saying in January only that “what we do know is the new president will fill the vacancy and I expect it to be handled in the way these court appointments are typically handled” – perhaps a challenge to Democrats not to attempt a filibuster. In a statement released Tuesday night, McConnell invited Democrats to accept an up-or-down vote on Gorsuch’s nomination, “just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama.”
McConnell has called Gorsuch’s nomination |
term for men’s service recently reduced from 36 to 32 months.
Mixed units operate along relatively calm borders, including those with Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab countries with peace treaties with Israel.
Other units are assigned to more risky areas, such as the Lebanese border and along the Gaza Strip.
Forty-four female Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat since 1948.
Harel questions whether the military will follow through and allow women to serve in all roles at the risk of what has concerned many: one of them being kidnapped.
The kidnapping of male soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006 by Hamas caused shock nationwide.
“One cannot help wonder whether the response to the abduction of a female soldier would be more extreme,” Harel wrote recently in Haaretz.NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees said he felt "sad for New Orleans" but also "angry at New Orleans" in the wake of former teammate Will Smith's death in a shooting late Saturday night following a traffic accident.
Like New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton did on Monday and many others have done over the past 48 hours, Brees talked passionately on WWL Radio on Monday night about the overwhelming amount of gun violence in New Orleans and elsewhere.
Brees was asked what could come out of Smith's situation to possibly help and to keep people from reacting to incidents like this with, "Oh, that's New Orleans." His answer lasted nearly five full minutes:
"You have to find a way for something positive to result out of this. As difficult as that sounds right now because it's so tragic and we're all so torn up about it, you have to find a way to make this a catalyst for positive change. I think that's part of how we can all remember Will's legacy is that he had as big an impact as when he was here on this earth as he's gonna have when he's no longer here.
"You know, there were so many emotions when I first heard what happened. And I'll be honest with you, part of my emotions was I was angry. I was sad for New Orleans, and I also was angry at New Orleans. Because I feel like this is a problem that's been around for a long time. And it's not just New Orleans, it's nationwide. It's worldwide. It's the way that people treat people. And somehow along the way, we've all become desensitized to the fact that this stuff happens every day and it's OK, or we can kind of just move on from it as if it's gonna happen and it's part of the way things are and there's nothing we can really do about it. And listen, it's overwhelming.
"It's overwhelming when you think about this epidemic, or this problem, of young, mainly young men, killing young men for no apparent reason. In many cases, it's drugs, it's gang violence, it's different things. But then you have an instance like this where it's a traffic accident. I don't know the exact details around it but two guys get out of car and next thing you know one of them pulls out a.45 and not only is he shooting the guy he's arguing with, but he goes to shoot at everybody in the car, including his wife and who knows, it could have been the rest of his family in that car. What that tells me is that the person who's pulling the trigger in many cases has no regard for the life that he's about to try to take. And he also has no regard for his own life, because there's consequences with that and they have to recognize those consequences.
"What that tells me is that too many of these people don't have any hope, and what's the source of that? Well I think it's a lot of things. I think that too many of these young men, and I say 'young men' because that's the majority, that's the vast majority... young men probably feel like they don't have a purpose, like they have been abandoned, whether it be by their family, the lack of a father or the lack of a male role model in their life, that they feel like they don't have an opportunity to better themselves or better their family in life. 'Nobody cares about me in school, I'm not gonna get a great education, I'm not gonna have a chance to go to college, I'm not gonna have the chance to break the cycle of poverty within my family. The only thing I can resort to, the only family that I have is a gang. The only opportunity I have to make money or be successful in life is to deal drugs.' And all those things -- listen, there's so many things -- but all those things culminate to this attitude or this mindset that, 'This is the only thing I have to live for and this is my reality.' And that, I feel like we can change.
"And it's not an easy process and it's not an overnight fix. But that is something we can all band together and we can find ways to make sure that these young men know that there is hope. They do have opportunity. There are people that care about them. So they don't have to feel like this is their only option. Because I feel like in a majority of these cases, these acts of violence and gun violence happen because these young men feel like they have no other option, and they don't have any regard for the life they're about to take or their own lives, or the consequences of it. I think we all need to take a really hard look at that.
"And you know what else, I think having a Christian influence in your life can also solve many of those problems, because if you know that God is in your heart, and that you have a purpose and that God has put you on this earth with talent and abilities to go out and make this world a better place and to treat others with respect and thoughtfulness, I believe that changes people. It's a fact. And so all those things together I feel like can change. But it's not just one person, it's everybody believing that, and it's finding ways to execute that."The acting head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Monday that the agency is moving “full speed ahead” with its efforts to crack down on the use of e-cigarettes.
Two weeks into his tenure, Dr. Stephen Ostroff said strengthening tobacco regulations is one of his top priorities. He pointed to alarming new federal data that showed the use of e-cigarettes among middle and high school students has tripled in the last year — a trend that landed on the front page of nearly every national newspaper.
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“Data released last week from the National Youth Tobacco Survey showing dramatic increases in reported use of e-cigarettes is a cogent reminder of just how important the deeming rule is,” Ostroff told the audience gathered for the annual conference Food and Drug Law Institute.
“We are moving full speed ahead on the proposed deeming rule, which sets the stage for expanding the types of tobacco products that we regulate, including e-cigarettes,” Ostroff added.
The FDA originally floated the idea of regulating e-cigarettes four years ago, before formally proposing rules last April. The agency received more than 135,000 comments on the proposed regulations rule, which Ostroff said “has been a challenge of the first order.”
Under the proposed rule, the FDA would prohibit e-cigarettes from being sold to children under the age of 18. But the proposal does not specifically address e-cig marketing and advertisements that health advocates say appeal to children.
The FDA’s long-time commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, retired from her post just months before the agency is expected to issue sweeping new e-cigarette regulations. She helped shape the e-cigarette rules as one of her last acts as commissioner.A pro-Israel campus group says its members were met with anti-Semitic taunts at a Ryerson Students’ Union meeting Tuesday.
In a letter sent to RSU president Obaid Ullah, a spokesman for Hasbara Fellowships Canada said he was writing “on behalf of concerned Ryerson University students who are shocked and unsettled” after the meeting.
Robert Walker, the Canadian director of the group, said the RSU “has a duty to investigate this matter immediately and to take concrete, substantive steps to ensure that Ryerson University’s campus is not further poisoned by such anti-Jewish incitement and intimidation.”
Ullah told the Ryersonian late Wednesday that the RSU does take the reported incident seriously, and will begin an investigation.
In an email distributed by Walker and containing the letter he sent to the RSU, he says the remarks were made at the RSU’s semi-annual general meeting (SAGM), where some students presented a motion asking the RSU to commemorate Holocaust Education Week.
The email, which the Ryersonian has seen, says that anti-Semitic remarks were directed at Jewish students present at the meeting, and that a “mass walkout” took place before the motion could be voted on.
After the motion had been discussed back and forth, the room lost quorum, meaning there were fewer than the 100 students present necessary to vote.
The meeting was adjourned shortly after, at about 10:30 p.m., without the motion having been voted on.
According to Ullah, there are accusations that the Muslim Students Association (MSA) staged a walk out. However, he says that the MSA members had their own meeting to attend that night, and left the SAGM because of time considerations.
Hasbara Fellowships Canada describes itself as “the country’s largest pro-Israel campus advocacy organization.” It says it “assists students in telling the truth about Israel on universities and colleges across the country” and provides resources to combat “anti-Israel propaganda.”
With files from Avery FriedlanderWith the court filing, Silicon Valley and Washington are poised to return to a cold war over the balance between privacy and law enforcement in the age of apps
The US government dropped its court fight against Apple after the FBI successfully pulled data from the iPhone of San Bernardino gunman Syed Farook, according to court records.
The development effectively ended a six-week legal battle poised to shape digital privacy for years to come. Instead, Silicon Valley and Washington are poised to return to a simmering cold war over the balance between privacy and law enforcement in the age of apps.
Government keeping its method to crack San Bernardino iPhone 'classified' Read more
Justice Department lawyers wrote in a court filing Monday evening that they no longer needed Apple’s help in getting around the security countermeasures on Farook’s device.
“The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc,” the government said. It then asked the court to vacate a 16 February court order demanding Apple create software that weakened iPhone security settings to aid government investigators.
On a conference call with reporters that the Department of Justice organized, a law enforcement official declined to offer details on the technique other than to say that it came from outside the government. The Guardian has reported that the technique used by the government has been classified.
The official also declined to say if the government would share the technique – which likely exploits a security glitch in the phone – with Apple. Doing so would presumably cause the company to patch the security flaw. This leaves the Justice Department with a difficult choice: make all iPhones more secure from other hackers and governments who know how to get inside, or preserve an investigative technique.
The government on Monday would only confirm the technique works on the iPhone model Farook used – the iPhone 5c – but it’s possible it could work on other models that run the same software.
Apple fought the February court order with a massive public relations and legal campaign. The company, America’s most valuable, argued that creating such software would force the company to betray its values along with the security and privacy of all of its customers.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook argued that if Apple were forced to reengineer its products, it would open a Pandora’s box that could give the government outsized control over how Silicon Valley makes its products.
Apple declares victory in battle with FBI, but the war continues Read more
The case forced public leaders from Barack Obama to Bill Gates to declare where they stood on the balance between privacy and national security. It also kicked lawmakers into high gear to craft legislation governing a new generation of devices and messaging services that rely on strong encryption to protect user privacy.
Public opinion polls showed the public narrowly sided with the US government.
In some ways, the end of the battle turns the clock back to 15 February, the day before the San Bernardino iPhone fight went to court. At the time, authorities and technologists were publicly debating how encryption affects law enforcement but avoiding widely publicized court battles.
However, the brawl may have aided Apple slightly in the long run. After the San Bernardino case became public, Apple pushed a New York judge to rule in its favor in a similar case. That ruling is non-binding but could be instructive to the several other courts considering iPhone-unlocking cases.
It’s unclear what the next step will be for each side.
Government lawyers already have earmarked criminal investigations that require getting around encryption or other privacy features of various messaging services, such as Facebook’s Whatsapp, but are yet to take those companies to court.
“It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties or through the court system when cooperation fails,” Justice Department spokeswoman Melanie Newman said. “We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors.”
In the call with reporters on Monday, the law enforcement official declined to say clearly whether the FBI would share its new iPhone-hacking technique with other agencies, such as state and local police departments, stymied by iPhone encryption.
There’s always an excuse to hack into our lives | John Naughton Read more
“We continue to assist them in appropriate cases,” the official said.
Alex Abdo, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the outcome, “appears to be just a delay of an inevitable fight”.
In a statement on Monday night, Apple said: “This case should never have been brought.” But the iPhone-maker didn’t claim victory and made clear that it sees the debate with the government as ongoing rather than settled.
“We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along,” the company said. “And we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated.”KABUL (Reuters) - Hackers have for the third time in less than a year crippled the main website of the Afghan Taliban, with a Taliban spokesman on Friday blaming Western intelligence agencies amid an intensifying cyber war with the insurgents.
The unidentified hackers broke into the Taliban’s El Emara website twice on Thursday, replacing usual insurgent victory messages with images of executions and support for the Afghan government and security forces in English, Arabic and Pashto.
Some of the photographs showed women being shot in the head or hanged by former Taliban executioners, while another showed two women in head-to-toe burkas being beaten.
“Violence is wrong in all its forms, especially the encouragement by the Taliban of cowardly betrayal and the senseless murder of innocent civilians,” a screenshot from Afghan Pajhwok News showed the message as saying in English.
“The Afghan Security Forces are accountable to Allah and the Afghan people, and seek to restore peace as the foreigners leave the land,” it said.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters that the website was hacked around 12:30 am on Thursday and fixed in three hours, before being breached again at midday and put out of commission again. It was still being repaired on Friday
“It was hacked again by enemies and foreign intelligence services,” Zabihullah said. “The enemy tries to push its propaganda. The enemy is worried by what gets published in our webpage. It’s confusing for them, so they try to react.”
A NATO spokesman declined comment on the claim.
The Taliban have in recent months waged an intensifying information war with NATO forces in the country, distributing anti-government messages on mobile phone networks and using Twitter to claim largely improbable successes as most foreign combat troops look to leave the country by 2014.
A day rarely passes without a Taliban spokesman using Twitter to claim the destruction of numerous NATO armored vehicles and the deaths of scores of Western or Afghan security forces, with NATO quickly countering in its own Twitter feeds.
The Taliban also employ a sophisticated network of spokesmen to distribute messages and even have their own mobile radio broadcast service, which frequently moves location to avoid the threat of retaliatory airstrikes by NATO warplanes.
Unknown hackers brought down the main Taliban website earlier this month, when El Emara’s English language page was replaced temporarily with images of Taliban atrocities and photographs of roadside bombs, according to the Long War Journal website, which tracks progress in the war, now dragging into its eleventh year.
Another cyber attack took place on June 20 last year, when false messages were distributed about the death of the Taliban’s one-eyed leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, from both the website and the phones of Taliban spokesman.
Thursday’s hacking attack came as a man wearing an Afghan security forces uniform shot and killed a U.S. soldier in the country’s south, in the latest incident of so-called green-on-blue killings by local police and soldiers of Western mentors.
Three soldiers were killed by an improvised bomb in the east, where NATO recently launched one of the last large offensives of the war to try to clear insurgent strongholds near the Pakistan border and around Kabul.We can give you the smile you have always wanted.
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Our HoursRoong lies on her side, her head nestled in her lover’s armpit. Speckled with sunlight and drops of perspiration, she dips in and out sleep, lulled by the soft murmur of the river at their feet. Her profile, framed in close-up, is torn between lingering bliss and mounting sorrow as reality comes creeping back into her thoughts, contaminating the lovers’ sensual jungle escape. A tear rolls down her cheek and she turns to face the sun, looking straight into the camera. Her gaze pierces right through me, provoking a surge of emotions just as the screen cuts to black.
Cemetery of Splendour opens at UK cinemas on 17 June 2016. A Night with Apichatpong Weerasethakul screened at Tate Modern 9-10 April 2016. Weerasethakul’s Primitive video installation is currently on show at Tate Modern’s The Tanks.
These are the closing moments of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s 2002 breakthrough Blissfully Yours, screened halfway through Tate Modern’s 16-hour marathon of the director’s work. After the film ended at 7am, there was a short break, as there had been roughly every two hours since 10pm. I headed outside, walking through the Tate’s deserted hallways with Roong’s weary expression etched in my own fatigue-addled mind. As I mulled over her ambivalent stare, which struck me as a potent affirmation of life’s pleasures alongside the sobering shocks that must conclude every idyll, I was greeted by a sight wholly unexpected on a London morning in early April: a dazzling dawn. The night had been freezing cold and it felt as if the golden radiance I’d just finished admiring in the Thai jungle had seeped out of the screen and was now enveloping the Thames and the buildings along the north bank, an invigorating feeling of synchronicity reinforced by the city’s Sunday-morning quiet.
It was just one of the myriad parallels, associations, recollections, reveries and dreams that I was overcome with during the near-integral Apichatpong retrospective the Tate held over a single weekend (8-10 April), starting Friday with his two most recent films – Cemetery of Splendour (2015) and its companion short Vapour (2015) – and continued the next night with five features and 29 shorts screened in succession. Despite the director’s understandable reservations about ploughing through his filmography in this manner, which obviously precludes the careful consideration all artists wish for their work, there is something about Apichatpong’s oeuvre that rewards such binge-watching.
His singularly personal filmmaking is fuelled by the notion – propounded by Buddha as well as Socrates, to name but the two most influential – that an understanding of the world must necessarily begin with an understanding of one’s own self. It’s this driving force that generates the countless recurring elements within and across his films, constructing an organic cinematic universe that grows more complex and wide-reaching with every new release. Apichatpong’s darlings have nothing to do with those of the likes of Wes Anderson or Yorgos Lanthimos, solipsistic (as opposed to introspective) auteurs more interested in refining rather than elaborating their idiosyncrasies. Always familiar but never repetitive, each of his films grants a deeper appreciation of the others by bringing the viewer closer to his wavelength, which can reach baffling levels of abstraction in its endeavour to probe some of the most fundamental questions concerning our existence. The more one recognises and assimilates his references, the easier it becomes to accompany him on his explorations and share their insights.
In his introduction to the marathon, Apichatpong invited the audience to not “think too much”. As exhaustion escalated over the many hours, following his advice became inevitable and, considering the instinctual nature of his filmmaking, highly beneficial. Most of the shorts don’t have title sequences and they gradually merged into a whole that I pleasantly drifted through in my hypnagogic state, abandoning myself to the whims of my subconscious, spurred on by the images on the screen. The experience was not unlike the one conveyed by the retrospective’s penultimate film, A Letter to Uncle Boonmee (2009).
Effecting a ghostly POV, the film’s ethereal camera floats through various rural houses while different voiceovers read a letter from Apichatpong to Uncle Boonmee, a man whose traces Apichatpong tried to uncover along the Thai-Laotian border during his investigations into the region’s conflict-ridden past. (These were brought together in the multimedia project Primitive, which includes this short as well as the 2010 Palme d’Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.)
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
A Letter plays with memory, both personal and national, real and imagined, and the many windows the phantom protagonist floats past, curiously peeking through and sometimes traversing them, serve as portals connecting these different planes. At one point three adjacent windows are framed in a frontal long shot from within a pitch-black room. Seemingly suspended in mid-air, they form a glowing rectangle conspicuously evocative of a cinema screen, an almost celestial apparition inviting reflection on film’s potential and limitations as a means of accessing and representing memory. And, by extension, on the medium’s fraught relationship with notions of authenticity and truth, a long-standing concern of Apichatpong’s cinema.
Mesmerised by this gorgeous mise en abyme, I wondered whether it had been inspired by Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Boys from Fengkuei (1983), which includes a scene that prompted similar thoughts when I saw its new restoration at last year’s Venice Film Festival. There, three teenagers go searching for a porn cinema but instead end up spectating a grim cityscape through the gaping hole on the side of an unfinished building – another rectangle illuminating a darkened space. Windows are one of the most regular features of Apichatpong’s mise en scène, but it’s only then that I became aware of the centrality of the window-as-cinema-screen motif in his work. It crops up throughout, most obviously in the many windscreen POVs that have conveyed promises of exploration and discovery ever since the opening of his debut feature Mysterious Object at Noon (2000).
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
In the lovely home movie Ashes (2012), it’s used to express frustration with the medium of cinema itself. In voiceover, Apichatpong describes a dream in which he tried to recreate the beautiful visions from another dream within his dream using a 2B pencil. Ashes feels like an equivalent attempt with a 35mm Lomography movie camera. Taking advantage of the camera’s hand-cranked mechanism and Lomography’s characteristically vivid analogue colours, Apichatpong shot various impressionistic scenes in a stuttering frame rate and stitched them together to approximate the fragmented, evanescent nature of (dreamed) memories. When the film chances upon a window, again framed frontally with its edges parallel to those of the screen, the image succumbs to a paroxysm of superimpositions, slowly shifting towards monochrome before collapsing altogether.
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
In Morakot (Emerald) (2007), on the other hand, it’s through the windows of the titular Bangkok hotel that the memories of its former guests stream back into the abandoned building, which was erected during the economic boom of the 1980s and later fell victim to the 1997 Asian financial crisis – a simultaneous symbol of Thai prosperity and decline. The memories take the form of floating white particles – they could be dust, feathers or spirit matter – that fill the dilapidated rooms, transforming them into mnemonic snow globes. Apichatpong’s regular actors Jenjira Pongpas and Sakda Kaewbuadee appear as sleeping wraiths, their dreams materialising as bright-coloured particles speckling the cloud of white.
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
This is just one of several instances in Apichatpong’s films that feature the colours of Christmas lights as oneiric manifestations. This tendency, also found in his installations and the stage performance Fever Room (Gwangju, 2015), is brought to a spectacular culmination in Cemetery of Splendour when those colours, emitted by the sleeping soldiers’ periscope-shaped tubes, bleed into the fabric of the film itself, disintegrating the narrative boundary between reality and dream.
Apichatpong’s mode of addressing facets of recent Thai history through his long-time actors, electing them as vessels for the nation’s psyche, is another signature, one that’s become more prominent as his films have taken an increasingly political slant over the last decade. This development, which the director credits to the spread of social media and the attendant emancipation of information, is evident in the comparison between Ghost of Asia and Sakda (Rousseau). From 2005 and 2012, respectively, both shorts star Sakda and question the master-puppet relationship between director and actor.
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
The first, co-directed with Christelle Lheureux, is amusing and upbeat as a child’s voice shouts out commands – “Brush your teeth”, “Take a shower”, “Build a house” – that Sakda follows with robotic determination, his actions sped up to a frenetic pace reminiscent of silent-era slapstick comedies. The later film, which extends the critique of manipulation and control beyond filmmaking, is pensive and profoundly melancholic. With uncharacteristically solemn countenance and locution, Sakda shares that he’s the reincarnation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (the short was commissioned on the occasion of the philosopher’s 300th birthday). When he looks into the camera and states, “My body belongs to no one,” before lamenting his loss of freedom and individuality, it’s impossible for anyone with at least a passing knowledge of Rousseau’s theories and of Thailand’s current political situation to not read his words as a censure of the country’s failed social contract.
Jenjira has similarly symbolic roles in Cactus River (2012), Sakda (Rousseau)’s companion film Mekong Hotel (2012), and most overtly in Cemetery of Splendour. I was already familiar with Jenjira and Sakda from their many appearances in Apichatpong’s features, but the retrospective introduced me to a third star of his cinema, Krissakorn Thinthupthai. Forever in high spirits and sporting an indelible grin of sheer, explosive joy, Krissakorn’s presence personifies a purity untouched by contemporary ills – brimming with what Pier Paolo Pasolini called “spirituality”, he’s the Ninetto Davoli of Apichatpong’s oeuvre.
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
This is perhaps best illustrated in the sublime Mobile Men (2008), part of an artistic anthology celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sitting in the back of a speeding pick-up truck, Krissakorn’s uninhibited laughter, delight in showing off his tattoos, and his wild roar at recalling the pain of getting inked provide an exuberant expression of the joie de vivre human rights are supposed to capacitate. In Worldly Desires (2005), a mock making-of documenting the shoot of alternative versions of Blissfully Yours and Tropical Malady (2004), Krissakorn leaves the routine of the set to perform an impromptu, cathartic dance in the middle of the road; in Luminous People (2007), he is the sole beaming face in a funerary ceremony on the Mekong attended by Apichatpong’s other regulars and several members of his crew; and in M Hotel (2011), he and another young man (Chai Siris) take pictures of one another in an Edenic hotel room, their innocent and giggly enthusiasm confusing the distinction between flirtation and childhood games.
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
Encountering Krissakorn again and again during the marathon, I kept thinking back to his latest appearance, in the short Vapour, screened on the retrospective’s first night. Vapour is an uncharacteristically stifling film, its static black-and-white photography and silent soundtrack imbuing the Thai countryside with an eerie, apocalyptic feel. Although violence has always been present at the periphery of Apichatpong’s cinema – in the recollections of vicious familial abuse in Mysterious Object, the dehumanising experiences recounted by the immigrant protagonist in Blissfully Yours, the street brawl fleetingly glimpsed in Tropical Malady – Vapour marks its first irruption into the centre.
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
After several scenes depicting a smoke-filled world in which ski mask-clad villagers go on with their existence seemingly indifferent to the all-enveloping smoke, their anonymity and passivity proving highly unsettling, the film culminates with two farmers torturing and crucifying a third. Such an occurrence within an Apichatpong film – James Quandt (in his introduction to the Austrian Film Museum’s Weerasethakul reader) described them as “incapable of countenancing evil” – is already shocking, but that one of the torturers should be Krissakorn (his face might be hidden inside a ski mask but his tattoo, so proudly exposed in Mobile Men, gives him away) strikes me as a stark illustration of the director’s bereaved disillusionment with his homeland, a sentiment that also underpins Cemetery of Splendour.
The only film that shares Vapour’s oppressiveness is one of his very first, 0116643225059 (1994), made during his studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. An experimental representation of a long-distance phone call between Apichatpong and his mother, it loops and layers snippets from their conversation over negative (or very high-contrast) black-and-white photographs and fragmentary scenes. Repeated at high speed, these create an aggressive flicker effect reminiscent of films by Peter Kubelka or Paul Sharits, but the distinct and intense personal emotions conveyed find more appropriate comparison in the scene from Chantal Akerman’s No Home Movie (2015) in which Akerman skypes her mother (also from the US, as it happens). For both directors, their mother personifies their longing for home and the pain of separation that emanates from their respective films is devastating. It’s difficult to believe that Apichatpong should now express analogous feelings of displacement with regards to Thailand, a country he has portrayed with such warmth and devotion throughout his career.
Credit: Courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
Cemetery of Splendour is filled with so many elements that Apichatpong once cherished but whose significance has been corrupted. Compare The Anthem (2006), an irresistibly buoyant short inspired by the royal anthem that introduces every cinema screening in Thailand, to the heartbreaking scene at the cinema in Cemetery of Splendour where the characters stand up for the anthem, but it never starts, and they are left suspended, confused and abandoned. Or consider the framed photos of royal family members and military leaders that have always featured in his mise en scène, a documentary reflection of reality all of a sudden rendered sinister. Or aspects like institutional Buddhism and the military; once a source of affection and sexual fascination, respectively, they’re now held responsible for buttressing a despotic status quo through propaganda and oppression.
In this light, it’s unsurprising that Apichatpong intends to shoot his next feature abroad, most likely in South America, a continent he feels has a strong cultural affinity to Thailand. Like Blissfully Yours, Cemetery of Splendour also ends with a close-up of its protagonist. However, the ambiguity that had so intrigued me in Roong’s expression has dissipated. The closing image of Jenjira is so forlorn, it seems incapable of holding any optimism for the immediate future. As she stares ahead, straining her eyes open and trying to wake from the wretched dream of the present, her helplessness encapsulates the torment of a nation stuck at an impasse too surreal to comprehend, let alone oppose.“Just brute force,” Kelly said. “Like all of these skyscrapers, just knocking them down.”
As he did to the Saints’ Jermon Bushrod. Smith, who now is listed at 285 pounds, was not interested Thursday in breaking down the play that has come to encapsulate the 49ers’ stunning victory over New Orleans.
“That’s last week,” he said, reinforcing his famed aversion to the news media. “I’m focused on this week. I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest with you.”
Every offensive lineman left in the playoffs has, though. On a third-and-17 in the fourth quarter, Smith locked on Bushrod and began to push. Back, back, back, all the way until Drew Brees was within reach. Smith then reached around Bushrod with one claw and all three of them went to the ground.
“Unbelievable,” safety Carlos Rogers called the play.
It was a ridiculous show of strength, made all the more remarkable because Smith played all 80 defensive snaps against the Saints, and also lined up on offense a few times as an extra blocker. He looked a little befuddled when asked how he managed to stay on the field for every play, noting that linebackers and defensive backs do it all the time. Reminded that he was a defensive lineman — read: gigantic and quicker to wear out — Smith shrugged.
“That’s how I’ve always played,” Smith said. “Probably wouldn’t know how to do it another way.”
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Probably not. In the first month of this season, before few believed the revival of the 49ers would stick, they roared back from a 20-3 halftime deficit to lead the Eagles. That was when Philadelphia’s Jeremy Maclin caught a screen pass and began to run down the left sideline. Smith had spent most of the day rushing the passer, but when Maclin took off, Smith pursued him. Maclin runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. Smith’s neck might be as wide as Maclin’s leg. But Smith caught Maclin from behind and stripped him, saving the victory.
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The defensive coordinator Vic Fangio called it the “defensive equivalent of The Catch,” putting it in hallowed company with Joe Montana’s iconic touchdown pass to Dwight Clark, the greatest offensive play in franchise history.
That a player like Smith, who was taken by Cincinnati with the fourth overall pick in 2001, could be practically anonymous until this season was part of the point of an exercise Fangio engaged in during training camp. Smith, who finished with seven and a half sacks this season, has had more sacks and more tackles in other seasons and the 49ers wanted him so badly as a free agent in 2008 that the former coordinator Mike Nolan took him on a helicopter tour of the Bay Area.
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But Smith has almost always been on losing teams, first in Cincinnati, the last four seasons in San Francisco. The greatest players have always burnished their reputations in the postseason, but Smith had been in just one playoff game — in 2005, when the Bengals were blown out by the Steelers. Every year, Smith’s play would be forgotten by the time the champions were crowned.
So Fangio put Smith’s face on the cover of the defensive playbook.
“We just wanted to make a point here that he’s been in the league 10 or 11 years, and he’s only been in one playoff game,” Fangio said. “There was a lot of talk about the great history and tradition of the 49ers, but my message to them was there was great history, but the tradition was lost. You can’t go nine years without a winning season and think you have tradition. We’ve restored that. And along |
we're sought advice from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions about whether they've reached the criminal threshold. They haven't, but we'll continue to do that.
Christine El-Khoury: Since the attacks in Paris, there's been no change to Australia's National Terrorism Public Alert Level which shifted from medium to high days before the counter-terror raids. The Director-General of ASIO told ABC's 7.30 last week, he cannot guarantee that Australia will not experience terrorist attacks on home soil in the future.
The AFP's Neil Gaughan says the public and the media need to be realistic about terrorism.
Neil Gaughan: We've got to be realistic when we talk about terrorism threat in this country. The same week that we did those raids in Sydney or one series of raids in Sydney there were three domestic homicides here in the ACT. So three women lost their lives and no one in the particular raids was killed. We've got to get the proportion right. Now understand, the randomness of terrorism is what makes people fear it. There's more chance of people being eaten by a shark than there is of being a victim of a terrorism attack, and the statistics say that.
Christine El-Khoury: But fear of Muslims runs deep and has prompted the launch of a new political party inspired by the anti-Islamic Dutch MP Geert Wilders. The secretive anti-Islam lobby group, the Q Society, has just launched the Australian Liberty Alliance.
Intro to Debbie Robinson: And it is with the greatest of pleasures that I introduce you now to the senate candidate for Western Australia, the president of the Australian Liberty Alliance, Mrs Debbie 'Braveheart' Robinson!
Debbie Robinson: I would just like to thank…my stiletto is stuck in the stage…that's better [laughs]…
Christine El-Khoury: Debbie Robinson is vying for a Senate seat in Western Australia. The ALA attracted headlines by bringing Geert Wilders to Australia.
Debbie Robinson: I would just like to thank Geert for coming here, you're an inspiration. You inspired me to get out there, and…
Christine El-Khoury: Geert Wilders was a special guest at the launch. He came to Australia two years ago but no venue would host him.
Debbie Robinson: Since that last time you were coming and you couldn't speak, I've been so mad about that, so mad. And when someone tries to stop me doing something, I will fight. So we'll never stop, don't you worry, this party will forge ahead.
Christine El-Khoury: Background Briefing was refused permission to attend the launch, as were many other journalists. But later the ALA released an edited version of his speech.
Geert Wilders: And as you know, some have tried to discourage us. They protested against my presence here, should they grant me a visa or not. They made it hard for you to find a venue for this event. But they have not succeeded. The people are saying enough is enough, let us reclaim our country. Stop the mass immigration from Islamic countries. No more. We say no more to the governments and to the Islamisation process.
Christine El-Khoury: Geert Wilders was an inspiration for Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Breivik who cited him 30 times in the manifesto he released hours before going on a shooting rampage. The right-wing extremist set off a bomb in Oslo killing eight people, before gunning down 69 others at a left-wing youth camp.
Anne Aly worries about the influence Wilders might have on public debate in Australia.
Anne Aly: I think it was a little bit disappointing that he was allowed into the country, particularly given his influence on Anders Breivik who committed Norway's largest terrorist attack, who had a very, very strong anti-Islamic agenda and who was very much inspired by Geert Wilders, among others.
So we'll come out and have a knee-jerk reaction and say Chris Brown isn't allowed into the country because of his stance on domestic violence, but we'll allow Geert Wilders to come to Australia, and all very good and well under freedom of speech, but we should also be warned that his freedom of speech did, in fact, inspire one of the world's worst terrorist attacks.
Christine El-Khoury: Anne Aly says the rise in right-wing extremism has escalated since 9/11.
Anne Aly: Well, I think if you look at the way that the discourse on national security and terrorism has evolved since 9/11, you know, after the Bali bombings, John Howard said, 'Why do they do this? They do this because they hate us. Not because of anything that we've done, but because of who we are. Because they hate us.' Several years later, Tony Abbott repeated that mantra and he said, 'They hate us, that's why they do this. They hate us. It's not because of what we do, it's because of who we are. They hate us. They hate us because we're good.'
Christine El-Khoury: She says this has divided the Australian community into two camps; us and them.
Anne Aly: That kind of rhetoric, that kind of framing terrorism and national security as this battle of good and evil immediately creates sides. The way that this discourse developed was the 'them', the 'other' was inevitably going to be Muslim communities in Australia and anyone who is different in Australia, anyone who doesn't agree, because if you don't agree with us, then you must be one of them.
Christine El-Khoury: And this creates fear.
Anne Aly: If somebody hates you, what can you possibly do about it? If somebody hates you, not because of anything you do, but because of who you are, what can you possibly do about it? There is nothing you can do about it. And if there's nothing you can do about it, the only thing that you can do is really fear their reprisal, fear their violence.
Christine El-Khoury: Someone who knows how extremism works is 32-year-old father of two, James Fry. In the 1990s as a troubled and vulnerable 13-year-old, James was lured into a neo-Nazi group.
James Fry: I guess violence is probably an undercurrent that runs through it. Just through the terms of the language of the ideology, in the fact that it's framed in a very confrontational and war-like manner, it's very much an 'us versus them', 'good versus evil', and a sense of urgency kind of permeates through it all. With that constant belief that you're under threat, the violence I guess can come out in the language itself to begin with, although when it starts with the language, it then becomes very easy to justify physical violence.
Christine El-Khoury: During this time in his life, a period in which Sydney was experiencing an influx of Asian migration, James says he did things he still regrets.
James Fry: Yeah absolutely. I remember one occasion, I was walking through a railway station underpass and it was probably about 6 o'clock at night and I'd been drinking all afternoon and people were getting off the train. Looking back, it would have been two young men of an Asian background walking through that underpass, and one of them brushed up against me as I walked past. I was sure at the time that they did that deliberately and I just started beating into them. And because I was so caught up in this ideology that they were wrong and I was right, I had become the one who was actually the threat to society, and I had become really an animal in many ways.
Christine El-Khoury: In hindsight, James believes the situation could have been much worse.
James Fry: I'm incredibly grateful that those incidents were quite isolated because really, had I had access to firearms, had I perhaps lived in an area where more violence was encouraged or the ideology I'd aligned myself with had access to more means of violence, there's nothing to say that it wouldn't have just been two gentlemen in a railway station. It could have been a group of people. It could have involved murder, even.
Christine El-Khoury: Mariam Veiszadeh is a Muslim community advocate based in Sydney. Since the counter-terror raids in September last year, she's been tracking Islamophobia in the community.
Mariam Veiszadeh: What we're finding now, looking back on almost 12 months' worth of data, is that there is a correlation (from what we can see from preliminary findings) between what's playing out in the media and government rhetoric in the incidents that then come through in terms of how that then translates to people out on the streets who happen to be Muslim, or look Muslim for that matter, and how they're treated, and some of the reports that have come through since then.
Christine El-Khoury: Mariam has experienced first-hand how violence in the online world can become a frightening reality. She's received death threats and been under police guard, had her work details published online and received verbal abuse so bad the police have pressed charges. Some of the abuse has been linked to the Australian Defence League and supporters of Reclaim Australia.
Mariam Veiszadeh: The first time you get a death threat, you really freak out, and then after a while, you're just like, 'Oh dear, okay, all right, well, I know what to do.' I think the main thing is the rational version of me was like, okay, well, hopefully these guys are keyboard warriors.
Christine El-Khoury: Then it got real.
Mariam Veiszadeh: When some of the physical things happen, when someone actually bothered to send me bacon in the mail, then you start to realise, okay, maybe they are not just keyboard warriors. Clearly they have way too much time on their hands and they're willing to send a message by doing something like that, and having your accounts hacked and things like that, you then start to realise, okay, these guys mean business. So you just step up your security and take necessary precautions. To this day, I still do that.
Christine El-Khoury: And it's taken a big toll on her personally. She suffers from severe anxiety.
Mariam Veiszadeh: I have grown up in this beautiful country and I have been given wonderful opportunities that I know that I couldn't dream of if my parents made the difficult decision of not fleeing Afghanistan when they did. So I am eternally grateful for everything that I have been given, and the opportunities that I have been afforded, but when things like this happen and they just seem to be constant, and you're constantly weathering the storm and you just think when is this going to stop, it just makes it hard because some days you really don't want to get out of bed.
Christine El-Khoury: Mariam believes the level of anti-Islamic sentiment in the community is worse than ever.
Mariam Veiszadeh: Ultimately that's the impact that it's having, that you feel that your very identity is constantly being criticised, ridiculed and challenged. It's really exhausting, and for Muslim women in particular like myself who are visible, it feels almost worse than post 9/11, just sometimes the pressure that you feel when you are out in public.
Christine El-Khoury: Islamophobia has reached new heights across the western world, according to Kevin Dunn from Western Sydney University.
Kevin Dunn: I know there were people critical of Tony Abbott and that he may have…some people talk about dog whistle politics around Islamophobia and there may have been some of that but nothing compared to what we've seen some western politicians do elsewhere in the world.
Christine El-Khoury: Kevin Dunn believes overall Australia is not racist.
Kevin Dunn: When we look at things like the experience of racism and instances of intercommunal relations harm and especially widespread public disorder, we do very well compared to the rest of the world.
Christine El-Khoury: But he says there are worrying trends.
Kevin Dunn: Too many Australians, for instance, have what we could call Islamophobic attitudes. Far in excess of those people who were implacably opposed to diversity, which is only about 6% or 7%, but the number of people who have some anxiety about the Muslim presence in Australia gets closer to 46%. That's a big variation. So a lot of ordinary Australians who otherwise like diversity and difference have these concerns about Islam and Muslims, and so these organised racist groups, and I'll call them that, are attempting to politically leverage and benefit from that.
Christine El-Khoury: And do you think they could have much success?
Kevin Dunn: Well, there's a negative and a positive response to that. On the negative side, if we're being despondent, we could point to Western Europe where groups like them have had electoral success and it has been bad for community relations in those nations. So that's on the negative side. On the positive side, what we said about the success of multiculturalism makes it very difficult for those groups. They are reminded constantly that they are a minority politically, that their views are deviant in terms of the overwhelming view of the Australian public. So there's reasons to be both hopeful and despondent.
Christine El-Khoury: Also hopeful is Liberal Party pollster, Mark Textor. He thinks Islamophobia doesn't exist in Australia.
Mark Textor: I think that's complete fantasy. I'm not even quite sure what that means. Look, there are a significant number of Australians who are worried about social cohesion, but they're worried about the outcome, they're not anti-Islam, they're not anti-Muslim. They're obviously worried about radicalisation of some Islamic youth, they're worried about…obviously the caliphate potentially forming across the Middle East, but they tend to be strategic concerns about peace and prosperity, not about hatred of a particular faith.
Christine El-Khoury: For years Mark Textor helped craft the Howard government's hardline language towards asylum seekers. He thinks the media shouldn't pay too much attention to the Reclaim Australia movement.
Mark Textor: For good or for bad, these maddies in the far right, my radical brethren, don't represent either my faith or your faith, and the Reclaim Australia don't represent every traditional Anglo-Saxon person either. So we've just got to keep that in mind and realise that we need to re-normalise the conversation.
Christine El-Khoury: Anne Aly says we need to start taking right-wing extremism more seriously or we could see jihadi style violence perpetrated by neo-Nazis.
Anne Aly: I think it's very hard when you have had years, decades, of discourse where the 'other', the enemy is somebody other than you, other than 'us', to have that mirror turned around and to think maybe that there's elements of us that maybe we need to be working on as well. This also explains the reason, for me, why certain parts of Muslim communities become very defensive about violent extremism as well and about the issues within Muslim communities. It's hard to turn the mirror on yourself and be introspective. I think that's part of it. But I do think that we have been very dismissive of it and that we need to be more aware and more vigilant that this doesn't threaten Australia's harmony and the social cohesion that we have, and that it doesn't become something to the scale of the violent jihadism, because it could very well.
Christine El-Khoury: Background Briefing's coordinating producer is Linda McGinness, research by Anna Whitfeld, technical production this week by Andrei Shabunov, and the executive producer is Wendy Carlisle. I'm Christine El-Khoury. And you can listen to Background Briefing any time on the ABC radio app. See you next time.By MetroNews in WVU Sports | May 09, 2014 at 5:00PM
Ben Queen/MetroNews photo Mountaineer guard Terry Henderson (right) joins Eron Harris (left) and is transferring out of the Mountaineer basketball program.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU announced on Friday that junior guard Terry Henderson has asked for his release and plans to transfer out of the program.
“We have enjoyed Terry and his contributions to Mountaineer basketball,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said in a release. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Henderson’s departure is the second high-profile transfer for the Mountaineers this offseason following the loss of Eron Harris.
Henderson averaged 11.7 points per game this past season with West Virginia and would have been a key returning piece heading into the 2014-2015 year.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consensus may be hard to find in Washington these days, but many corporate executives and economists seem to agree on one point: the biggest risk to the world’s largest economy may be its own elected representatives.
Down-to-the-wire budget and debt crises, indiscriminate spending cuts and a 16-day government shutdown may not be enough to push the U.S. economy back into recession.
But Washington’s policy blunders in recent years have significantly slowed economic growth and kept roughly 2 million people out of work, according to recent estimates.
Steep spending cuts are a big reason. But the governance-by-crisis also may be prompting businesses to sit on their cash rather than building new factories, buying more equipment and hiring more workers, some economists say.
“Increasingly I’m of the view that the reason why our economy can’t kick into a higher gear is because of the uncertainty created by Washington,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics.
Congress on Wednesday voted to re-open the government and extend its borrowing authority through February of next year. But the deal did nothing to resolve the underlying disputes that led to the crisis in the first place - leading many to fear that the standoff may play out again in a few months. The plan sets up a forum to try to forge a more permanent budget deal, but few expect it to succeed.
“We have crisis after crisis after crisis and it has a corrosive impact on the economy,” said Greg Valliere, an analyst with Potomac Research Group. “If you’re a business, how do you make plans in this environment?”
Leading chief executives agree.
“Most CEOs I speak to in the United States say they’re seeing a slowdown in business because of this,” said Laurence Fink, the CEO of giant asset manager BlackRock Inc, in an interview on Wednesday. “I was on a conference call with many of them, and I heard across the board, a slowdown from the American consumer because of this narrative, so it’s having an impact on our economy already - and it’s going to have an impact on job creation at a time when we need more job creation.”
Not all economists agree that the political circus in Washington is hurting the economy in a measurable sense. While worries over the debt ceiling have pushed up the government’s borrowing costs over the past week, those increases are minimal, and the S&P 500 stock index remains near its all-time high.
SLOW RECOVERY
But the pace of recovery since the 2008-2009 recession has been unusually slow.
While America’s total economic output is now higher than it was before the recession, the level of private investment remains lower than it was in 2007. Employers also continue to hire workers at a slower pace than before the recession.
Since the financial crisis eased, Washington has sent out one jolt after another. Democrats passed sweeping reforms of the healthcare system and the financial sector in 2010 which, whatever their merits, imposed wrenching changes on two pillars of the United States’ post-industrial economy.
Public unease with the healthcare law helped Republicans win control of the House of Representatives in 2010, ushering in an era of divided government that has led to repeated standoffs over taxes and spending. A near-shutdown in April 2011 led to the debt-ceiling impasse in July and August of that year, which took the country to the edge of default and prompted the country’s first-ever debt downgrade.
Like this most recent crisis, Congress averted disaster at the last possible moment. But the brinkmanship pushed consumer confidence to rock-bottom levels, where it remained for months. The S&P 500 tumbled 17 percent and took more than six months to recover its gains.
That debt-ceiling deal called for steep cuts to national defense, highway construction, scientific research and other forms of discretionary spending that Congress must approve annually.
Another budget deal, reached in January of this year after another round of brinkmanship, included tax increases to help narrow budget deficits further.
Neither of those deals addressed the health and retirement spending that poses the greatest threat to the country’s long-term fiscal health. A failure to cut back these programs or find savings elsewhere prompted a round of deliberately disruptive across-the-board spending cuts - the so-called “sequester” - to take effect in March.
Along with an improving economy, those steps helped U.S. budget deficits fall from 8.7 percent of GDP in the 2011 fiscal year to an anticipated 3.9 percent of GDP for the fiscal year that ended on September 30.
But this has all come at a steep cost.
JOBS NOT CREATED
In a report released on Monday, Macroeconomic Advisers estimated that 1.2 million more Americans would be working today if Congress had kept discretionary spending at the levels that were in place in 2010.
The forecasting firm estimated that Washington’s erratic behavior had also driven up unemployment by a further 900,000 jobs.
Zandi estimates the fiscal austerity has cost 2.25 million jobs. Without those measures, the unemployment rate would stand at 6.3 percent now rather than 7.7 percent, he says.
Even many of those who disagree with the notion that policy uncertainty has hurt the economy agree that the spending cuts and tax increases should have been phased in more gradually.
“Fiscal consolidation has been a big drag on the economy,” said Paul Ashworth, an economist with Capital Economics.
The International Monetary Fund called the United States’ deficit-reduction efforts “excessively rapid and ill-designed” in June and said the sequester cuts would nearly halve U.S. economic growth this year.
Meanwhile, Congress has punted on other important legislation like immigration reform that could boost the economy.
Construction firms have seen federal work plummet over the past several years. With the government shut down, they have been unable to use the federal E-Verify system to check workers’ immigration status or get permits to build in environmentally sensitive areas, said Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America.
The delays could be more than an inconvenience for builders trying to line up financing for a new project, he said.
“You never know when the market’s going to turn and... for some reason you may have missed the boat,” he said.
There’s more turbulence on the horizon. Simonson said lawmakers may not have the stomach to avoid further cuts on transportation spending when they take up the issue next year.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives depart after a late-night vote on fiscal legislation to end the government shutdown, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 16, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Though Washington may be responsible for lackluster business on Main Street, it may not have much of an impact on Wall Street.
Many economists had expected the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back its massive monetary stimulus program last month. The chaos in Congress means it now probably won’t begin pulling back its bond purchases until next year.
“I think the markets are beginning to learn how to live with Washington dysfunction,” said Valliere.Developers can use flags for many different things, but today the use-case we're going to discuss is all about protecting your data. Imagine a very real scenario in which you want to be able to protect a variable in certain situations. In this quick tutorial, we'll talk about a use-case in JavaScript where we want to retain the data inside a div that we replaced. Let's take a look.
The problem
Grey Elerson is working on a pretty cool project. I realize this isn't much to run on, but I don't want to give away too much more information than that. Within this project, he has attached comments to an object and wanted to have a hover effect on each comment. But a problem came with the hover command in jQuery; the mouseenter event would fire twice before firing the exit event.
His original code looked like this:
$ ('div.comment'). hover ( function () { var high = $ ( this ). height (); var wide = $ ( this ). width (); comment_html = $ ( this ). html (); console.log(comment_html); var hoverstring = "<div style='height: "+high+"px ; width: "+wide+"px ;'><p style='font-size: 30px; color: #efefef; text-align: center;position: relative; top: 50%;transform: translateY(-50%); opacity: 0.5;'>Reply</p></div>"; $(this).html(hoverstring).css("background", "#444"); console.log("mouse in"); }, function(){ $(this).css("background", "#efefef").html(comment_html); console.log("mouse out"); } );
As you can see, Grey was calling an event on hover to replace the div's contents with a "reply to this comment" message. A very simple idea, but one that was breaking. When he hovered on the item it sometimes fired the hover event twice right in a row. Since his original comment HTML was not protected, he just overwrote it with the new HTML. This meant that when he stopped hovering on the comment, the reply message still showed.
In order to fix this we need to protect the original comment.
The solution
You can go over several solutions to this problem, but you'll quickly find that many are just complex and bloated. These might include a JSON array with the original comment HTML stored, but this involves loops and lots of data being generated. In a situation like this, you also need to decide if the solution needs to be on the server side or the client side.
Thankfully, the solution we decided on addressed the initial problem (of the double-firing of the mouseenter event and no protection).
Here's the solution broken down.
var comment_html;
var commentflag = false;
var comment_id;
Take a close look, because what's happening in these three lines is very important:
We create a comment_html variable to hold the original div contents.
We create a flag called commentflag. This is just a boolean variable that will tell us if we have a comment stored (true) or not (false). We start off with a value of false because we don't have a comment stored when we start the page.
We create a comment id variable. This will hold the name of the comment we're protecting. We want to store the id of the comment before we set the commentflag to true.
Next I changed up the jQuery even to an on event. This is a personal style preference and I believe it creates better code readability.
$ ('div.comment'). on ( " mouseenter ", function (){ if (! commentflag) { comment_html = $ ( this ). html (); console. log (comment_html); var hoverstring = " <div style='height: 100%; width: 100%;'><p style='font-size: 30px; color: #efefef; text-align: center;position: relative; top: 50%;transform: translateY(-50%); opacity: 0.5;'>Reply</p></div> " ; $ ( this ). html (hoverstring). css ( " background ", " #444 " ); console. log ( " mouse in " ); comment_id = $ ( this ). attr ('id'); commentflag = true ; } else { // Do nothing because we have a comment saved... } });
Let's break down this code block too:
We use an if statement to check if we have a comment that is protected. When the if statement evaluates to true (AKA commentflag == false), then we do not have a comment stored.
Once we are inside the if statement we can go ahead and store this comment.
Logout this for debug purposes.
Save the hoverstring (the contents to override this div's html).
Replace the html in this div.
Set comment_id equal to this div's id attribute. This helps us remember what comment is stored.
Finally, protect this comment with a commentflag = true.
To sum it up, this code will follow the logic of: Do I have a comment protected? If yes, do nothing because you don't want to hurt the protected comment. If no, go ahead and start the process for showing the "reply to comment" message and save the current contents to protect them.
If a mouseenter event is fired twice the first time, it will store the comment, and the second time it will do nothing. It can fire that mouseevent as much as it wants, and it will never hurt the protected comment.
OK, so now how do we handle the mouse out event? Easy, like this:
$ ('div.comment'). on ( " mouseleave ", function (){ if ( $ ( this ). attr ('id') === comment_id) { $ ( this ). html (comment_html). css ( " background ", " #efefef " ); console. log ( " mouse out " ); commentflag = false ; } else { // do nothing because we don't like you... } });
As usual, let's break it down:
On the mouseleave event we want to start off with an if statement.
The if statement evaluates to true if the id of the div firing the mouseleave event is the same div that protected itself.
If it evaluates as true, we want to go ahead and restore the old HTML data, and set the commentflag back to false.
This logic ensures that if we're firing a mouseleave event from another div (than what the mouseenter event was called), then we don't accidentally overwrite the wrong div with the original content. This also sets the commentflag back to false allowing a new div to be hovered on.
If you're thinking that this is a simple fix, you're absolutely right. But don't brush it off for its ease, as sometimes the smartest solutions are those that we overlook. In my experience, this quick-fix has served me well, and I hope it does the same for you.What Your Band Needs To Know Before Going Pro
Every band dreams of making it to the big time. However, few musicians know what it really takes to move your passion of music to a career. These tips listed below will put you ahead of the curve. Get ready, it ain’t pretty.
Practice-
You must have band practice everyday for 8 to 10 hours. The first 6 hours should be spent in total silence, sitting in a circle and picturing what you will be playing. It is called simulation exercise. At no point should you talk. Picture yourself playing a sheading solo, smashing your guitar, spilling a beer all over your bass players pedal board, and dropping your pick. Imagining things before they happen will get you ready for when they happen in real life. The total silence will also prepare you for the hours of silence you will spend in the band van while on tour.
Fighting-
At some point, your band will fight while on tour. It might be about the last show when the bass player missed a cue or about the hot chick at the bar that you totally could have scored if your drummer didn’t come over and yell at you for not helping load the gear. You should know this is going to happen. Fights are inevitable, just ask my wife. When fights do occur, make sure to blow the littlest thing out of proportion and hold on to it for days. I still hate my drummer for once sneezing without covering his mouth; freaking hippies.
Money-
no matter what the bar says, expect to be paid slightly less than the agreed upon price. Did they say, $400 bucks, free drinks and 10 guest passes? What they really mean is, $400 minus the beer you drink and you don’t even have any guests. So, you will walk out with $300, a bar napkin with an ugly chick’s digits, and a pint glass your guitar player stashed in his guitar case. Always send two people to collect the money. There are two good reasons for this: First, two people will scare the owner to paying you correctly and 2nd; you can’t trust your bandmates to not pinch a little cash from the top. I mean, seriously, your bandmates are sketchy dudes!!! What kinda trust worthy human plays in a touring band? The answer, none.
Gear-
Do you have pro gear? You should have pro gear if you want to be pro. How do you expect to have pro tude without pro gear? My suggestion is to go to your local music store and ask for the pro gear section. After their laughter has stopped, be sure to pick up the nicest Squire guitar and proclaim your love for these great pieces of craftsmanship, laugh, put it down and then proceed to pay way to much for a road worn Fender.
Live Sound-
You will be playing some of the scummiest places known to humans. Beer soaked floors, toilets that haven’t been flushed since Nixon resigned, stages that are the size of pin heads and bartenders with less teeth than eyes. Given the high quality nature of these venues, don’t expect amazing sound. You’ll have to bring your own P.A. If a club says they have their own P.A., still bring yours. Their P.A. will consist of two broken mic stands, some crate P.A from the 70’s with two broken channels, a mic that smells worse than GG Allin, and speakers from a car stereo. Since great sound is what you are looking for, set up your P.A right before you are about to start. If you go on at 9PM, start to set it up at 8:57. At 9:45 when you have just finished running your last mic cable, proceed to do a sound check. The perfect thing to say into the mic “Testing, one two three.” After that say “testies, one two… three?” No one has ever heard this joke before and will know your band means business. After three hours of sound check, pack up and go get your money.
If you liked this artcile, try reading:
Things Every Guitar Player should know
How to kick out a bandmate
How To Get More Fans at Your Band's Next Show (more or less...)Rapper Future's appearance at the match between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks has reignited the silent war between him and his ex Ciara, who is now married to Russell Wilson.
The Low Life rapper was rooting for the Falcons, which ultimately emerged as the winner in a match in the divisional round for the National Football League.
The music artist reportedly got carried away after the victory of his home team and sent Falcons jerseys to his three-year-old son with Ciara, Future Zahir. The singer allegedly plans to bring his son for the next playoff game and wants him to support the Falcons despite the fact that Future Jr's step-father, Wilson, plays for the Seahawks.
"Future loves his Falcons and was so impressed with Matt Ryan's performance that immediately after the game he sent several child size Ryan jerseys to Ciara and Russell's for his son to wear. He doesn't think it's being petty. He plans on bringing Future Jr. to the next playoff game and wants his son to support the Falcons and be part of the winning squad with a phenomenal quarterback as they make a run for the Super Bowl," the source told Hollywood Life.
"Like any dad, Future wants to bond with his kid and take him to ball games and what better way than to be on the sidelines at a Falcons game," the source concludes.
The 31-year-old singer, who is pregnant with Wilson's baby, was reportedly not thrilled to see her ex-beau cheering for her husband's opponents. And in true Ciara style, she subtly shrugged the entire controversy with a sweet family picture where she and the Seahawks quarterback are seen with their son. Ciara was also spotted wearing her husband's jersey number in the same picture.
"No Greater Blessing Than Having Family. We're Proud Of You @Dangerusswilson," she captioned the adorable image.
The Jackie album hitmaker, shared another post flaunting her baby bump alongside her son as both were seen smiling ear to ear.U.S. Border Patrol Scrutinized For Increasing Fatalities
Shooting deaths of foreign national is up along the Southwest border. The agency has been called to modify its use-of-lethal-force policy. But it has a culture of secrecy and lacks transparency.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
For people near the U.S. border with Mexico, the Border Patrol is part of life. You pass agents on the highway, or parked quietly by the border fence. Along with the security has come criticism for violence. In numerous incidents, agents are accused of shooting unarmed Mexicans, some of them said to be throwing rocks. The incidents are a sensitive subject for the agency. NPR's John Burnett learned just how sensitive.
JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE: The U.S. Border Patrol, with more than 21,000 agents, is the second-largest law enforcement agency in the United States, after New York City's. Working on the southwest border, often in remote back country, populated with bandits, smugglers and undocumented immigrants, the job presents unique challenges. A MORNING EDITION team witnessed the arrest of 18 migrants last month near Hidalgo, Texas for the Borderland series.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR CLOSING)
INSKEEP: One by one, the people were loaded into vans, and the agents loaded their belongings into plastic bags. Other agents continued searching the woods.
BURNETT: The Border Patrol says in recent years, conditions have gotten more dangerous here on the southern frontier, and violence against agents is on the rise. But fatalities caused by border officers have also increased sharply, prompting concern that the agency must improve its use-of-force policies and training. One recent independent review looked at 67 shooting incidents that resulted in 19 deaths between January 2010 and October 2012. The report, which was leaked to the Los Angeles Times, describes border officers shooting at moving vehicles and at rock throwers without sufficient provocation, and it criticized the agency's overall handling of officer-involved shootings. Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, has been a leading voice among 16 members of Congress calling for change.
SENATOR ROBERT MENENDEZ: Uniformity of what is the standard on the use of the force is incredibly important, because we see in some parts of the Border Patrol, where some kid on the other side of the border flings a rock and they get shot at, and another side of the border a kid flings a rock and, you know, nothing happens.
BURNETT: Responding to criticism, last month, the chief of the Border Patrol, Michael Fisher, released a |
time, MPs will have to agree on how to legalise same-sex marriage. A handful of MPs have vowed to ignore the public's will and vote against the bill anyway, but they are few and far between. Most know that having given the public a say, that verdict must now be reflected in law. The fundamental change is simple enough: removing the declaration, inserted in 2004 under John Howard, that marriage in Australia is the union of "a man and a woman" (although, as just one indicator of how bitter this fight could be, some conservatives want to retain that definition and add a separate clause stating marriage can also be the union of "two people").
The bigger battle will surround the "exemptions" put in place to allow religious organisations to continue to administer marriage in a way they see fit - to the exclusion of same-sex couples. Most people are in agreement that ministers of religion should not be forced to marry two people if they don't want to - and, indeed, churches already enjoy wide-ranging exemptions to anti-discrimination laws. But there is fierce disagreement over how far to extend those exemptions. Broadly speaking, social conservatives want to allow anyone who disagrees with same-sex marriage to refuse to participate in one, by legally refusing wedding services to gay couples. Others in the government, including the chief law officer George Brandis, think that would be unconscionable. "We are certainly not going to remove one form of discrimination and at the same time instate another form of discrimination," he said on Tuesday. There is also a strongly held view among moderate Liberals that, having lost the vote, opponents of same-sex marriage have no right to dictate what the law should look like.
The margin of the vote gives some ammunition to conservatives to argue on behalf of the nearly 40 per cent of Australians who voted "no", as figures such as Tony Abbott and Eric Abetz clamoured to do immediately on Wednesday. But the fact the "yes" vote exceeded 60 per cent - surpassing the expectations of many "yes" supporters in the government - weakens the ability of conservatives to agitate for exemptions. Liberal senator Dean Smith, a gay man who fought publicly and within the Coalition for same-sex marriage, released a bill earlier this year that would legalise same-sex marriage and provides protections for religious freedom. It is that bill that has been chosen by government ministers as their preferred starting point. They have flagged the possibility of amendments, potentially cherry-picked from Liberal senator James Paterson's rival bill, which would give wide-ranging exemptions and wind back existing anti-discrimination laws. However, because of the way this has been undertaken by the government, it is likely those amendments will not succeed. The government says it will allow Senator Smith's bill to be debated - starting in the Senate - and it's the Parliament's job to work out what the final version looks like.
As a conscience vote, there's no need for a consolidated party room position on any element of the bill. Given the combination of moderate Liberals, Labor and the Greens in the Senate, it's unlikely any conservative amendments would succeed. Loading Lawyers, churches, think tanks and interest groups will clamour for attention in coming weeks as they try to tell politicians what to do. But it's the voting public that MPs must now respect above all, and the people's verdict is clear: get this done, and get it done quickly.C’mon, admit it. We have all day dreamed of how we would quit our job in the most epic way possible. We have seen newscasters storm off the set after doing a story they didn’t necessarily agree with, but this lady decided to quit her job in a pretty funny way. But it is how her boss responds to her resignation that makes it even better. Check this out!
That got out of hand pretty quickly. I have a feeling that Jenny and Spencer are better off without each other. I’m sure Jenny will go on to find a job that she actually enjoys, along with a boss she might actually get along with. And considering the assets Spencer’s company handles, finding a new receptionist won’t be all that hard. There is one thing I just can’t get over though… Did Jenny really put her bare feet on the receptionist desk? Considering I’m kind of a clean freak, there is no way I would have been able to handle that for two long years. We wish them the best in their next endeavors, but everything might happen for a reason, and this reason is because they just don’t work all that well together.
What do you think? Did her boss go too far? Tell us in the comments below.The cloth training wraps that are so common in the West aren’t necessarily all over the place in Thailand. You can buy them at virtually any shop that sells equipment, sure, but they’re not used by all the Thais training at the camps. A lot of Thai boys don’t wrap their hands at all. Those who do, in my experience, often favor these cloth “fight” wraps that are more like gauze-linen and don’t have a thumb loop or Velcro. The western boxing style training cloth wraps we’re used to are expensive and, the more I’ve trained, the more they seem cumbersome and bulky. It’s just too much cloth. As you can see, the fight wrap leaves the palm very open, which I like:
Take into account two additional things: my hands are really small, so those thicker training wraps go around my little bird hands and wrists a bunch of times, and the cloth width is just not conducive; secondly, I’m a clinch fighter so I’m not keen to bulk up my hands with wraps in the first place. A smaller wrap is better for my purposes. I also have been training bare-fisted for many months now so the supposed additional support from boxing training wraps is not entirely necessary, as my wrists have gotten very strong – all my bagwork is barehanded. But these fight wraps are not just for experienced fighters; Legendary trainer Andy Thomson when up at Lanna Muay Thai would put beginners on these kinds of wraps, as he really liked the conformity and fit.
Below: a short video on how I wrap my hands using these Thai style wraps:
So, the actual pattern of how I wrap my hands – which fingers I go through, padding the knuckles, going around the thumb, etc. – is the same as I used to use, but I’ve changed what I use for gloved padwork. What I use now are the wraps used for fights (I prefer to wrap my own hands for fights now as well), which is somewhere between cloth and gauze. It’s not gauze like what’s used in my experience in the US, instead it’s, again, like a really cheap linen (like, low thread count) and pretty stiff when you first open them up. When you first wrap with them a few of the threads kind of come off the edges like floss and you can just rip those off. When you re-roll them to use again, the first 3 to 5 times, there will be additional threads that are bit like corn silk spooled up on the ends and you have to rip that off – but snap those off, don’t unweave the wrap edge too much. After a few uses the problem goes away. You kind of “break them in” for a few days. After training when you hang them to dry make an effort to un-twist and flatten them out so they will dry well and be easy to roll the next session. They dry really quickly. These wraps should last you at least several months – I never get to see how long they last because the boys eventually will permanently “borrow” mine when I hang them to dry, or the wraps will get used for my next fight. They make a great wrap because they’re not bulky at all, get softer as you use them, and offer a nice balance between tight and loose for support and yet not constrictive. For fights I tape under and over this same wrap.
You can buy these wraps at most shops that sell Muay Thai stuff in Thailand. They sell them at my gym, along with tape, Vaseline and boxing lineament, so it’s super easy for me. But if your gym doesn’t have them you can buy them in bulk from boxing supply stores. They’re 30 Baht each where I live, so less than $2 for a pair. Because my hands are small, the first time I wrap my hands with a new pair I do the wrap until it’s “right,” then just tear the fabric and throw away about a quarter of the length of the wrap. I don’t need it. Just extra bulk for me. For bigger hands you might need the whole length, I don’t know. And they stink after a while so you can just give them a rinse with some soap and hang them to dry, then roll them again. They really last pretty well given how flimsy they seem.
Thanks to the redditor GoodSamaritan_ who asked the question about this wrap that sparked the video, and now the blog post.
If you train with regular training wraps, this was my How I My Hands Video using those.
An Introduction to Sylvie’s Tips
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You can support this content: Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu on PatreonCAPE CORAL, Fla., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a former UPS driver allegedly stole 350 items sent via the shipping service and sold them on eBay.
Documents released by the state attorney's office revealed Craig Podleski, 38, of Cape Coral, Fla., is accused of stealing $250,000 worth of items he was supposed to deliver during the course of several years and selling the items under eBay username Bulldoglover4life, the Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press reported Friday.
He could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Podleski's wife, Cheryl Podleski, 43, was charged with helping her husband sell the stolen items. She could face a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Authorities said numerous stolen items were found at the couple's home, including firearms, jewelry and electronics. Investigators said they have not yet determined the amount of money Podleski allegedly made from selling the stolen goods on eBay, other auction sites and garage sales.TEHRAN (IQNA) – Imam Mahdi (AS) Center is an Islamic center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, that holds various programs for the city’s Muslim minority.
Among those programs is a Quranic course held every Saturday for children aged 5 to 12.
Hojat-ol-Islam Hussein Khalilu, Asma Khazraji, Rubab Kunyar, and Zeynab Jamoud are the instructors.
The course includes lessons on memorization of the Quran, memorization of some Surahs (chapters), stories of the Quran, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) and prayers.
According to Asma al-Khazraji, it began in the lunar month of Sha’aban (May).
She told IQNA that as well as Brazilians, children with Iraqi, Iranian, Lebanese, Sudanese and Syrian nationalities have taken the course.
Khazraji said it is aimed at enhancing Muslim children’s knowledge of Islam, the Quran and the Seerah of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) and helping them read the Quran accurately.
She went on to say that it has been received very warmly by Muslims and is expected to develop in the future.
Islam has a long history in Brazil. It entered the Latin American country in the 16th century with the migration of slaves from western Africa. Most of the country’s minority Muslims used to be black people of Uruba race.
Their number reached 100,000 by 1910 despite all the restrictions and bans on their religious activities.
During the 20th century, thousands of Muslims moved from Lebanon, Syria, and a number of other countries to Brazil, which led to further spread of Islam in the country.
But it is not only migration that accounts for the rising number of Muslims in this South American state. There have been numerous Brazilians converting to Islam in recent years after learning about its lofty teachings.
Currently, Brazil’s Muslim population is estimated at 1 million, with the city of Rio de Janeiro having the largest number of Muslims.
There are 127 mosques in Brazil, statistics show, four times more than the number in the year 2000.
Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and the 5th most populous country in the world.
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Donald Trump portrayed himself as Scotland’s saviour as he tried to block plans for an offshore wind project near his golf resort.
The US President-elect sent a series of letters to then first minister Alex Salmond, warning about the impact of the “monstrous” turbines.
The “insanity” of the project would bankrupt Scotland, claimed the reality TV star.
He told Mr Salmond he would be known as “Mad Alex - the man who destroyed Scotland” if he pressed ahead with the plan.
Mr Trump said the “craziness” would also damage Mr Salmond’s hopes for Scottish independence.
(Image: PA)
The property tycoon said the wind farm would ruin the view from his golf resort at the Menie estate, in a series of colourfully-written letters.
On September 1, 2011 he told Mr Salmond: “Its adverse visual impact on my development and the beautiful Aberdeen coastline will be disastrous and environmentally irresponsible.”
Less than a fortnight later he sent a one-sentence missive to the then First,inister asking why Swedish energy firm Vattenfall was being allowed to “ruin” the Scottish coastline, adding: “Let them ruin the coastline of Sweden first.”
On February 9, 2012, Mr Trump told Mr Salmond: “With the reckless installation of these monsters, you will single-handedly have done more damage to Scotland than virtually any event in Scottish history.”
He added that he would never support “this insanity” and claimed he was motivated by his family ties to Scotland.
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“Please understand that I am doing this to save Scotland and honour my mother, Mary MacLeod who, as you know, was born and raised in Stornoway.
"She would not believe what you are doing to her beloved Scotland!”
The correspondence, released following a Freedom of Information Act request by the Huffington Post UK, showed Mr Trump becoming increasingly frustrated by the plan.
On March 12, 2012 he told Mr Salmond: “Do you want to be known for centuries to come as ‘Mad Alex - the man who destroyed Scotland’?”
He added: “If you pursue this craziness Scotland will go broke and forever lose whatever chance you currently have of making Scotland independent.”
The following month he warned about the economic damage that reliance on wind power would do.
(Image: Getty)
On April 19, 2012, he wrote: “Your economy will become a third world wasteland that global investors will avoid.”
In two separate messages on May 2, 2012, Mr Trump offered an insight into what he believes makes a great leader.
In one letter Mr Trump said: “History has proven conclusively that the world’s greatest leaders have always been those who have been able to change their minds for the good.”
In the other he told Mr Salmond: “Your idea of independence is ‘Gone With the Wind’.”
The correspondence reveals Mr Trump also lobbied UK ministers, with one letter to then Defence Secretary Philip Hammond praising his department’s concerns about the project.
(Image: Getty)
In the August 16, 2012 letter he told the Cabinet Minister: “The defence of the UK is far too important to tinker with just to satisfy Alex Salmond’s bloated ego.”
The papers released include one reply from Mr Salmond to Mr Trump, in which he told the tycoon the renewable energy industry would boost Scottish jobs.
In the April 12, 2012 response Mr Salmond said: “We are determined to be on the right side of this debate, to deliver a future for the next generation, and a prosperous one at that.”
The former First Minister reflected on his dealings with Mr Trump in July this year, saying: “Most American presidents don’t send you ‘green ink’ letters, often capital letters.
"Usually couriered overnight with press articles attached to them, ‘READ THIS!’ Underlined, three times.”The Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) revealed this past weekend that black children are dramatically less likely to receive pain medication in the emergency room than white children, according to ABC News.
Black children are 39 percent less likely to receive the same medicine as white children with similar problems. Since little is known about children’s pain expression and perception, the PAS is searching for a direct reason for the findings.
The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Tiffani J. Johnson, expressed her concerns about what she discovered.
“If we don’t recognize disparities, we’re never going to be able to close the gaps,” Johnson said. “Now we need to look at where these differences are coming from. Are they at the patient level, the parent level or the physician level?”
The PAS also revealed that black and Hispanic children are likelier to have long ER visits than white children.
Researchers used data from the CDC’s National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, which included more than 2,000 children from 550 hospitals who visited the ER for abdominal pain between 2006 and 2009.
A 2002 Institute of Medicine study found large patterns of racial disparities in medical treatments, including that “minorities are less likely to be given appropriate cardiac medications or to undergo bypass surgery, and are less likely to receive kidney dialysis or transplants” as well as more likely to receive painful or life-altering procedures like limb amputation.
[Image via Shutterstock]The European Space Agency has been testing a prototype 3D printed antenna, designed for future mega-constellation small satellite platforms.
Working with the Swiss company SWISSto12, the European Space Agency (ESA) has been developing and testing a 3D printed dual reflector antenna for future use on space-qualified satellites.
Currently, it is being put to work in ESA’s Compact Antenna Test Facility in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The test range is isolated from outside electromagnetic radiation while its inside walls are covered with ‘anechoic’ foam to absorb radio signals, simulating infinite space.
This range is part of ESA’s suite of antenna testing facilities, intended for smaller antennas and subsystems, which can be seen below. Engineer Maarten van der Vorst, member of the ESA Electromagnetics & Space Environment Division, designed the antenna. He said:
“Designed for future mega-constellation small satellite platforms, it would need further qualification to make it suitable for real space missions, but at this stage we’re most interested in the consequences on RF performance of the low-cost 3D-printing process.”
Putting the 3D Printed Antenna through its paces
Two different antennas were produced by SWISSto12, using a proprietary additive manufacturing technique, and employing a special copper-plating technique to coat the complex shapes.
The antenna incorporates a corrugated feedhorn and two reflectors, and it has been printed all-in-one in a polymer. This copper plating was used to meet its radio-frequency (RF) performance requirements.
“Although the surface finish is rougher than for a traditionally manufactured antenna, we’re very happy with the resulting performance,” says antenna test engineer Luis Rolo. “We have a very good agreement between the measurements and the simulations. Making a simulation based on a complete 3D model of the antenna leads to a significant increase in its accuracy.”
The benefits of 3D printing the exact same model is that it can be done in a single piece, so any source of assembly misalignments and errors are removed, which can enable excellent results. As well as this, 3D printing reduces costs, lead times and component weight, while still increasing in RF design flexibility.
“As a next step, we aim at more complex geometries and target higher frequencies,” adds van der Vorst. “And eventually we want to build space-qualified RF components for Earth observation and science instruments.”
(via ESA)Metro has expressed its regret after a 72-year-old grandmother, who had no more than 10 seconds to load her two small grandchildren and bags onto a train, was left stranded on the platform while the children were carried away without her.
On November 3, Clare Hassard, 72, was at Southern Cross Station, attempting to board a Frankston-bound train with her granddaughters, aged four and five, when the doors closed while she bent down to pick up her luggage.
A Metro investigation of the incident using CCTV footage found less than 11 seconds elapsed between the last passenger exiting the door Ms Hassard and her grandchildren were entering and the driver closing the train doors. The train doors were open for 18 seconds in total, and it took 13 seconds for the doorway to clear and for Ms Hassard to help the children on board. She then walked to the yellow safety line to collect her bag, but within five seconds the doors had closed, and three seconds later the train departed.
Another adult on the train accompanied the children to Flinders Street Station, where the family was reunited with the assistance of Metro staff.
Metro took until Friday, 26 days, to respond to a complaint by Ms Hassard's son Anthony Ryan, who is also the children's father.Englewood, New Jersey is a small city near the Hudson River in northern New Jersey, best known as the home of the Lipton Tea Company and...a senior citizen prostitution ring?
Three senior citizens have been arrested in an apparent prostitution ring bust at a senior home in New Jersey. One elderly woman was arrested for allegedly having a crack pipe as well. The arrests were made at the Vicente Tibbs Senior Citizen Center on West Street in the North Jersey community.
James Parham, 75, and Cheryl Chaney, 66, were arrested for maintaining a drug nuisance and possessing drug paraphernalia. A third suspect, Selma McDuffie, 54, was charged with possessing a crack cocaine pipe. Parham allegedly confessed to inviting prostitutes into the building to service his younger acquaintances, according to Englewood Police Detective Capt. Timothy Torell.
The Englewood Housing Authority which owns the senior citizen complex held a safety seminar in March, after residents reported untoward visitors in the building. The North Jersey Record reported that these new faces included "vagrants in lounge chairs [and] drunks wandering the halls". There were also reports of used sexual apparatuses in the gymnasium area.
Maria Iwano, the head of the housing authority, said that Chaney was already in the process of being evicted before the allegations arose.
The paper also reported that Officer Zellvon Lucas was one of a number of officers assigned to the building after the senior citizens' arrests, and soon arrested an unidentified "disheveled woman" for criminal trespassing on the Tibbs Senior Center grounds.Looking on the bright side, as Wayne Rooney is prone to doing these days, England have won every away game since the World Cup. The striker's optimism may overlook some questionable performances at home and a World Cup that was more dire than anything that had gone before, but thanks to England's success on the road – and Wales doing them a favour against Montenegro on Friday – the route to Euro 2012 qualification now seems straightforward.
At least it does on the assumption that stuttering home form will not resume against the Welsh, at Wembley, on Tuesday. There seems no reason to fear a nation comfortably beaten in Cardiff last season, yet England did not manage to beat Montenegro at home and morale in the Wales camp can only have been boosted by their latest result. Given England's anaemic Wembley record of late, another anticlimactic disappointment cannot be completely ruled out, though there are at least a couple of reasons for England to be exceptionally cheerful about the events of the past week.
The first is Rooney, not only back playing – his absence because of suspension was one of the reasons England were below par in their last home game against Switzerland – but back as the darling of supporters and team-mates alike. The fans chanted his name during the game in Sofia and, afterwards, a succession of players, from John Terry downwards, swiftly affirmed that, when Rooney is on song at the front of the England team, everything that happens behind becomes that much easier.
Terry did not wish to be drawn into discussing whether Rooney's personal and playing problems during the last World Cup had been a factor in the overall performance level of the England team in South Africa, though one only needs eyes to see that when their attack leader glints with malicious intent and hungrily takes the game to opponents, England are an altogether more purposeful and direct side.
Fabio Capello would rightly bristle at the suggestion that England are a one‑man team, though they unquestionably have one player who can make an enormous difference. If Rooney is back to his most potent, as the evidence from Manchester United, as well as England, seems to suggest, Capello can look forward to qualifying for the next tournament in the sort of style he managed to qualify for the last.
What happens after that is, of course, the burning question, though with the easing out of the erstwhile golden generation now starting to happen, instead of just being talked about, the new England need not lumber themselves with the complete set of negative cliches that applied to the old. This is a different England to the one that struggled through the last World Cup. A new goalkeeper, two back-line debutants in the win in Bulgaria, two new(ish) holding midfielders and new possibilities with Ashley Young and Stewart Downing now established first choices behind a reinvigorated Rooney, even if the relationship between Young and Rooney still needs fine-tuning.
As is the case with Manchester United, who are supplying quite a few of the players, a wind of youthful change is blowing through the England ranks. Capello was asked to make changes, indeed was obliged to make changes, after the debacle against Germany in Bloemfontein and, to his credit, he has. In little more than a year, new personnel and a new sense of purpose have been installed, and, with Jack Wilshere still to come back, old hands such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are suddenly on the outside looking in.
Selection and formation may change again between now and next summer, assuming England are able to secure qualification for Poland and Ukraine, though enough has changed to cast doubt on whether Capello's players must inevitably run out of steam in tournaments or consistently fluff their lines at Wembley.
No one demonstrates the present feeling that anything is possible better than Chris Smalling, who made a comfortable debut at right-back in Sofia, despite only having been switched to that position by his club this season. "I still see myself as a centre-half really, I feel this is only a temporary change, but if Sir Alex Ferguson says he wants me to play at right-back I am not about to argue," the 21-year-old former Fulham player said. "It was just the same with England. I only found out I was playing as we left the hotel for the game. It was good in a way because there wasn't much time for any nerves to kick in. The hotel was only five minutes from the stadium and it was a case of 'get your boots on, you're playing.'"
If the articulate and impressively relaxed Smalling suffers from nerves, he hides it well. One would never guess either that he was only plucked from non-league football little more than three years ago and is still finding his feet as a Manchester United regular. Discussing his England debut with an almost matter-of-fact air of detached enjoyment, Smalling seems to feel he can fit right in, perhaps because he is among so many of his clubmates.
"I was hoping I'd be in with a shout," he said. "We all feel that if you are good enough to play for Manchester United then you are good enough for England. Having so many United players in the squad can only help when you're making a debut. Ashley Young was in there, with Wazza as well, and they are both in a rich vein of form this season. There is a new breed coming through for England and it's great that players like myself are being given a chance. Ferguson has given all the young lads at United their chance by signing them and playing them early. I think the way we approach games shows we are enjoying the challenge."
Capello did his best to make sure Smalling did not get carried away. "He missed two balls, but it is different when you step up to the national team," the coach said. "When you play with your club you know everything, the movement of your fellow defenders and midfielders, and where to position yourself. When you are new to international football it is not quite the same and the ability of opponents is always high because they are the best players in their country. But I thought the time was right for Smalling and now he understands more what is required."
It is debatable whether Capello would have been quite so keen on new young players such as Smalling, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck if the path had not been prepared by Ferguson at United, though that is not something England need to worry about. It is a blessing, not a problem.
"I didn't expect England to come along so quickly," Smalling admitted. "My aim for the season was to play as many games as possible for United and to take it from there. I used to watch games like this at home on TV. Playing for England in a hostile atmosphere was something I could only dream of until recently." Plenty to look forward to then, this week and next summer, as long as no one goes and spoils it all by mentioning a new golden generation.
"Only time will tell about that," Smalling said, with wisdom beyond his years. "If the manager keeps picking us and we keep producing results, then who knows where it might lead? The finals still seem a long way off. I haven't given it much thought because I am always being told to just concentrate on the next game. That's exactly what I plan to do."Egypt is in the process of constructing the largest seawater desalination plant in the world, in the Suez Governorate’s coastal city of Ain Sokhna, revealed the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces Engineering Authority, Kamal El-Wazeir.
In a telephone interview with the privately-owned ON TV, El-Wazeir stated that, once complete, the plant is expected to have the capacity to purify 164,000 cubic meters of seawater each day.
Currently under-construction, the desalination station will “benefit the economic zone located northwest of Suez Gulf, as well as supporting other three giant desalination stations located inside El Galala, east of Port Said Governorate and the New El Alamein city” El-Wazeir said.
El-Wazeir went added that the Egyptian government has built numerous seawater desalination plants in the coastal Governorate of Marsa Matrouh, with the capacity to purify up to 100,000 cubic meters of seawater daily.Masters Champion Adam Scott is one of nine players taking legal advice over the ban on anchored putters from 2016.
Governing bodies the R&A and the US Golf Association (USGA) said on Tuesday they had decided to impose the rule.
The ban will apply to any club rested against a part of the body, such as the broom-handle or the belly putter.
South African Tim Clark and Sweden's Carl Pettersson are also preparing to contest the ruling.
The other six players are currently unknown.
Clark said: "We do have legal counsel. We'll explore options. We're not going to just roll over and accept this."
Boston based lawyer Harry L. Manion represents the nine players and says he has read the governing bodies' explanation for the ban.
"I'm not persuaded by it," Manion told GolfDigest.com
"There's some good lawyering in there, but I don't think they've made the case, and I believe the court would see it that way, too."
At the announcement of the ban, which takes effect from 1 January 2016, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson admitted to being concerned that players could file lawsuits.
Rule 14-1b In making a stroke, the player must not anchor the club, either "directly" or by use of an "anchor point." Note 1: The club is anchored "directly" when the player intentionally holds the club or a gripping hand in contact with any part of his body, except that the player may hold the club or a gripping hand against a hand or forearm. Note 2: An "anchor point" exists when the player intentionally holds a forearm in contact with any part of his body to establish a gripping hand as a stable point around which the other hand may swing the club.
"I very much hope not," he said. "I don't think lawsuits will be on particularly strong ground."
The PGA Tour opposed the ban when it was first proposed and, following its confirmation, a statement said: "We will now begin our process to ascertain whether the various provisions of Rule 14-1b will be implemented in our competitions and, if so, examine the process for implementation.
"In this regard, over the next month we will engage in discussions with our Player Advisory Council and Policy Board members.
"We will announce our position regarding the application of Rule 14-1b to our competitions upon conclusion of our process."
A 90-day consultation process was allocated for comments and suggestions when the proposals were first unveiled in November last year.
The USGA dealt with about 2,200 individual responses, while the R&A received 450 replies from 17 countries.
Clark, 37, who earned a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour after winning the Players' Championship in 2010, dismissed the consultation period as "all smoke and mirrors".Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss during an interview on 'The Weekly' (Screenshot/YouTube)
Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss recently doubled down on his claim that teaching creationism to children was a form of child abuse during an appearance on the “The Weekly,” an Australian satirical TV news show.
During the show, host Charlie Pickering recalled that Krauss had described telling children that evolution was a lie as child abuse in a 2013 video. “That’s a fairly brutal way of putting it,” he noted.
“Yeah, exactly, but it got some attention,” Krauss replied, “cus if I hadn’t [used that description] you wouldn’t have read the line.”
“But it’s true. I mean, there are different levels of child abuse,” Krauss added. “It’s like not allowing your children to have medicine, not allowing you children to be vaccinated, for example, is child abuse, because you are doing them harm.”
“In some sense, if you withhold information from your children because you would rather them not know what reality is really like, for fear that it is going to affect their beliefs, then you are doing them harm.”
The interview with Pickering ended with Krauss warning viewers that the universe was often counterintuitive.
“What science has taught us is that things that make sense to us may not be right. The universe doesn’t care what makes sense to you. That’s what’s wonderful. In fact, it causes us to open our eyes and change what we think is sensible.”
Watch video, uploaded to YouTube by The Weekly, below:The owner of the Gaslamp, a Houston nightclub accused of asking three black attorneys to pay a punitive $20 cover charge not charged to white patrons, now says that he wants to “step out of the whole business.”
However, owner Ayman Jarrah also said in the same statement, “I want to tell people that this story has hurt me more than anybody else.” This sounds like Jarrah may be thinking primarily of economic harms, without appreciating the moral and legal weight of the civil rights violations alleged.
If it’s practicalities Jarrah wants, then it’s practicalities I’ll offer. Below are tips for the Gaslamp’s owner or anyone else running a nightclub that just might be intentionally excluding or discouraging non-white patrons.
Tip 1: If a novice attorney suggests a “bold” public relations strategy for your blighted business... think twice.
Hand-delivering a gift to online commentators, Gaslamp attorney Tim Sutherland posted a YouTube video statement on behalf of his clients. Although Sutherland avers that the Gaslamp did not discriminate on the basis of race in this case, he cheerfully admits that the nightclub discriminates on plenty of other shallow, tasteless bases.
Statement Part 2 from Sutherland purportedly shows security video footage of the three laywers who brought their complaint to the media, though, as attorney and blogger Mark Bennett points out, the footage appears to be strategically edited.
Last week, Jarrah said that he plans to release his own video statement to explain why he now hopes to close down the Gaslamp.
The truly disastrous never leave “bad enough” alone.
Lesson: Is your lawyer Alan Dershowitz? Gloria Allred? If not, then keep TV and video out of your case. It will not go well for you, no matter how giddy your attorney gets about trying out his new iMovie editing skills. Don’t litigate your case in the court of YouTube unless you are willing to be convicted in that court.
Tip 2: If your novice attorney responds to your legal woes by shrugging and saying, “I don’t get it. I don’t think any laws should even apply here”... think twice.
Bless his heart. In his video for the Gaslamp, Sutherland either misapprehends or misrepresents so much law, from local ordinances to 50-year-old federal civil rights law, that one wonders whether he is the Gaslamp’s legal advocate or its worst enemy.
Lesson To Learn: Is your lawyer Clarence Darrow? Have you hired Thurgood Marshall? If not, then get a second legal opinion before trusting that your attorney’s unorthodox legal analysis won’t get you in deep trouble. This isn’t the Scopes Monkey Trial. It’s you trying to keep your business on the right side of the law and the cheaper side of settlements and fines.
Tip 3: Anybody can be racist.
Gaslamp bouncer Mike Ross responded to accusations earlier this month by posting on his Facebook page:
“My step dad |
the journal PLOS Biology, McGill law professor Richard Gold, BSc’84, wrote that the Neuro hopes its approach to open science “will draw companies to the Montreal region, where the Neuro is based, leading to the creation of a local knowledge hub.” Gold, an expert on intellectual property issues who has been serving as an open science adviser to the Neuro, added that the plan was already bearing fruit – Thermo Fisher Scientific, a multinational biotech firm interested in neurodegenerative diseases, will be partnering with the Neuro.
Ushering in a bold new era for open science
[Daniel McCabe/McGill]
(Thanks, Mom!)today guardedly reacted to Malabar exercises between the navies of India, the US and Japan, saying it has "no objection" to normal cooperation and hoped that it was not directed against any third country.
"As we have said before, we have no objection to normal bilateral relationship and cooperation among relevant countries," spokesman Geng Shuang told media briefing here today.
Reports said the annual naval exercises involving the aircraft carriers of the US, Indian and Japanese navies would be held June 9 in the Indian Ocean.
India's INS Vikramaditya along with US aircraft carrier Nimitiz and Japan's helicopter carrier Izumo were due to take part in the exercises involving frontline ships and aircraft, stated to be biggest involving the three countries.
"We hope that this kind of relationship and cooperation will not be directed against third country and that it will be conducive to the regional peace and security," Geng said.
Chinese official media in the past alleged that the exercises were aimed at
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Steve Maresca, the assistant state attorney in the case, said that in his view, Mr. Vilca “received a sentence pursuant to the sentencing guidelines.”
“Too many people just look at this as a victimless crime, and that’s not true,” he said. “These children are victimized, and when the images are shown over and over again, they’re victimized over and over again.”
But Lee Hollander, Mr. Vilca’s lawyer, called the sentence ridiculous.
“Daniel had nothing to do with the original victimization of these people; there is no evidence that he’s ever touched anybody improperly, adult or minor; and life in prison for looking at images, even child images, is beyond comprehension,” he said.
Mr. Hollander said Mr. Vilca had consistently said he did not know the images were on his computer. He refused a plea bargain of 20 years in prison, after which the state attorney increased the charges. The sentence will be appealed, Mr. Hollander said.
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Troy K. Stabenow, an assistant federal public defender in Missouri’s Western District, noted that most people assume that someone who looks at child pornography is also a child molester or will become a child molester, a view often mirrored by judges.
But a growing body of scientific research shows that this is not the case, he said. Many passive viewers of child pornography never molest children, and not all child molesters have a penchant for pornography.
“I’m not suggesting that someone who looks at child pornography should just walk,” he said. “But we ought to punish people for what they do, not for our fear.”
State and federal laws, which generally increase penalties based on the number of pornographic images, reflect the idea that acquiring child pornography requires extensive time and effort and thus is a measure of a defendant’s involvement and interest. But with the rise of the Internet, it is possible to download hundreds of images in a matter of minutes, making the size of a stash a less than reliable indicator, Mr. Stabenow and other criminal justice experts said. It is now a rare case that does not involve the possession of hundreds, or even thousands, of images.
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As a result, many federal judges have issued sentences lower than those called for by federal guidelines, which add months for multiple images and other aggravating factors. And even when such sentencing enhancements are enforced, the sentences — which can sometimes be 18 or 20 years — are often well below what Mr. Vilca received. The federal guidelines, for example, recommend a minimum of 57 to 71 months in prison for possession of 600 or more images of very young children.
Paul Cassell, a former federal judge who is now a law professor at the University of Utah, said there was no question that “consumers of child pornography drive the market for the production of child pornography, and without people to consume this stuff there wouldn’t be nearly as many children being sexually abused.”
Mr. Cassell is involved in efforts to get restitution for victims of child pornography, and has filed a petition in one case with the Supreme Court. But he said that while he was not familiar with Mr. Vilca’s case and did not know what other facts might be involved, “in the abstract, a life sentence for the crime of solely possessing child pornography would seem to be excessive.”
“A life sentence is what we give first-degree murderers,” he said, “and possession of child pornography is not the equivalent of first-degree murder.”Stanford University may have attempted to silence sexual assault victims, offering them money in exchange for withdrawal of Title IX complaints they'd lodged with the Office for Civil Rights, BuzzFeed reported Wednesday.
Two women spoke with the website about the settlements Stanford reportedly tried to reach with their lawyers. One chose to remain anonymous, but the other, 2014 graduate Leah Francis, said the school offered her $60,000, ostensibly to pay for therapy, if she would withdraw her complaint and end the federal investigation into the university's handling of sexual misconduct allegations. Neither woman accepted the money.
Related: U.S. News' 20 Best Global Universities for 2017
20 PHOTOS U.S. News 20 Best Global Universities for 2017 See Gallery U.S. News 20 Best Global Universities for 2017 19. (tie) Imperial College London Photo Credit: Getty 19. (tie) Duke University Photo Credit: Getty 17. (tie) University of Pennsylvania Photo Credit: Getty 17. (tie) University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Photo Credit: Getty 16. University of California - San Francisco Photo Credit: Getty 15. University of California - San Diego Photo Credit: Getty 14. Yale University Photo Credit: Getty 13. University of Chicago Photo Credit: Getty 12. University of Washington Photo Credit: Getty 11. Johns Hopkins University Photo Credit: Getty 10.University of California - Los Angeles Photo Credit: Getty 9. Columbia University Photo Credit: Getty 8. Princeton University Photo Credit: Getty 7. Cambridge University Photo Credit: Getty 6. Oxford University. Photo Credit: Getty 5. California Institute of Technology Photo Credit: Getty 4. University of California - Berkeley Photo Credit: Getty 3. Stanford University Photo Credit : Getty 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Photo Credit: Getty 1. Harvard University Photo Credit: Getty Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE
In an emailed statement, Stanford's Vice President for University Communications, Lisa Lapin, wrote that BuzzFeed's story "misrepresents the circumstances" — that the school had been "respond[ing] to demands from [the complainants'] lawyers that Stanford pay money to their clients or be faced with costly and time-consuming litigation." She continued:
Stanford is not seeking and has never sought in any way to end the Title IX investigations and could not do so even if it reached a settlement forestalling potential litigation with an individual party. We look forward to having all the facts in these cases come out publicly in court, as privacy law precludes us from discussing the facts otherwise. The university has nothing to hide about its handling of these cases and has no desire to keep any sexual assault survivor from talking about any criticisms they may have of Stanford or its processes.
"The suggestion that Stanford is resistant to reforms in its sexual assault policies and practices is incorrect," Lapin added.
"Stanford has undertaken a wide range of efforts to strengthen the prevention and response to sexual violence at the university, and these efforts are continuing," Lapin said. "We look forward to continuing to work with our campus community and the Office for Civil Rights to address our shared goal of ensuring a safe campus environment free of sexual assault and relationship violence."
A Stanford student carries a sign in protest of the Brock Turner decision at graduation in June 2016. Source: D. Ross Cameron/AP
There are currently four Title IX investigations open at Stanford. Francis' stems from an extended battle with the school after she reported being "forcibly raped" by another student in early 2014, as she explained in an email addressed to her "fellow Stanford students, classmates and staff." She submitted to the school's Alternate Review Process and after five months, her attacker was found responsible for sexual misconduct, sexual assault and violating the school's Fundamental Standard.
Related: Brock Turner is released from jail
9 PHOTOS Brock Turner sexual assault case See Gallery Brock Turner sexual assault case Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, leaves the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California, U.S. September 2, 2016. (REUTERS/Stephen Lam) Former Stanford student Brock Turner who was sentenced to six months in county jail for the sexual assault of an unconscious and intoxicated woman is shown in this Santa Clara County Sheriff's booking photo taken January 18, 2015, and received June 7, 2016. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, leaves the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California, U.S. September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, leaves the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California, U.S. September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith speaks to members of the media prior to the release of Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, at the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California, U.S. September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, leaves the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California, U.S. September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, leaves the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California, U.S. September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam An undated photo of Brock Allen Turner is shown in Ohio State General's office website. Courtesy Ohio Attorney General's Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, leaves the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California, U.S. September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE
But Francis told BuzzFeed she wasn't convinced the student's punishment fit the crime: As the Stanford Daily reported, he received a five-quarter suspension, one fifth of which he satisfied that summer. Like Francis, the student was a member of the class of 2014, so the suspension was tantamount to a one-year graduate school deferral. Once his "gap year," as Francis called it, was up, he'd return to campus. Instead, she argues, he should have been expelled. Francis ultimately declined Stanford's settlement because she believes the school's attitude toward sexual assault needs to change.
"I think they should cooperate with the Office for Civil Rights," Francis told BuzzFeed. "Stanford should stop trying to isolate and bully survivors of sexual assault into dropping their complaints by dangling much-needed money for health care in front of them."
On her GoFundMe page, Francis vowed "to keep my complaint open no matter how much money Stanford offers me," and is crowd sourcing the money she needs to pay for the therapy that, she says, has become a necessity in the wake of the assault.
The lenient sentencing of former Stanford student Brock Turner, who attempted to rape an unconscious woman on campus, has increased scrutiny on the school. Source: uncredited/AP
Stanford is not alone in its mishandling of sexual misconduct reports — the OCR is currently investigating over 200 schools for alleged Title IX violations — but it is among the most high-profile offenders. There's the now-infamous Brock Turner case to contend with, in which one of the school's students sexually assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster.
Then there are the accusations that Stanford systematically ignored complaints about on-campus predators. On Wednesday, the Equal Rights Advocates group filed a lawsuit against the school for "acting with deliberate indifference" to four reports of sexual assault by "Mr. X," a male student. Stanford often seemed to blame the women who came forward, the suit alleged, and while it did eventually find him responsible, Mr. X still graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees.
Pressure for the school to take responsibility for its treatment of sexual assault survivors seems to be coming from all sides. As BuzzFeed pointed out, the OCR won't necessarily close an investigation just because the complaint is withdrawn. If the problem appears to be a chronic one, the OCR can keep on digging.
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New study finds black beauty products are more likely to have harmful chemicalsOn May 3rd, Monarto Zoo welcomed a beautiful African Lion cub to its fold. The cub appears healthy and strong and mother, Kiamba, is an excellent caretaker for the new arrival. Monarto zoo is offering the public the opportunity to name the cub through the auction website eBay. African lions in the wild are in decline as a result of habitat loss, human conflict and disease from domestic animals. Wild populations have gone from nearly 250,00 individuals in the 1960's to less than 20,000 today. Professor Christopher West, CEO of Zoos South Australia said, “We are celebrating the arrival of a single lion cub who will act as an ambassador of its species to people in Australia. We want people to help us secure a future for wild lions in Africa.”
Monarto Zoo is proud to announce the arrival of a beautiful African Lion cub born at 4pm on May 3.
Carnivore Keeper Claire Geister said the cub looks strong and healthy and its mother, Kiamba is doing a marvellous job caring for it.
“The cub was the only one in the litter and has been developing well over the past few weeks, venturing outside the den and building in confidence daily,” Ms Geister said.
“We are counting down to the cub’s health check as this will also be the day that we can confirm if it is a male or female,” she said.
Kiamba is seven years old and came from Adelaide Zoo. Leroy, the cub’s father, is ten years old and came to Monarto Zoo via Mogo Zoo in NSW. He has four females in his pride.
Kiamba and Leroy are a recommended breeding pair within the region, so this cub and any subsequent young will benefit from the strong genetic diversity their match provides.
Zoos South Australia CEO, Prof Chris West said African lions in the wild are in decline as a result of habitat loss, human conflict and disease from domestic animals.
There are less than 20,000 in the wild today whereas in the 1960s there were 250,000.
“We are celebrating the arrival of a single lion cub who will act as an ambassador of its species to people in Australia. We want people to help us secure a future for wild lions in Africa,” Prof West said.
To celebrate the arrival of the cub we are giving the public the chance to name it through auction website eBay. Visit www.zoossa.com.au for more information. All money raised with go to Zoos SA conservation programs.
The final name for the lion cub will be at Zoos SA’s discretion.
At this stage Kiamba and her cub will remain off display until they are ready to join the pride, soon after the cub’s eight week health check and hopefully in time for the July School Holidays!As Cuban dissidents flood the streets of Miami with tears of joy, recalling their painful experiences as victims of the Castro regime, world leaders, buckling under the weight of their own moral cowardice, continue to heap praise on a savage dictator who censored, abused, tortured, imprisoned, and killed his people mercilessly for six decades.
From President Obama’s diplomatic appeasement to Prime Minister Trudeau’s fawning eulogy, Fidel Castro’s tyranny has been swept under the rug in service of crude historical revisionism.
As The Daily Wire’s Harry Khachatrian noted, the Canadian leader expressed “deep sorrow” over the loss of “remarkable leader” Fidel Castro. Trudeau’s sycophantic words were later mocked by thousands of disappointed Canadians on Twitter with the quip #TrudeauEulogies.
But if ever there were a man who could one-up Trudeau’s moral inversions, it would be British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Despised by his own party, the corpse-looking leftist politician has a long history of justifying the unjustifiable and standing in solidarity with the most despicable elements of modern society, including militants from the Lebanese terrorist group, Hezbollah. In a sickening display of denial, Corbyn blatantly ignored the sheer depravity wrought by Cuba’s communist dictator and sanctified Castro’s legacy as a “champion of social justice,” showing the world why the term “social justice” itself has become a twisted Orwellian double-speak synonymous with misanthropy.
And then there’s President Obama, nominal leader of the free world.
Sadly, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the man who stood by and watched one of the most horrific genocides in history unfold in Syria has bowed his head in deference to a Communist thug. Offering condolences to the kleptocratic Castro family, the president whitewashed history only to conclude his statement on behalf of the United States with an open-ended question mark on the Castro legacy. In failing to give voice to the thousands of Cuban-Americans he ostensibly represents, Obama cemented his own legacy as a coward unwilling to fight for freedom.
Obama's statement on Fidel is so anodyne that it sanitizes his atrocities and terrible place in history pic.twitter.com/jeDhI9sDbS — Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) November 26, 2016
I understand the need to be diplomatic, but why POTUS couldn't at least reference something like Fidel's "shameful legacy" is bonkers — Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) November 26, 2016
Until his Fidel statement, I thought Obama opposed police brutality, supported freedom of expression & religion, & condemned tyranny — Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) November 26, 2016
Ever the naive diplomat, Obama once promised to heroically champion human rights during his March odyssey to Havana. His visit marked the first time since 1928 that a sitting US president stepped foot on Cuban soil.
Unfortunately, the false prophets of "Change" and "Hope" are often disconnected from the grim world of reality. Not only has Obama’s soaring oratory about “human rights” fallen on deaf ears, the Cuban government has actually ratcheted up efforts to target and arrest dissidents, Bloomberg notes:
The Madrid-based Cuban Observatory on Human Rights said 1,474 people, including 512 women, were “arbitrarily” detained in January. The arrests have been climbing since the December 2014 announcement that the two governments would improve ties.
With nepotism serving as the sole procedure of power succession, Fidel Castro’s abdication from the throne of the presidency in 2006 failed to change the dynamics of the regime, as Castro’s close brother, Raul, continued his dynastic legacy. Since the Kennedy administration, US policy with Cuba, the de facto Castro playground, has been steadfast and firm, expecting tangible steps toward democracy in exchange for better relations.
President Obama’s efforts to deviate from his predecessors have been met with everything from disappointment to outrage. In fact, the White House chose not to invite members of the Cuban dissident community to the flag-raising ceremony in Havana, a move that angered many in the community.
For years, the administration has had strained relations with the Cuban exile community, with many claiming that the president is not taking any tangible steps to bolster human rights in Cuba, and for that matter, the rest of the region.
Even as American rapprochement overlooks the very Cubans the administration claims to champion in an undignified attempt to placate the Cuban regime, Raul Castro has reasserted his role as an anachronistic, 19th-century-style caudillo, the Latin American strongman figure marked by corruption and combative rhetoric.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), many of the institutional and structural bulwarks, the “repressive machinery” of human rights violations many years in the making, are embedded into the very regime Raul Castro now heads.
Here’s the Executive Director of HRW on unfortunate Obama’s response to Castro’s auspicious death.
Obama euphemistically dances around the lengthy prison terms, heartless executions that Castro imposed on dissidents https://t.co/iQAIjpJkJa pic.twitter.com/lLDtnzk8zG — Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) November 26, 2016
Castro rule was marked by countless long-term political prisoners and, in early years, many executions. @HRW report: https://t.co/D5P8jBeSqm pic.twitter.com/452WZAuNSo — Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) November 26, 2016Star Wars/YouTube
By Friday, thousands of movie-goers across various parts of the world will have watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh installment in what is regarded as one of the greatest science fiction film franchises of all time. The JJ Abrams-directed epic releases in parts of Europe on December 16, and across most of the rest of the world on the following two days. However, fans in India will have to wait a whole week for 'the' movie event of the year as The Force Awakens is slated to hit theatres here only on December 25.
That's one whole week of spoiler-y reviews, opinion pieces, Facebook statuses from friends abroad, feverishly-written blog-posts, and general Twitter mayhem that potential viewers here will have to weather before they finally get around to watching the first Star Wars movie in a decade. The reason for this release date, according to the Wall Street Journal, is the double dhamaka of Rohit Shetty's Dilwale and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani, both of which release this Friday, thereby reducing the availability of screens and show-times for The Force Awakens.
Both films feature big stars, big directors, and arrive in theatres after months of hype. Dilwale reunites Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol on screen after five years and has been helmed by a director, Shetty, who has an enviable track record of delivering blockbusters. Bajirao Mastani, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, and Priyanka Chopra, has been making waves for its larger-than-life trailer and music, as well as director Bhansali's famed attention to detail (or lack thereof). Also Read: 'Bajirao Mastani': Descendants Point Out Gross Historical Inaccuracies In Bhansali's Upcoming Film This weekend is already being seen by industry experts as a "zero sum game", where the two films might end up splitting audiences and therefore underperform at the box-office. Anil Thadani, a leading distributor, recently told Variety: "They are both big films and since they are releasing on the same day, one week is not enough to do them justice at the box office." This, he added, will affect the opening Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes in, since the performances of Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani will determine how many screens the sci-fi epic will get in theatres across the country. This is further complicated by the fact that India, for a country that loves movies so much, has abysmal theatre penetration: 10-12 screens per million people, as opposed to 125 in the United States, as told by Eros International's Jyoti Deshpande to WSJ. Cheer up, fans. It could be worse. People in China, for instance, will first get to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens only on January 9, 2016.The worst part of the Twins' 2016 season was not the fact that they went 59–103, which seems impossible. They weren’t supposed to be competitive, though, and while no team sets out to lose 100 games, there’s no practical difference between dropping 103 or 93. Either way, you’re going to be far out of playoff contention, and likely in last place in your division.
No, the worst part of Minnesota’s campaign a year ago was the performance of two players that figure to be a big part of its future: Miguel Sano and Jose Berrios. Sano’s production plummeted from his rookie year, but at least he was able to remain in the majors. Berrios, however, was not so lucky. After getting the call to The Show in late April, nothing went right for the talented young righty. When he got sent back to Triple A Rochester a month later, he had a 10.20 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP in 15 innings in the majors.
Berrios would make his way back to Minnesota in August, again after a dominant run in Triple A, but his second MLB stint was a lot like his first. All told, he finished the season with an 8.02 ERA, 1.87 WHIP and 49 strikeouts against 35 walks in 58 1/3 innings with the Twins. Not exactly the debut season the team was hoping for out of a prospect it rightly believes can one day be the ace of its rotation.
The best part of the Twins' 2017 season to date, other than their surprising climb to the top of the AL Central, is the total reversal of last year’s ultimate disappointment. Sano has been great since Opening Day, and is back on the superstar trajectory he set for himself as a rookie. Berrios appears set to join him in putting last year’s ugly season completely out of view.
Berrios made his second start of the year on Thursday, and it turned into the best outing of his young career. He tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings against the Rockies, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out 11. It was both his first start without allowing a run and his first career double-digit strikeout game. Last year, Berrios never pitched into the seventh inning across 14 starts. He has made it through 7 2/3 frames in both of his outings this season.
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Berrios’s top-of-the-rotation stuff was on full display on Thursday. His curveball had the Rockies off-balance all night and he worked it to both sides of the plate. He was able to get a swing and miss out of Charlie Blackmon on the curve for strike three and then, one inning later, froze Nolan Arenado with it to neutralize one of the premier power hitters in the league. The curve was largely responsible for Berrios getting 20 whiffs out of Colorado, and his fastball sat in the mid-90s all night, even as he approached a career-high 106 pitches.
Berrios was not the first, and will not be the last, player in MLB history to take his lumps in his first year in the majors. His dramatic turnaround in year two, his age-23 season, gives even more reason for optimism in Minnesota.A survey from the National Centre for Social Research, just released today, finds that a record number of British people have no religious affiliation at all. 53% of people said they didn’t belong to any organized religion, which is up 5% from just a year ago.
Researchers with the British Social Attitudes survey asked participants, “Do you regard yourself as belonging to any particular religion?” If they said yes, they were asked which one. That phrasing makes a difference. If researchers had offered a multiple choice list of religions, with “No religion” as an option, it’s possible many people would have responded with the religion of their youth despite no longer practicing it. But when asked up front if they’re religious, it’s much easier to honestly say no.
Since 1983, when this survey began, the number has grown pretty steadily with only a few slight dips in between. And the rise of the Nones is commensurate with the decline of the Church of England.
Even more exciting? (Are you sitting down for this?)
The percentage of non-religious people between the ages of 18-24? A whopping 71%. It’s abundantly clear that the trend for religion is not looking good.
I should point out that there are always a few confused people out there, too. A survey from earlier this year found that nearly a quarter of Christians (and a small number of “active” Christians) said they didn’t believe in the Resurrection of Jesus… which kind of defeats the purpose of the whole Christianity thing.
Humanists UK’s response to this new data was a simple one: With so many more people living without God, why is there still an official church? Why does it still get funding from the government?
Humanists UK has said the figures must raise fresh questions about the place of the churches in the running of state schools and their other state-funded privileges. Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson asked, ‘How can it be right that 97% of young people today are not Anglicans, but some 20% of the state schools to which their children will go belong to the Church of England? More generally, how can the Church of England remain in any meaningful sense the national legally established church, when it caters for such a small portion of the population?’
While it’s true that “No Religion” is not synonymous with atheism, religious institutions are quickly losing their relevance. That’s good news for anyone who supports rational thinking.BEITIN, West Bank — Children are watching television all night and lolling in pajamas until late afternoon. Parents are scraping together savings to hire tutors. Day care centers have extended their hours. Laith Zeidan, 17, is spending his days working in his uncle’s carwash because, as he put it, “my dad said I had to stay off the streets.”
Public schools across the West Bank have been shuttered since Feb. 7, in an unprecedented teacher strike against the ossifying Palestinian government. A dispute that began with the teachers’ demand for a pay raise has spiraled into the largest demonstrations in the West Bank in years, and a broad challenge to the Palestinian Authority, which is facing a severe budget shortfall and has responded with threats of arrests and mass firings.
The strike was organized through social media under a hashtag that translates to #dignity_for_teachers, and is a protest against the educators’ official union as well as the government. Palestinian leaders have refused to speak to the group’s representatives, and are accused of forcing a Palestinian legislator who tried to mediate an end to the crisis into early retirement.
On Monday, as the latest demonstration raged in Ramallah, the West Bank city that is the seat of the Palestinian government, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah issued a statement saying he hoped to soon reach an agreement, though he did not provide any specifics.Kahrs worked at Pixar for several years and then moved to Walt Disney Animation Studios to animate on Bolt, Tangled, Wreck-It-Ralph, and Frozen. He eventually directed the innovative cg/hand-drawn hybrid Paperman, released in 2012.
Meanwhile, Dart was an art director on Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe and Dreamworks’ The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show before he branched out with some regular collaborators to form Chromosphere.
The origins of June
June was conceived by Lyft creative director Ricardo Viramontes and produced by Gennie Rim via Broad Reach Pictures. Kahrs says Viramontes ‘cold-called’ him with the idea for a short story about a Lyft drive.
“He already had a strong framework of a woman, a single mom who lost her job and was struggling to make ends meet,” said Kahrs. “That character kept evolving and changing – she got older and eventually became from this neighborhood of Bronzeville in Chicago.”
That area of Chicago became the centerpiece of the short after Kahrs participated in a research trip there with a few real-life Lyft drivers. “The last driver we were with drove us around the Bronzeville area, which is just south of Downtown Chicago,” said Kahrs. It’s just a very historic, very African-American location, with a very deep heritage to it. It had very specific spatial relationships with the buildings and empty lots next to them, and the elevated train and the skyline in the distance.”
Kahrs then sought out Dart specifically for June after following his work for a number of years, particularly a piece called Forms in Nature, which was a nod in general to mid-century illustration styles, and in particular, the work of Charley Harper.
“Kevin was totally into June right away,” recalled Kahrs. “He saw my pitch and it wasn’t even completely boarded yet. I think he really loved the idea that the camera was very alive and there was a looseness to it, and it can have all this geometric design and can live in a world of paintings that are flat, but can also have a live real camera dimensionality. And a sense of photographic light and shadow.”
When Dart was asked to come on to June, originally as art director, he was just transitioning to running Chromosphere full-time. He then ramped up to a crew of around 25, mostly made up of freelancers working remotely from locations including Australia, France, and the United Kingdom.
“We spent a month and a half doing early development work and designs,” said Dart. “There was an animation test that we produced early on as a proof-of-concept. Then full production lasted a little over three months.”
Adding dimension
One of Dart’s main attractions to working on June, for which Chromosphere was ultimately responsible for design and animation, was the opportunity to work on a film that appeared at first to have a 2D aesthetic but in fact was full of dimension.
“That’s something we’ve always been interested in as a group of artists,” he said. “One of my main collaborators is Stéphane Coëdel and I’ve been working with him since some of my earliest films. We’ve always been interested in this idea of taking really graphic 2D designs, but then applying photographic semi-realistic treatment to them in the way they are composited and filmed. I feel like we keep pushing that feel.”
“We also did a bunch of 3D work on the film,” added Dart. “A lot of the characters are 3D and the sets are 3D, and we would do some hand-held camera movements in 3D that really helped lend to the dimensional feeling. Even on shots that are just 2D backgrounds, we would try to do things with subtle parallaxing and skewing of the elements in Photoshop to bring that depth to it.”
For Kahrs, this was both an intended design element and one of the many reasons he brought Dart to the project. “Those are all the things I feel very strongly about,” he told Cartoon Brew. “During Paperman, for instance, I loved the idea that it’s just in black and white, but the tones are picked so carefully and accurately that there’s almost a photographic Gestalt to it, for lack of a better word. I think Kevin’s color sense is fantastic, and it was kind of like moving in Kevin’s world and letting him run with that color and his own amazing design sense.”
Drive away
In the end, June feels like one of those unique commercial films that will have wide appeal, owing to the talented artists behind the work. For Dart, in particular, it is still early days in Chromosphere’s life and he is looking at every available project to find the right mix.
“We’re still trying to find our real identity as a studio and the most desirable projects. This project with John and Lyft was a really perfect scenario. It had all the stuff we like to do, a really interesting graphic style mixing in a lot of new technology and giving us the freedom to work with different artists.”Quote: Originally Posted by juliano76 Originally Posted by Do you think you may explain once again in details what you have done so that the sensor works properly after reboot. Thanks!
Step by step:1 open a terminal session, type "su" ro grant root permissions2 type cd /sys/devices/virtual/sensors/proximity_sensor/3 with the sensor uncovered type "cat state" and write down the value (43 in my case)4 type "cat prox_cal" and write down the first value (this is the offset), in my case it was 2015 sum both values, in my case it was 2446 Convert it to hex ( http://www.disfrutalasmatematicas.co...conversor.html ), in my case, F47 type "echo -en $'\xF4' > /efs/prox_cal", instead of F4, put your value8 type "chown system:system /efs/prox_cal"9 type "chmod 644 /efs/prox_cal"10 type "sync"11 type "reboot"And that's all, we've increased the value and this survives even a reboot.BR!There is a hierarchy even in death. At least on mortal pathways.
That much is evident walking between the rows of white crosses and headstones in the St. Panteleimon cemetery perched high on a hill above the port |
'Neill says. "We're all distracted like hell these days. We have this vision of this uncluttered place where you can work on the ideas that will ultimately change the world."
That's a little lofty, both for your ideas and for Evernote. But to be fair, this is a company that has always talked about wanting to be a "hundred-year company," one that doesn't sell out to Facebook or just up and disappear one day. So lofty is part of the game. Not all is right at Evernote yet, and it’ll have to work hard to both win over new users and win back its old ones. But a faster, simpler, more understandable Evernote is a good place to start.MANILA, Philippines – RING magazine/World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior flyweight champion Donnie Nietes says that his next title defense will be his last in that division as he looks 4 pounds north for bigger challenges.
Nietes, who will make the fifth defense of his 108-pound title against Carlos Velarde on Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City on November 15, says he will move up to the flyweight division afterwards in search of his third world title.
“After this fight I’ll move up in weight; I want to be a champion in 3 divisions,” Nietes (33-1-4, 19 knockouts) of Bacolod City tells Rappler.
Nietes, 32, has quietly remained one of the most consistent fighters in the lower weight classes, winning his first title at 105 pounds in September of 2007 and making 4 defenses before moving up in weight in 2011 to capture his second crown.
He scored the biggest victory of his career this past May, knocking out former titleholder Moises Fuentes in 9 rounds to win RING's lineal championship.
(RELATED: ‘Boxing is not forever’ says business-minded champ Nietes)
Nietes recently surpassed Gabriel “Flash” Elorde’s national record for longest consecutive run as a world champion. Elorde reigned as world junior lightweight champion from 1960-1967, losing the title on a majority decision to Yoshiaki Numata in Japan two months shy of the 7-year mark.
Still, Michael Aldegeur, who promotes Nietes under the ALA Promotions banner, concedes that Nietes’ recognition as a champion hasn’t been fully appreciated by the public. He feels that Nietes can solidify his legacy by fighting more celebrated fighters like 3-division champion Roman Gonzalez (40-0, 34 KOs) of Nicaragua and WBA/WBO flyweight titleholder Juan Estrada (30-2, 22 KOs) of Mexico.
“Both would be tough fights,” says Aldegeur. “Estrada, he’s a big 112, he’s a taller guy. He’s beaten fighters like Brian Viloria and Milan Melindo. I think he’s the best 112 right now. Roman Gonzalez is someone that Donnie wants to fight, too. Those are the two fighters that we feel Donnie needs to go through to be considered one of the best in the world.”
Nietes must first get past Velarde (26-3-1, 14 KOs) of Culiacan, Mexico is the fifth-ranked contender and has won 3 straight fights since being stopped in 5 rounds by Ryo Miyazaki in a bid for the WBA strawweight title last year.
“It’s a difficult fight but I studied his style. Velarde is a good fighter. He has movement but I’ve prepared for that,” says Nietes.
To prepare, Nietes has been sparring with his stablemates Melindo and Rocky Fuentes, who coincidentally will face Gonzalez on November 22 in Yokohama, Japan.
The Nietes-Velarde card will also feature Merlito Sabillo (23-1-1, 12 KOs), who will fight for the first time since losing his WBO strawweight title by tenth round TKO to Francisco Rodriguez Jr, who is also on the card in a separate bout. Sabillo and Rodriguez will face opponents still to be determined.
Former flyweight title challenger Melindo (31-1, 12 KOs) of Cagayan de Oro City will also be in action, stepping down a division to 108 pounds to face Saul Juarez (20-3, 11 KOs) in an IBF elimination bout. With the IBF title currently vacant at junior flyweight, Melindo could fight for the belt in his next bout should he win.
Unbeaten junior featherweight prospect Albert Pagara (21-0, 15 KOs) of Maasin City will face his most experienced opponent to date when he meets Raul Hirales (22-3-1, 11 KOs) in a 12-round bout while crowd favorite AJ Banal will round out the card. – Rappler.comDouglas Murray has an important piece in this week’s Spectator looking at the stultifying political culture around counterterrorism. Civil servants frequently thwart ministers wanting to adopt a harder line against extremists while a number of radical groups remain legal despite repeated pledges to ban them.
This cultural stasis is not confined to mandarins in Whitehall. Ever since 9/11 the police and Security Service have pursued a disastrous policy of cultivating ‘clerical honeypots’. The thinking behind it seems reasonable enough at first glance: leave extremist clerics to preach in the open and then you can easily identify the network around them, and the various actors within it.
The callous terrorist attack in Woolwich last week has brought the abject failure of that policy into sharp relief. It is now known that at least one of the alleged perpetrators was already on the intelligence radar. Indeed, not only had he come to the attention of the Security Service for allegedly trying to join an al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, but he was also known for associating with Anjem Choudary years before that.
Almost all decent people in this country are bemused at how Choudary has managed to avoid arrest for this long. A report by the Henry Jackson Society found that around 20 per cent of all terrorist convictions in this country can be linked back to the al-Muhajiroun network (and its offshoots) that he once led. He has benefited from the ‘clerical honeypot’ strategy more than anyone else.
At its high water mark this policy gave rise to the Muslim Contact Unit with the Metropolitan Police Service. They actively supported extremist Salafi preachers because it was thought only they had the requisite ‘street cred’ needed to appeal to angry young Muslims. Abu Hamza was consequently allowed to preach his poisonous message for years before anyone tried to stop him. By then it was too late.
Some of those who studied under him are Zacarias Moussaoui, the ‘twentieth hijacker’ who pleaded guilty to conspiring to fly a plane into the White House on 9/11; Richard Reid, who tried to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami using a bomb concealed in his shoe; Djamel Beghal, who pleaded guilty in France to planning a suicide attack on the US embassy; and Nizar Trabelsi, once a professional footballer in Germany who was convicted in Belgium for planning a suicide attack against a NATO base.
Radicals poison the public space by preaching a pernicious message of separation and confrontation. Nothing positive comes from allowing them to continue unimpeded, particularly when so many of their followers ‘progress’ to terrorism. The police and Security Service must now surely audit this policy in the aftermath of Woolwich and recognise its failures. They should announce a new direction by drawing a line against radical preachers; a sea change that should start with the arrest of Anjem Choudary.In its first newsletter sent via new Google News Publisher Center, Google has announced that publishers can now host images off their website domain. All these images will be crawled, indexed, and used in Google News search results, as revealed by Search Engine Land who spotted the newsletter.
Here's what Google said:
In the past, if your images were hosted off your website’s domain, it was very unlikely we’d crawl them for Google News.
We recently implemented an update to our image crawl algorithm, and are now able to crawl off-domain images. If it works better for your team to host your images on a different domain than your news website, you can now feel free to make that change!
For the publishers who use content delivery networks or host images on third-party domain names, this will be a good change to their image crawl process.Can't wait to play, or want to know more? Check out our Playtest Packet for a single session and a brief version of the rules.
Want to know what reviewers are saying about Era: The Consortium?
"They have produced an interesting, expansive sci-fi setting with a few flourishes that really stand out to me... Very much worth checking out if you're wanting a sci-fi game that doesn't feel at all like Star Wars, but still has a very real sense of familiarity to it."
Check the full review here!
Can't get your friends together in time before the Kickstarter ends? Check out one of the "Dice and Stuff" podcasts of people playing the game - there are 8 to choose from so far!
Want to know more about the backstory and setting? Check out the Backstory page on our website for information and a sample of some of the writing in the book, as well as some unique stories.
Have some questions about the game? So did other people! You can check out the Q&A session Ed Jowett did at the RPGNET chatroom, or you could ask a question in the Comments! Feel free - we'd love to answer any questions you have.
The Game
Era: The Consortium is the story of a Colony Ship launched from Earth and the habitable world it discovers, Taranis. The game follows the inhabitants of Taranis as they create a society, encounter alien races and explore the space nearby.
The game allows the GM and players to choose where to begin playing - at any point during the 500 years of history. You can experience the wonder of discovering new alien races, command a ship in wars spanning entire solar systems, and join a Resistance movement against the government to save or destroy billions of lives.
When coming to the game, you might wonder what you'll be playing within this mass of history. The versatility of this game allows you to participate in many kinds of activities, from high-tech "dungeon crawls" to raid corporate facilities, all-out wars in which the existence of your species is threatened, to exploration of new worlds. There is plenty of room for a less-combat-oriented game, also, like corporate or political intrigue and transhumanism.
Of course, that makes it quite difficult to understand what you're going to "play as". So here's an example that you might play if you were to go for a quick start:
It is 447CE. The Resistance have prevented an atrocity by the Big Seven, and the Big Seven have been forced to accept an alien into their midst, becoming the Big Eight. The Resistance are hunted, hated and feared due to the propaganda spread by the Consortium, and the Consortium have finally realised the Resistance is a genuine threat. With the companies which make up the Consortium turning against each other, it is a dangerous time to live.
As a loyal employee of one of the Big Seven, you have been called together with others from other companies, and given an operation: track down and destroy a Resistance unit. But does your company want this to succeed? Perhaps this particular unit is embarrassing one of their business rivals, and they'd secretly like to see it go on, so you're secretly charged with sabotaging the mission - without any of the other operatives knowing, of course!
Or perhaps you're a Resistance member in deep cover, wanting to make sure the mission fails and, while all those around you are punished for failing, you will slip off back to your associates.
Maybe you're just a loyal member of the Consortium who wants everything to turn out well for all the companies... but are you sure your teammates feel the same?
Want to know what a session sounds like? Check out the "Dice and Stuff" podcast of their game as the Resistance's "Claymore Unit" here!
The Rules
The Era d10 ruleset is designed to allow you to experience this universe in a way that is as unobtrusive as possible without being misrepresentative. By choosing your skills carefully, your character can dominate in any of 5 forms of combat, talk their way out of any situation or protect their teammates from harm.
The rules could be described as "a Success-counting dice pool system where you roll Attribute + Skill in d10s and the difficulty of the task determines which numbers count as Successes."
In case that was a bit too brief or jargony, here's a bit more detail:
The system is based around multiple dice - the more skilled you are, the more dice you have - and a variable goal based on activity difficulty. Using an Attribute and Skill system which each define their own areas of influence, you roll your dice depending on what you're attempting - whether Dexterity + Engineering for a precision piece of work, Intelligence + Engineering for a more theoretical problem or Luck + Engineering for a complete long shot, you'll be able to adapt to your circumstances and focus on your Strengths.
Although you roll more dice the more skilled you are, the number you are attempting to reach varies depending on the difficulty of the action - if shooting someone in clear conditions, the GM would as for a 7. If someone was laying a mine, more likely a 6. Firing over your shoulder at someone 30 metres away while crouching behind a low wall would definitely be a 10!
The Book
We are offering you not one, but two books! The Rulebook Primer and the Full Rulebook are done and ready to go! All that's waiting... is you!
We've been very lucky to find a group of talented people who are willing to work so hard on this project. Over the last 2 years, we've put over $30,000 and thousands of hours into this book to bring you the very best experience that we could produce, as a team.
A word about shipping. We have made the choice to offer free shipping to people in the US, UK and Canada. As a result, the reward tiers may be slightly repetitive (and even a little confusing). We apologise - Kickstarter doesn't support shipping to multiple specific countries for free, and they told us this structure was the only way to do this.
Rulebook Primer (Travel Through Time / Light Armour)
The Rulebook Primer is a 40-page book that provides everything that you need to play the game, given created characters and sessions. Each edition of the Primer sold in this Kickstarter includes a single session from our Patreon campaign. More sessions can be found there, and we'll continue the monthly sessions as long as people want them!
The Full Rulebook (Senate Seat / Medium Armour)
The book, 300 pages long, contains everything you need to run hundreds of games of Era: The Consortium: the full story, collected summaries of the information about important factions and places, Character creation and examples, equipment lists with first available dates, the full rule set with examples and GM material including sample sessions.
The Full Rulebook is also available in hardcover (Heavy Armour).
Artwork
The Comic
You might think, "You are producing a roleplaying game, why are you making a comic?". The reason is that the Universe is so huge, with so much story and so much potential, we can't fit it all in a 300 page rulebook (not that we haven't tried!).
So, yes, we are producing a comic that accompanies the rulebook. This comic describes the Resistance's greatest heroes, explaining how and why they reached the situation they did on the front cover of the book.
Our Goal
For people who know me, it is no surprise that I am producing a roleplaying game - I have been designing games as a hobby for over 20 years and running games for nearly as long.
Since deciding to move ahead with a real project, I have met some amazing people who saw the potential of this game and have given 110% to make sure that Era: The Consortium becomes everything it can be.
When we are funded, this will give us the money we need for a minimum print run of this book in the UK, US and Canada, bringing the game out to the players in the way we had always hoped and putting it on store shelves.
We intend to release the book and comic on the Kindle store and send out PDFs as well as physical copies.
What people say about Era: The Consortium
"The only game I have ever played that got grapple rules right - they were simple and easy to follow."
"I never thought I would play a game where bribing someone with a cookie was actually covered by the rules..."
"A rollercoaster! I was always expecting another Smertios Security soldier to run around the corner!"
"An absolute beginner to tabletop games, I picked up the rules quickly and was having fun within half an hour on my first session!"
"I find one of the strongest points of your game to be the massive amount of story and options for your character to take when customising them."
Stretch Goals
ACHIEVED - $1000 Funded!
ACHIEVED - $1500 Mobile Character Creation Application - iOS and Android - to assist with character creation. It will keep you to the rules for creation and provide you with all the choices you would get from the rulebook. You will even be able to export characters as printable character sheets! This will be included with all digital and physical copies of the full Rulebook (SAT DOWN EARLY IN THE SENATE - $20 - and upwards!)
- iOS and Android - to assist with character creation. It will keep you to the rules for creation and provide you with all the choices you would get from the rulebook. You will even be able to export characters as printable character sheets! This will be included with all digital and physical copies of the full Rulebook (SAT DOWN EARLY IN THE SENATE - $20 - and upwards!) ACHIEVED - $2000 Comic - We'll provide digital copies of our unreleased second comic, "Counting Down From One" - Part 1 upon its completion, to everyone who has pledged $5 or more!
- We'll provide digital copies of our unreleased second comic, "Counting Down From One" - Part 1 upon its completion, to everyone who has pledged $5 or more! ACHIEVED - $3000 Reshape the Consortium in your own image - everyone who has a Primer or Full Rulebook - digital or physical ($10 and up) will receive 5 sessions from our Time Travel Campaign in digital format. What roleplayer doesn't love the idea of tampering with history?
- everyone who has a Primer or Full Rulebook - digital or physical ($10 and up) will receive 5 sessions from our Time Travel Campaign in digital format. What roleplayer doesn't love the idea of tampering with history? ACHIEVED - $4000 Mobile Character Creation Application Expansion - We'll provide the ability to store characters and then retrieve them in a combat screen with the correct amount of health and the ability to order them for Initiative. This provides a GM with the ability to create NPCs ahead of time and retrieve them and their skills with dropdowns that give you the number of dice to roll for combat!
We'll provide the ability to store characters and then retrieve them in a combat screen with the correct amount of health and the ability to order them for Initiative. This provides a GM with the ability to create NPCs ahead of time and retrieve them and their skills with dropdowns that give you the number of dice to roll for combat! $5000 Extra Booklet "The Secret War" for those with the Full Rulebook (Digital) - describing the activities of the espionage forces within the Consortium, their modus operandi and the equipment they use (Anti-materiel Rifles, Armed Drones and Stealth Ships, to name just a few!), making these special operatives playable in Era: The Consortium.
- describing the activities of the espionage forces within the Consortium, their modus operandi and the equipment they use (Anti-materiel Rifles, Armed Drones and Stealth Ships, to name just a few!), making these special operatives playable in Era: The Consortium. $6000 Extra Booklet "Equipment - an RTFM guide to the Consortium" for those with the Full Rulebook (Digital) - Adding a little more equipment, the things you guys want to see, which includes next-generation weapons like Plasma Cannons and Laser Sniper Rifles!
- Adding a little more equipment, the things you guys want to see, which includes next-generation weapons like Plasma Cannons and Laser Sniper Rifles! $7000 Extra Booklet "The Fifth Race" for those with the Full Rulebook - Events from the year 451: A crash landing on Lugus by an unknown alien ship and the emergence of a fifth playable race with surprising levels of insight into Consortium society.
- Events from the year 451: A crash landing on Lugus by an unknown alien ship and the emergence of a fifth playable race with surprising levels of insight into Consortium society. $8000 Hardcover Print for all rulebooks books on or above the $60 tier (CONSORTIUM CHARTER).
Next Stretch Goal: $5000 - "The Secret War" Extra booklet
In a universe where wealth rules, corporate raiders take on varying forms - Hayden Bank's Shades, an organisation which has existed for centuries, are a force that has remained concealed for its entire lifetime; dismissed as rumours and propeganda. The Resistance believe many things, though, that others do not, and have founded their own, equally secret organisation.
Featuring Anti-Materiel Rifles, Remote Armed Drones, Stealthed Ships and other special equipment, this booklet will contain everything you need to play either faction's covert operatives and join this secret war yourselves!A piece of Fort Wayne's history is at risk of disappearing and needs your help.
Frost Illustrated, this community's oldest weekly newspaper and one of the longest running black-owned businesses in the area, is in financial jeopardy after stolen checks devastated our bank account.
Since 1968, we've been a consistent voice in the community. In the face of the recession and the sharp decline of advertising dollars faced by newspapers everywhere, we had some obstacles to overcome. But by streamlining our operations, improving our digital presence, and building new audiences through social media, we were beginning to see a new, sustainable Frost Illustrated.
That's why this loss is particularly devastating.
But we've seen how well this community can rally around a common cause, and we're hoping to see some of that here. Frost Illustrated has been publishing "News & Views of African Americans" each week for over four decades, and with your help, we'd love to continue to do so for decades to come.
PHOTO: Publisher Edward N. Smith founded Frost in 1968. His wife, Mrs. Edna Smith, was the executive editor of the paper for more than three decades.
Help us raise the amount that was lost due to theft (prior to overdraft fees) and get back on our feet. All money will go directly to the continued production, printing, and distribution of our weekly paper, as well as paying our one part time and two full time staff members. Additional funds raised will go toward the overdraft fees that resulted in the freezing of our bank account.
Click here to watch the WANE-TV news report
Click here to read the full storyHave the Conservatives given up on winning back Rochester and Strood, the Kent seat won in November’s by-election by the Tory defector to Ukip, Mark Reckless? It appears so.
All the talk after the by-election victory was that Reckless would never hang on to the seat at the general election. But yesterday it appeared on a list – inadvertently leaked in a “cock-up” at Conservative party headquarters - of 101 seats now considered “non-target”.
(How the cock-up occurred is pretty arcane stuff: readers can learn more at ConservativeHome.com or at May2015.com.)
The definition of “non-target” is broad: it includes safe Tory-held seats where no special effort is needed; safe seats held by other parties that it would be pointless to chase when there’s clearly no national mood for a landslide election; and – this is where it gets strange – some marginal seats that most observers had assumed the Tories would be fighting tooth-and-nail.
Among the latter are Rochester and Strood and the Lincolnshire seat of Boston & Skegness. The appearance of the latter in the list of 101 is even more puzzling: the Tories are projected by May2015 to hold it comfortably, but Ladbrokes are backing it to go to Ukip. Whichever is true, you’d expect the Tories to be fighting to save it.
The Week’s poll-watcher Don Brind comments: “On the face of it, the idea that the Tories can't win an overall majority is a statement of the obvious. It's the view of virtually all poll-watchers and pundits.
“But the apparent confirmation that Team Cameron shares this gloomy view is likely to have a damaging effect on the morale of activists in the seats that have apparently been written off.
“There is still chatter in Tory circles that the opinion polls have got it all wrong, just as they did in 1992 when John Major confounded the pollsters and beat Neil Kinnock by eight points.
“But the pollsters have improved their techniques in the years since and we also have the innovation of Lord Ashcroft's constituency polls.
“Most poll averages show the Tories have been flatlining in the low-30s for more than a year. What this leak shows is that the Conservatives are in defensive formation, targeting seats they need to hold to be the biggest party rather than fighting to gain Labour seats.”To have your own image polygonized follow this link and use the "Tweet to" button to conveniently upload an image. Or use your favorite twitter client and mention @Lowpolybot in the tweet that contains your image. Only images that are embedded in the tweet will work, links to external images will fail.
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Special tag: #face - this will apply face detection (provided by Face++) and then try to add some more detail to found faces. Since your image is uploaded to a 3rd party server for detection #face is never chosen randomly and only applied on your request.
If you really have to send porn or repulsive images you MUST mark those with #NSFW. Otherwise you will be blocked permanently. Tip: Whenever you retweet a creation by @Lowpolybot it will generate another version from it. This can have surprising results. You can prevent that by adding the #noRT hashtag to your tweet.
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Thank you!The University of Florida’s chapter of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity is under investigation after members spit on and took flags from wounded veterans.
Last weekend, Zeta Beta Tau students from UF and Emory University were in Panama City Beach for their spring formal. They were staying at the Laketown Wharf Resort where veterans were also staying for the Warrior Beach Retreat, according to Linda Cope, founder of the retreat.
For the past six years, the Warrior Beach Retreat has been hosted by Panama City Beach twice a year to bring in wounded veterans and their families.
Cope honors her son, Joshua, at the retreat — he lost both legs and his right hand after his vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Iraq, according to the retreat site.
“We focus on the caregiver and strengthening marriages,” Cope said. “That’s our vision.”
The event brought together combat wounded veterans and included a parade on April 16 where between 8,000 and 10,000 people lined the streets. Cope said the students from Emory and UF acted dishonorably the next day.
Cope said Zeta Beta Tau students picked on the veterans, spit on them and their service dogs, and urinated on American flags.
“In all of my years, I’ve never seen such debauchery and disrespect,” Cope said.
Cope also said the women accompanying the men were equally as bad.
According to Panama City Beach Police, officers were not called, and there was not an incident report or any arrests.
Janine Sikes, the assistant vice president for media affairs at UF, said UF President W. Kent Fuchs received an email from Linda Cope concerning the incident.
Cope then received an email apology from Fuchs on Wednesday.
“I want to make clear that I am deeply sorry for the affront that our students may have caused,” Fuchs wrote in the email. “I want to assure you that it is not representative of our students or our university, and we will make every effort to learn more, take appropriate action and prevent similar incidents from occurring again.”
“The University of Florida is extremely concerned about allegations, specifically of illegal behavior with our students,” Sikes said. “We’re taking this matter vary seriously and opened an investigation to determined what happened and what we need to do in response.”
Sikes said she is not sure how long the investigation may last.
Executive Director of the National Zeta Beta Tau Laurence A. Bolotin, a University of Florida graduate from 2001, also wrote to Cope, stating Emory, UF and the international headquarters are fully cooperating with investigations and both chapters have placed themselves under suspension.
The UF chapter, which is currently under probationary status until Dec. 19, 2015, wrote to the Warrior Beach Retreat and veterans to offer apologies and to assure those involved would face consequences.
According to the letter, “As a Fraternity, we have a ZERO tolerance policy for such behaviors, and those found guilty will be expelled. The deeds described on both social media and in letters to our University are completely against our Fraternity’s values and ideas and those that have failed to respect those values will not be welcomed anymore.”
The UF chapter also offered financial assistance to the retreat so more veterans can participate in the coming years.
“We’re going to let them do that,” Cope said. “I’m thinking of different ideas because we could really use some fundraisers.”
Both the national and UF chapters were contacted for comment but did not return phone calls; however, they released their written statements.
Emory has not yet contacted Cope. Updated: Emory has released a statement that university officials have been in touch with the Copes.
“We’ve gotten nothing from Emory,” she said, “not one word.”
Expulsion may not be the only punishment students involved may face. Gainesville attorney Geoffrey Mason said this could qualify as a hate crime with additional battery charges.
Mason said someone could make the argument that the veterans’ national origin — the fact that they are Americans — was a factor.
“I would say especially if they were over 65,” he continues, “then that would absolutely be a hate crime, if it’s related to age.”
Prejudice towards physical disabilities or limitations can also be regarded as a hate crime.
“If they spit on a person, that’s absolutely battery,” Mason said.
Mason said Florida has provisions dealing with battery of the elderly, which would be classified as a higher level crime. The maximum legal sentence would be five years in prison and up to a $5,000-fine.
Penalties from UF have yet to be determined.
“I can’t talk about individual students, but I can tell you that the Zeta Beta Tau chapter certainly faces sanctions,” Sikes said.
It is Cope’s hope that students can learn a lesson in respect and responsibility from the incident.
“To every action, there is a reaction and a consequence,” Cope said. “They don’t need to take in vain the sacrifice these men and women have given for them to have the freedoms they have.”
Nicole Wiesenthal and Adriana Yurizza contributed to this report.Barack Obama has filed a formal request seeking authorization from legislators to launch a "limited" strike on Syria, in response to its government’s alleged use of chemical weapons. The president said the proposed strike was not "time-sensitive".
The draft legislation authorizes Obama to use the "Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate" in order to "prevent or deter the use or proliferation" of chemical weapons and to "protect the United States and its allies" against the chemical threat.
Earlier on Saturday Obama made a press statement outside the White House saying, "over the last several days, we have heard from members of Congress who want their voices to be heard. I absolutely agree."
The President insisted that he did not need the approval of the legislative assembly, but it would make the case for the strike “stronger”.
Obama said that he sought to “make the Assad regime accountable” for the August 21 attack near Damascus in which the US says more than 1,500 civilians were killed with a toxic gas.
But he also said that the mission will be "effective tomorrow or next week or one month from now."
"We are prepared to strike whenever we choose," said the President.
I understand and support Barack Obama's position on #Syria. — David Cameron (@David_Cameron) August 31, 2013
Congress returns to session on September 9, and will immediately begin debating the Syrian operation.
"We are glad the President is seeking authorization for any military action in Syria," House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement.
"In consultation with the president, we expect the House to consider a measure the week of September 9th," said the release. "This provides the President time to make his case to Congress and the American people."
Senate majority leader Harry Reid believes that the US Senate will vote on a resolution authorizing military action no later than the week of September 9.
The Senate also plans to hold public hearings next week with senior administration officials. Classified and unclassified briefings for senators throughout the week are also anticipated.
"I believe the use of military force against Syria is both justified and necessary," Reid said in a statement, blaming the Assad government for "atrocities" against civilians.
Obama said that he was heedful of a similar debate conducted in the UK parliament, in which the Conservative government, which endorses direct military action, was defeated by the opposition.
The President stated that he would not rely on unanimous consensus of the UN Security Council, which was necessary for a United Nations-backed operation, saying the body had been “paralyzed”. Russia and China have repeatedly voted against the West on Syria, and Vladimir Putin has said that claims Bashar Assad’s government was behind the gas attack were “a provocation”.
A UN expert team has completed a survey of the area affected by the August 21 incident, but has not yet presented its results. The US says that it has a “high confidence” in its assertion that government forces were to blame for the toxic gas release, based on intelligence reports, video clips and eyewitness accounts.
"History would judge us extraordinarily harshly if we turned a blind eye to a dictator's wanton use of weapons of mass destruction against all warnings, against all common understanding of decency," said Obama.
But the US leader insisted that the operation against "thug and murderer" Assad would not be “open-ended” and wouldn’t involve “boots on the ground”.
"I know well that we are weary of war. We ended a war in Iraq, we are ending another in Afghanistan."
"That's why we are not contemplating putting our troops in the middle of someone else's war."
The Syrian government, which says that the opposition, who have fought a 30-month long rebellion, are behind the attack, has asserted that it has “its finger on the trigger to face any challenge or scenario they [the US] want to carry out.”Following a two-match week against Western Conference foes at MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus Crew SC saw defender Jonathan Mensah, midfielder Mohammed Abu and forward Ola Kamara emerge from Major League Soccer's Week 25 with Team of the Week honors. All in all, Mensah, Abu and Kamara featured the week's 180 total minutes of action against the LA Galaxy and FC Dallas.
Mensah, named as a defender in the week's best XI, finished with the game-winner against Dallas on Saturday. The goal stands as his first MLS goal and sixth career goal — including stops with Free State Stars in his native Ghana, Granada CF in Spain, and FC Evian in France. Across the week's two games, Mensah completed 19 clearances, 51 passes and two tackles.
Abu, earning a spot on the Team of the Week Bench, finished the two-match week with two starts and 200 successful passes. He stood tall in the defensive half with four tackles won and five interceptions.
Kamara, earning a spot on the Team of the Week Bench, finished the week with his team-leading 13th and 14th goals of the season — including his landmark 30th career Major League Soccer goal, coming in the 50th minute of the win over Dallas. The Norwegian finished with 35 successful passes over the two games. He also drew a penalty kick against the Galaxy, but his attempt was ultimately saved.
The Black & Gold outscored LA and Dallas by a combined 4-1.See also: Making Our Middle Class Stronger by David Madland; The Middle Class and Economic Growth by Michael Ettlinger; Video: Once Upon a Trickle Down: The Rise and Fall of Supply-Side Economics by the Center for American Progress and Mark Fiore
Download this issue brief (pdf)
Read this issue brief in your web browser (Scribd)
Infographic: Seven Graphs That Show Supply-Side Doesn’t Work
Adherents of the economic theory known as supply-side economics contend that by cutting taxes on the rich we will unleash an avalanche of new investment that will spur economic growth, and boost job creation, leading to economic improvements for everyone. For most of the past 30 years this idea has dominated the economic debate, resulting in two sustained eras of tax cuts aimed at the wealthy, separated |
kiddo. We can clean it up, no problem.” Mark said gently, glancing over his grandson’s shoulder at the spilled ice cream. “And you know what? I bet if we ask really nicely, Bruce will help too.” He added with a wink.
“O’course he will.” At last, Zayne’s lips curled into a smile. “Bruce is the bestest helper.”
AdvertisementsA month ago, disgruntled emergency services workers unfurled a banner in the arrivals hall of Rio's Galeao International Airport that read, "Welcome to Hell."
To hear it from a distance, it's been a steady descent since. Nothing works. Whatever does is falling apart. If you walk out onto the street, you will be immediately set upon by thugs who can sense at a distance your soft, foreign nature.
If all you knew of the Olympic host was gleaned from the past few weeks of coverage, you'd think this city of 6.4 million was built despite a total absence of construction knowledge, and is the place where they invented street crime.
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RELATED: Dirty water: Why Rio hasn't kept its promise to clean up
RELATED: How Brazil's big experiment in policing failed to make Rio safer for the Olympics
RELATED: RIP Juma: How a dead jaguar could be the latest symbol of Brazil's Olympic woes
It's early days, but what we knew based on experience is already proving true – rumours of mid-Olympic collapse are just those. These probably won't be clockwork Games, but continuing in the slipshod tradition of Sochi, organizers will find a way to pull it off. Mainly, that will be down to Rio itself. It's a place that thrives despite itself.
The Olympic crowd really begins showing up on the Monday before Opening Ceremonies. By Tuesday, the locals had it down.
There was no chaos at customs. There were no fistfights at the luggage carousel. The drive in from the airport bore very little resemblance to Mad Max.
The traffic is as advertised – horrendous – and much more so if you live here. Dedicated lanes designed to move participants around the city at something just north of a crawl seem to be working. Sort of. Like everything else.
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We were in a large vehicle festooned with Olympic markings, inching along a jammed Copacabana thoroughfare. Our driver drifted a few inches, shearing the side-view mirror off the car alongside.
The victim of this careless collision drew up and began screaming. A passerby handed her the mirror. She took it without ceasing her yelling. Our driver stared back with little interest. He did her the courtesy of rolling down the passenger side window, but didn't bother defending himself.
After a while, she gave up and redirected her rage at a nearby cab driver. What the cabbie had to do with it was hard to say, but it was instructive of one thing – like City Hall, you can't fight the Olympics.
That's where everybody ends up when it comes to these things. When cities are "awarded" the right to host, people are dancing on the beach. Then they have to pay for it. A couple of years out, it seems impossible. After the bankrupting sprint to get it done, they've expended all available resources, including emotion. By the time it starts, they just want to get through it. Like Christmas dinner, hosting the Olympics is something that only seems like fun until you have to put it on.
After the anticipatory fretting, is it all finished? Well, that depends on your definition. Everything has a temporary, thrown-up look, but all the main public spaces are in working order. The new subway line to the Olympic Park – opened this past weekend – has that new subway smell and is, just at the moment, eerily empty.
Two years ago at the World Cup – Brazil's most recent unlikely organizational feat – the main Olympic site was not yet even a hole in the ground. They'd hardly cleared the land.
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It's up now, though not quite resplendent. But divers could be seen diving in the diving venue, which is all you can really say about diving. It's water. You jump in it. There's no need to think much harder than that.
Open any unmarked door at an Olympic site and you're likely to find an unfinished room, but only because it has no specific function. Rio has provided just enough to hold the world's major sporting event, and not one bit more.
There have been those now infamous complaints (though none, gratefully, from a Canadian). Maybe the toilets didn't work for a day or two. Someone somewhere who has a credential got mugged. Never pleasant, but perhaps now would be the time to remind ourselves that unpleasant things happen all the time and in all sorts of places that aren't holding an Olympics. While this event may be an escape from the everyday, it cannot be expected to function as a three-week bubble that's impermeable to reality.
The most onerous reminder of a worst-case scenario is the heavy military presence. Soldiers are piled up everywhere, looking bored. This is how we reassure ourselves in an increasingly uncivil world – with a great display of guns.
This would be the time for all involved to invoke their most pressing Olympic hope – "Not this time. Don't let it be this time." Until proved otherwise, we'll continue to believe it works.
That is the highest goal of any global spectacular in the early 21st century – that it not explode. Everything beyond that is icing.
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There is no sense in complaining about what Rio didn't get right: the ecological considerations, the legacy projects, the crushing financial costs, etc. We're right to wonder, but just at the moment it seems like poor manners.
What Rio has provided in abundance is its essential Rio-ness. Despite its many problems, one could argue that no city in the world is so effortlessly evocative of the culture it shelters. This place feels important.
You walk out on the street. The mountains Rio wraps itself around are misting. The beaches are full at midday. The noise of the city is overwhelming and somehow comforting. The sun hits it all at angles, highlighting one delightful patch of urban disarray. And another. And another.
No other world metropolis has such marvellous physical texture. It is nowhere more true than in Rio that you can be said to be living "in" a city.
That's not why they chose it to hold the Olympics, but you'd like to think it was. This is a place that prompts wonder without having to try.
They've gone to painful lengths to get us this far. They'll be dealing with the effects long after the rest of us have gone home.
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So it seems right that instead of dwelling on what Rio hasn't done, we should try to appreciate what they have. The best way to do that is enjoy the show.The holiday season is upon us, and that means Americans are planning meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Neiman Marcus released a line of holiday food items on their website, and people are furious at the prices — especially the price of collard greens.
The luxury brand is selling frozen packages of prepared collard greens for a whopping $66 plus shipping. The Neiman Marcus collard greens serve between eight to 10 people. A can of The luxury brand is selling frozen packages of prepared collard greens for a whopping $66 plus shipping. The Neiman Marcus collard greens serve between eight to 10 people. A can of pre-seasoned collard greens generally goes for less than $5 at the grocery store and serves about two or three people.
People were shocked and angry that anyone would sell collard greens for that much money.
Here's why people are angry.
Dear Neiman-Marcus, fire EVERYONE on that PR team who agreed on Dear Neiman-Marcus, fire EVERYONE on that PR team who agreed on #gentrifiedgreens. 👏🏾EV 👏🏾RY👏🏾ONE! November 1, 2016
I don't care how bougie your brand is, this is not okay. https://t.co/f57fixAmot I don't care how bougie your brand is, this is not okay. #Gentrifiedgreens November 2, 2016
1. Collard green dishes were traditionally eaten by poor Southern people.
Although the vegetable was grown across the world, collard green dishes developed as a staple in early American cooking. The method of preparation for collard green dishes was largely developed by black Southern slaves, but became popular all across the South. An excerpt from the book "Collards: a Southern Tradition from Seed to Table" in Although the vegetable was grown across the world, collard green dishes developed as a staple in early American cooking. The method of preparation for collard green dishes was largely developed by black Southern slaves, but became popular all across the South. An excerpt from the book "Collards: a Southern Tradition from Seed to Table" in Deep South Magazine outlines the humble origins of American collard green dishes.
"African American cooks deserve the lead credit for the diffusion of collards across the South. These often uneducated women and men carried in their ancient cultural wisdom two important notions: dark leafy greens are essential to our health, and proper proportions of peppers and other spices make cooked vegetables taste much better."
Black people on Twitter were quick to point out the ties to black culture using the hashtag Black people on Twitter were quick to point out the ties to black culture using the hashtag #gentrifiedgreens
I hope every one of my ancestors haunts the mess out of the person at Neiman Marcus who thought of the I hope every one of my ancestors haunts the mess out of the person at Neiman Marcus who thought of the #gentrifiedgreens November 2, 2016
2. Income inequality in the U.S. is at an all time high.
I'm still feeling some sort of way about those I'm still feeling some sort of way about those #gentrifiedgreens. They sure can find a way to take something cheap and make 90% margin. November 1, 2016
In 2013, income inequality was the highest it had been since 1928, In 2013, income inequality was the highest it had been since 1928, according to the Pew Research center. The top 1 percent of families in the U.S. made 25 times as much as the bottom 99 percent of Americans. It's possible that $66 collard greens can put the income gap into perspective.
ATTN: reached to Neiman Marcus about the company's $66 price and the internet backlash. A representative did not directly answer the question, but provided some information about how to serve the collard greens in an email.
"The Neiman Marcus Collard Greens are a new item we are carrying this year," wrote Wendy Segal, a corporate public relations manager at Neiman Marcus. "The order arrives in four 12 oz trays so you choose how much you would like to serve. Overall, the four 12 oz trays serves 8-10 people. "For the third time in as many weeks Israel has reportedly bombed positions inside Syria. Syrian state media along with multiple regional outlets showed fires burning at a facility near the Damascus international airport in the early hours of Friday. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that like with previous attacks, Israel jets fired from over Lebanese airspace. But it appears the latest exchange was part of a tit-for-tat exchange of fire between Syria and Israel in a situation that continues to dangerously escalate.
Multiple reports are circulating that the Israeli attack was initiated after Syria's aerial defense missile system engaged and fired on an Israeli aircraft in the area. Video of what purports to show Syrian missiles firing on the aircraft circulated widely in Syrian social media and was picked up by Lebanese and Israeli news outlets. Early reports indicate that an Israeli drone was likely the target.
It appears that Israel's attack came in response to Syria's engaging the unidentified aircraft - though it's unclear if the target was hit. This latest incident is unique for the fact that Syria quickly publicized that its missile defense system engaged the Israeli target.
The Facebook page of a prominent Syrian pro-government militia reported in the early morning hours that, “an area near the Damascus international airport was attacked by a hostile missile." Israeli newspapers are claiming the site to be an ammunition storage depot.
Early Friday morning images of the aftermath of the Israeli strike circulated in regional media. Image source: Jerusalem Post via Syrian social media.
The exchange of fire comes after a Tuesday incident wherein the Israel Defense Forces shot down what it identified as an Iranian-made drone which departed from Damascus and subsequently entered the demilitarized zone along the border on the Golan Heights. Israel's aerial defense command fired a Patriot missile and destroyed the drone.
Meanwhile, Israeli jets have been illegally operating in Lebanese airspace with increased intensity of late - even to the point of causing temporary moments of panic over southern Lebanon as low flying jets sometimes break the sound barrier. Violation of Syrian airspace was more brazen in previous years of the war, but as we've explained previously it appears that Israel is carefully calculating it's strike positions over "neutral" Lebanese airspace so as not to force a Russian response by directly violating Syrian space.
Weeks ago senior Israeli officials were quoted as threatening to assassinate Syrian President Assad by bombing his palace in Damascus, while further adding that Israel will seek to derail the US-Russia brokered de-escalation deal reached in Astana, Kazakhstan earlier this summer. The Astana deal essentially put Russia in the driver's seat in Syria, which Israel sees as guaranteeing a permanent Iranian presence - something Prime Minister Netanyahu sees as intolerable.
Though rarely acknowledged in the media, Israel and Syria have been at open war since at least 2013, when Israel launched a massive missile attack against a Syrian defense technology facility in Jamraya outside of Damascus. Israel has also targeted Damascus International Airport on a number of occasions. During the summer, the head of Israel's air force acknowledged nearly one hundred IDF attacks on convoys inside Syria over the course of the past 5 years. And as a Wall Street Journal investigation confirmed, the Israeli army has been providing military aid to al-Qaeda linked rebels operating in Syria's south for years.BENJI Marshall could be the fifth-choice playmaker for New Zealand as they build towards the next World Cup.
The Kiwis clash with Australia next week at Suncorp Stadium in an Anzac-themed contest that recognises the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli battle.
Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney will name a similar team to the one that beat Australia in last year’s Four Nations final but will unleash Roger Tuivasa-Sheck at fullback for the first time in a black jersey.
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Benji Marshall has been in superb form for the Dragons. Source: News Corp Australia
The Kiwis are settled in the halves through the partnership of Shaun Johnson and Kieran Foran and Marshall will not feature in the Test even if Foran succumbs to a knee injury.
That suggests Marshall, who last represented the Kiwis in 2012 as captain, is unlikely to return to the national team.
Marshall’s last game was an 18-10 loss to Australia in Townsville. From that point, Marshall’s form fell dramatically and then he left for rugby union and an attempt to play for the All Blacks.
After an inconsistent half a season for the Auckland Blues, he was dropped and quit the team, returning to the NRL.
He was well below his best last season for St George Illawarra but has turned it around and is among the form halves in the NRL this year.
Benji Marshall is down the New Zealand pecking order. Source: News Corp Australia
Kearney said the door was not closed on Marshall but there were simply players ahead of him.
“We have a halves pairing we have invested a lot of time, effort and energy into,” Kearney said.
“If they are passed fit they will be picked as the halves pairing.
“We have a few options in those positions but they won’t include Benji at this stage.
“Kieran is named to play this weekend for Manly. From our point of view if he passes fit, which he is confident of doing, then he will be picked as the five-eighth.”
Marshall is on the wrong side of 30 and the Kiwis are building a team for the next Rugby League World Cup in 2017.
Kearney has spoken to Marshall’s agent Martin Tauber regarding his view on the half-back’s Test future and hopes to also speak to Marshall in the coming days.Audi launches “e-tron,” its nascent line of hybrid electric vehicles.
The Audi A3 Sportback e-tron name is a mouthful. Once you get beyond the lengthy moniker for this unusual plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), calling it “e-tron” or “A3 e-tron” seems entirely appropriate.
The “e-tron” designation is an Audi registered trademark, representing this brand’s electric and hybrid vehicle efforts, much in the same way Ford uses “Energi” to describe its own line of electrified vehicles. The 2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron is its initial offering and will be followed by other models.
That the e-tron arrived on the market the same year Audi’s diesel engines were put on hold due to parent Volkswagen’s emissions scandal seems fortuitous, although sales of this PHEV will certainly come in at a much lower rate than what the diesel models would have provided.
Nevertheless, Audi’s US sales continue to rise despite the EPA’s stop-sale order for its diesel engines. Indeed, customers have discovered that the marque’s family of gasoline-powered models are a sufficient substitute — lower fuel prices across the board has relieved consumers from pressure to find the most efficient cars too.
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron
The 2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron has a familiar look — in essence, it is a compact five-door A3 outfitted with a turbocharged 1.4-liter, four-cylinder gas engine, an electric motor, and a battery pack.
That pack is located behind the second row seat and can be spotted by lifting the cover of the storage compartment where the spare tire normally resides. No spare tire is offered, but you will find an electric pump within a storage compartment wall on the driver’s side for handling standard flats.
If you ever have a blow out, you’ll need to call for roadside assistance and request a replacement tire. I’m “old school” when it comes to spares — please supply me with a traditional, full-size spare any day. Unfortunately, the e-tron’s storage compartment is already occupied.
The A3 e-tron is front-wheel drive only — no quattro all-wheel drive is offered. At first, I didn’t miss the balanced handling all-wheel drive offers until I navigated one of my favorite curvilineal roads. By then, the sheer heaviness of this 3,616-pound compact became evident, a model coming in more than 400 pounds heavier than the sedan. That extra poundage serves to do two things: increase torque steer and hold back on power. More about “the drive” later.
Turbo-Enhanced PHEV
In any case, the A3 e-tron is an innovative vehicle, a PHEV with a turbocharged gasoline engine. Displacing at just 1.4 liters, this very same aluminum-based forced-induction engine is also now found in the Volkswagen Jetta, but it isn’t entirely new either. Since September 2007 it has found its way under the hood of European-spec models; the US sees it for the first time.
Weighing in at just over 220 pounds, the compact “four” comes with an intercooler placed within the induction pipe, an exhaust manifold combined with the cylinder head, variable valve timing, and dual overhead cams. Pulled from the Volkswagen Group’s components bin is a 6-speed, dual-clutch transmission.
Also at work is a liquid-cooled, permanent magnet-driven electric motor, what delivers power when operating in electric-only mode or works in unison with the turbo engine to provide full-on power. Top power maxes out at 204 horsepower (150 horsepower turbo engine) and 258 foot-pounds of torque (184 lb.-ft. from the turbo engine).
The A3 e-tron’s visage is a familiar one, complementing the rest of the model line. There are differences, however, particularly up front. Most notable is where the plug-in connection point is made — a lever found in the second of the four interlocking rings is turned to the right, then all four rings push out from the fascia and slide to the left, revealing the connection point. That point is covered by a rubber gasket, easily removed for connectivity. When plugged in, Audi says the A3 e-tron will travel on electric-only power for upwards of 31 miles.
Another change found on the A3 etron’s visage is a long plastic bar fixed to the grille beneath the rings. It is debossed with “e-tron.” Similar, but much more discrete e-tron badging is found elsewhere on the body. That body, at least in Premium Plus trim ($4,100), is outfitted with 17-inch, 15-spoke turbine design wheels set within all-season tires. However, the test model was dressed in 16-inch wheels and summer tires.
Room for Five or Fewer
Inside, the A3 e-tron offers space for five, but the 60-40 split-folding rear seat is tight and that means it is best suited for children. Certainly, two adults can fit, although if the driver or front passenger desires maximum legroom, you may find your knees pressed hard up against the seat backs. On the other hand, a pair of car seats should work out just fine — then fold down the middle seating position to find two cup holders as well as a pass through to the storage compartment.
Audi interiors are handsomely crafted and sensibly composed. Leather covers the seats, surrounds the steering wheel and fills the door inlays. Aluminum trim and textured soft touch materials are found elsewhere.
The instrument panel is marked by a hood and is composed of two large analog displays and a digital driver’s information center. The right display is for the speedometer; the left display goes beyond your typical tachometer, as it reveals the power used by percentages. Changes are based on percentage ranges moving from simple charge or 0% to efficiency to boost (100%). When operating on electric-power only the needle is all the way to the left. When full-on turbo power is accessed, the needle moves farther to the right.
Between the two displays, the digital driver’s center provides such fuel information as charging miles remaining, fuel miles left, fuel economy, odometer, transmission gear, and outside temperature.
The A3 e-tron also has one of those nifty pop-up center console displays I have always enjoyed in Audi models. This one is located directly above the center console astride the leading edge of the dashboard. Like other Audi consoles, it has a black background and makes use of white and orange lettering. Very crisp and easy to read — direct lighting doesn’t obscure either when sunlight hits it. Press a switch and the display disappears, but the music keeps playing if you want it to.
From the top of the console on down are a pair of circular vents, a row of driver control switches, knobs and buttons for the climate control system, two bottle holders, the transmission shifter, and switches as well as a multi-media control knob for managing navigation, media, and radio. That’s part of a $2,600 technology package upgrade that brought the test model’s final price to $46,100.
Audi loads the A3 e-tron with numerous goodies, including power accessories, 12-way power front seats with lumbar support, a rear view camera, satellite radio, a panoramic sunroof with a retractable sunshade, dual-zone climate control, LED interior lighting, and power adjustable side mirrors.
Standard and Available Safety Features
Speaking of the side mirrors, the almost requisite blind spot warning lights are found on the arm of each mirror with four lights shining in unison as long as another vehicle is riding alongside your own. I like this arrangement as it doesn’t obstruct the mirror. Audi’s engineers must have concluded that outside mirrors are often obstructed in inclement weather in leading the change.
Other safety features found in the hybrid include a suite of airbags, daytime running lights, dusk sensing headlamps, traction and stability control, and Xenon high intensity discharge headlamps. Safety features such as active lane assist, side assist, and pre sense front are included in the top of the line Prestige edition. By the way, pre sense is a crash preparation system, one that sends out both optical and aural warnings while applying the brakes at low speeds.
So much about the particulars — it is “the drive” that makes or breaks this vehicle. So please allow me to make one important qualification first: this isn’t your ordinary PHEV.
PHEV Connectivity and Public Charging
Indeed, if you utilize the supplied charging connectivity cables found within soft luggage contained inside the storage department, you can do your charges at home. What you don’t want to do is connect it to an extension cord as you will risk a shock. Suffice to say, I avoided charging at home as the best place for me to charge was on the back wall of my garage. Said garage is currently serving as a storage area.
Public charging stations are the way to go when charging at home isn’t available. There are several in my area, so I took advantage of the free charges. There are also paid charging stations, but I stayed away from those.
Once fully charged, your A3 e-tron will run on electric power only until power has been depleted (you can also choose “hold battery” on the drive mode switch to access that power later). But there is one important exception: if you are on the highway and stomp on the pedal, both the base engine and the electric motor supply power. That’s a good thing as the sportback’s electrically operated side is slow — you’ll move away from a dead stop at a plodding pace.
I never got 31 miles of charge time. The maximum was 22 miles, but then I wasn’t tethered to the charging port all day. Still, whether I was connected for 2.5 or 5 hours, the readout was always 21 or 22 miles. I’m not sure why it fell short — ambient March temperatures were well into the 70s each day. If temperatures were frigid, I might have understood why. The discrepancy is significant too — would you purchase a car that provided nearly one-third the electric-only range it claimed?
The Right Touch
Once power has been depleted, you’ll get a better appreciation for the little gas engine and its turbo spooling. The turbo kicks in early and provides a sufficient boost. At the same time, you may sense that it is working extra hard to move this heavy compact. On the straightaways the A3 e-tron is composed; on the curves you’ll find yourself gripping the wheel slightly harder in a bid to maintain control. Sport suspension system anyone?
If you haven’t driven a hybrid before or in some time, the braking system can seem odd to the touch. At least initially. Light braking sends kinetic energy to the battery pack; heavier braking brings the little Audi to a stop. In all, you have a PHEV that maximizes power when you need it, conserves fuel and emits zero pollutants when operating in EV-only mode.
Audi A3: Sedan or Sportback?
Should you consider the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron? If you do, a federal rebate of up to $7,500 is available. Some states offer an additional rebate. For instance, California residents may be able to claim a $1,500 rebate on the Audi. Some states allow PHEVs to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes regardless of the number of people in the car. Free or discounted driving may be offered by some cities.
Still, you need to be heavily green-committed to consider any PHEV at this time, not just an Audi. With fuel prices well below $2 per gallon in most areas, deciding for an electric vehicle probably means that you won’t ever recoup the cost of your investment. On the other hand, considering an A3 Sedan and its $30,900 starting price will get you behind the wheel of an Audi for less. The sedan also offers all-wheel drive, an important consideration that the PHEV simply does not provide.
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron Sticker price from $37,900
Price as tested: $46,100
Seats 5 occupants
1.4-liter 16-valve four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine
150 horsepower @ 5,000 to 6,000 RPM
184 foot-pounds of torque @ 1,600 to 3,500 RPM
102 foot-pounds of torque from the electric motor
Combined: 204 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque
8.8-kWh, liquid-cooled, lithium-ion battery pack
2.93 inches bore by 3.15 inches stroke
Engine compression ratio:10.0-to-1
6-speed automatic transmission
Wheelbase: 103.5 inches
Length:169.8 inches
Width: 77.4 inches
Height: 56.1 inches
Passenger volume: NR
Storage volume: 13.6 cubic feet
Towing capacity: NR
EPA: 39 combined electric/gas mpg
Premium grade gasoline required
Fuel tank: 10.6 gallons
Curb weight: From 3,616 pounds
IIHS safety rating: Top Safety Pick+ for the A3 sedan
Limited vehicle warranty: 4 years/50,000 miles
Powertrain warranty: 4 years/50,000 miles
Corrosion warranty: 12 years/unlimited miles
Hybrid warranty: 8 years/100,000 miles
Vehicle assembly: Ingolstadt, Germany
See Also — Compact SUV Value: 2016 Jeep Renegade Sport
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron photos copyright Auto Trends Magazine.Located in San Joaquin County, Stockton, California, The East 8 Mile Road may seem like another road. However, it has attracted many paranormal enthusiasts and para psychologists through the paranormal activities taking place there, most of which are possibly caused by the three ghosts thousands of people have sighted while traveling on this spooky road.
The Terrifying and Real Hauntings at East 8 Mile Road
Ghost 1) The Woman in White
The most prominent ghost on East 8 Mile Road is that of a female dressed in white clothes. Witnessed by night workers and truck drivers, she tends to walk in the middle of the road.
However, she’s not as innocent as she seems as. Those who pass her apparition report seeing her through their rear view mirrors on their back seat, causing them to lose control over their vehicle and end up in an accident. Some legit psychics feel she’s using psychic abilities such as telekinesis.
This is why the Woman in White on East 8 Mile Road is considered a malevolent spirit, if not the only one in the area.
Ghost 2) The Native Indian Girl – Acheri
Another ghost on the road is that of a native Indian girl who died in an accident there. Reportedly haunting her death place, she tends to scream loudly during the dark silent hours of the night according to neighbors.
However, she hasn’t appeared as often as the Woman in White, only sounding off her anger, pain and frustration to those living nearby or traveling in the area.
Ghost 3) The Harmless Native American Girl
Another native American female, this spirit is harmless and doesn’t trouble anyone. Seen on the same road as the other two, she tends to appear during full moon nights. Unlike them though, her origins and story are yet to be known. Unlike many haunted roads and places in California, East 8 Mile can be downright dangerous at night.
With the malevolent spirits there, you need to rid yourself of feelings of weakness and loneliness before traveling there. Sectional evil souls who aim to disturb human elements will always choose people experiencing these two emotions.
So don’t travel alone on this spooky road and engulf yourself with positive thoughts to avoid becoming the next victim of East 8 Mile Road’s ghosts.
More Haunted Places in Northern California
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Click here to discover more haunted locations in Northern CaliforniaSingle User License: $2750 Member Price: FREE Buy Now Membership Options Report Highlights The global market for stem cell products was $3.8 billion in 2011. This market is expected to reach nearly $4.3 billion in 2012 and $6.6 billion by 2016, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% from 2011 to 2016.
Report Scope
This report discusses the implications of stem cell research and commercial trends in the context of the current size and growth of the pharmaceutical market, both in global terms and analyzed by the most important national markets. The important technologies supporting stem cells are reviewed, and the nature and structure of the stem cell industry is discussed with profiles of the leading companies, including recent M&A activity. Five-year sales forecasts are provided for the national markets and the major therapeutic categories of products involved.
Analyst Credentials
Paul Evers has been involved in analyzing pharmaceutical and medical markets for 20 years. He is the author of previous reports on the stem cell marketplace as well as analyses of major therapeutic categories and the pharmaceutical regulatory environment.Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Paul's views on NSA surveillance set him apart from the crowded field of Republican presidential candidates
The US Senate was the scene of high drama on Sunday, with Kentucky Republican and US presidential hopeful Rand Paul at the centre of the storm.
The libertarian-leaning son of former congressman Ron Paul effectively ground Senate action on renewing key provisions of the Patriot Act to a halt. Due to his efforts, the legal authority for the National Security Agency's bulk data collection programme have expired - at least temporarily.
It was a personal victory that he trumpeted from the floor of the Senate. "Tonight begins the process of ending bulk collection," he said, adding: "The point we wanted to make is, we can still catch terrorists using the Constitution."
Mr Paul's opponents didn't see it that way, however. Those who weren't accusing him of endangering US national security blasted him for what they saw as grandstanding in the interest of advancing his presidential interests.
"I know what this is about - I think it's very clear - this is, to some degree, a fundraising exercise," Arizona Senator John McCain told Politico on Sunday. "He obviously has a higher priority for his fundraising and political ambitions than for the security of the nation."
Mr Paul's adversaries point to his tweets leading up to Sunday night urging supporters to take pictures of themselves watching the senator's speech on TV and repeated exhortations to "stand with Rand" in opposing extended NSA powers.
Last week it appeared Mr Paul's campaign also may have run afoul of congressional rules when it used footage of one of his recent Senate speeches in a YouTube video.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Paul's opponents have accused him of endangering national security
Mr Paul bristled at the criticism, saying on Sunday: "People here in town think I'm making a huge mistake. Some of them, I think, secretly want there to be an attack on the United States so they can blame it on me."
Regardless of the motivations behind the senator's actions - and his staff adamantly insists that his moves were based on long-held principle, not political expediency - Sunday's events put the Kentucky senator squarely back in the national spotlight. As recently as last week, some political wags were wondering whether the Kentucky senator's stands on issues like national security and criminal justice were sinking his campaign.
"Though Paul may think his Republican Party's brand sucks, the primary voters don't necessarily share his view that the party is too old and too white," Dana Milbank of the Washington Post wrote. "His candidacy has so far failed to ignite - and, indeed, he seems to be fading as a force within the party."
But by successfully blocking extended NSA powers, Mr Paul has a new feather in his cap that might rally voters to his side.
"He's never brought the Senate to its knees as he has done now," Politico's Manu Raju wrote. "He has a rare opening to stand out in dramatic fashion from a very crowded GOP field - on an issue central to his presidential campaign."
Tim Mak and Olivia Nuzzi of the Daily Beast said Mr Paul's "human roadblock" strategy could pay dividends convincing the libertarian true believers who supported his father's presidential campaigns that he, alone, is with them.
"Paul's surveillance-ending stunt places him happily in opposition to the Obama administration and his rivals in the Republican primary field," they write. "Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio favour a robust metadata collection program. Ted Cruz was an early co-sponsor of the USA Freedom Act, which would reform the Patriot Act and end the government's bulk collection of American metadata."
Mr Paul's recent moves could come with a high price, however. It has attracted the renewed ire of much of the party's foreign policy establishment and may have cost him the support of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell - the powerful Kentuckian who had earlier expressed support for his candidacy.
"The senior senator from Kentucky - who is not known for his capacity to forgive and forget - was clearly displeased with his home state colleague," wrote Buzzfeed's John Stanton.
One of Mr Paul's fiercest opponents on the campaign trail could turn out to be the man who formally declared in South Carolina on Monday, Senator Lindsey Graham.
Mr Graham has regularly taken shots at the Kentucky senator, calling his foreign policy views "to the left of President Obama" and noticeably rolling his eyes when Mr Paul recently spoke in the Senate.
Image copyright AP Image caption US Senator Lindsey Graham has been a strong supporter of the Patriot Act
Candidates for presidential nominations usually end up successful because they find a way to unite their party's disparate interests, cobbling together a large enough coalition to prevail over their opponents. For Republicans, however, the NSA issue is deeply divisive.
If Mr Paul's opposition to NSA surveillance is going to prove a winning issue for him, he needs to hope that it allows him to consolidate his support while the rest of the field continues to be split among a variety of candidates.
Recent polls in Iowa, for instance, show how the current political playing field could work to his advantage. According to the latest Bloomberg survey, Mr Paul is tied for second place with 10 points, seven behind Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
"Paul's support from independents is a key reason he |
of breeds that many people have never heard of, who are never going to find themselves in a shelter. Someone wants those breeds and that is okay. Everyone has the right to choose the dog breed that feels right to them. Some people choose breeds for utility such as herding sheep, guarding livestock, helping to hunt, and even guide dogs. Working lines, as they are called, are bred for generations for their jobs. There is nothing wrong with that. Working dogs cared for properly are a joy to watch.
Responsibly bred dogs are not causing dogs to die in shelters. Irresponsible breeders and irresponsible owners are. Insufficient laws addressing breeding are responsible for the over-population problem in this country. Lack of education in proper care and training of dogs are among the many reasons that dogs are surrendered to shelters or rescues. A throw away society that wants a quick fix is prevalent in the American culture. None of these reasons are conducive to long term commitments for the lifespan of a dog. Shelters and rescue groups exist because of the irresponsible and uneducated, not the responsible.
Stable temperaments and sound health are the hallmarks of a responsible breeder. Without them, the future of dogs is in jeopardy. Breeds that you know and love will cease to exist without responsible breeders. Learning how to identify responsible breeders and how involved they are in the lives of the dogs that they create could be a pleasant eye opener.
Buying a puppy from a responsible breeder should involve en extensive questionnaire. You will be thoroughly screened with references checked and multiple phone calls back and forth before you are approved. You will meet in person or see via Skype, the puppy’s parents. You will get the appropriate health testing information for the breed. You will get questioned on your lifestyle and whether you are a good match for the breed. The breeder will have an ironclad and extensively worded contract with requirements that you must meet for the dog’s lifetime as well as a requirement to return the dog at any time in his or her life, should there be a need to do so. You will be asked to contact them throughout the dog’s life for questions on diet, exercise, health and any other subject that you can think of that pertains to your choice.
This chart can help people understand the difference between the type of breeders that exist. Supporting the last two columns should be your goal. Support of the other types of “breeders” is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
At this point, some of my rescuer readers are probably wondering if the above is a commercial for breeders. Not at all. It’s simply an attempt to educate that responsible breeders are not the enemy. Backyard breeders, commercial breeders, puppy mills and pet stores that treat dogs like a commodity rather than living sentient beings are the enemy. Don’t confuse them with each other. The goal of humane educators should be focused on eliminating the need for the aforementioned sources of irresponsibly bred puppies.
Since I procrastinated while writing this blog post, I had the opportunity to be thoroughly appalled and disgusted at what was meant to be a Super Bowl ad for Go Daddy. This sad excuse of an ad portrays a “family” who sells puppies online, with no regard for who they get sold to. This is not a responsible breeder. See above chart once again. Because of the huge outcry from dog lovers everywhere, the ad was pulled. This shows you do have a voice. Use that voice wisely. Don’t generalize. Support responsibility on the part of breeders and rescuers alike.
That brings me to responsible rescue practices. All rescues and rescuers are not created equal. Rescues should have a thorough screening process, with a questionnaire, a home visit, behavior and medical screening and treatments before placement, as well as putting the utmost effort into making appropriate matches. A good rescue will also be present for you for the lifetime of the dog. Responsible shelters offer the same comfort. What rescues and shelters should not do is be too stringent so that good solid homes get turned down for reasons such as no fences, working a regular job, having children, etc. Obviously, some dogs will require a fence, some will require no kids, some will need more attention than others. But blanket statements and requirements that are rigid regardless of the validity of the home, help no one but irresponsible breeders. Then there is the opposite end of the rescue spectrum; the rescuers who screen no one, adopt out intact and unhealthy animals as well as those with unaddressed behavior problems to people ill equipped to handle it. Read more about that subject here: Saving Them All: At What Cost?
.
Responsibility is important on all sides of this equation. The only solution to this is education. Make it your goal to know more and you will make more informed decisions. That is always going to be a good thing. Diversity is also a good thing. Allow people their individuality. Judgments on others for their choices won’t help educate. So leave your ego at the door and please share your story on your canine choices in a respectful manner. Rudeness will not get your comments listed. Thanks in advance!Share. "It will be a cool surprise." "It will be a cool surprise."
Following its announcement last year, Threshold Entertainment's film adaptation of the classic puzzle game Tetris is moving forward, and will serve as the first installment in a trilogy.
According to Deadline, the movie is "billed as a sci-fi thriller" that producer Larry Kasanoff says is "not at all what you think," but will instead "be a cool surprise."
Exit Theatre Mode
China and the United States are said to be co-producing the $80 million project under Kasanoff and Bruno Wu's new company Threshold Global Studios. Filming is expected to begin next year in China, as well as other locations, and will feature a Chinese cast.
According to Kasanoff, their vision is perfectly suited for a co-production, with "the necessary elements" currently in place. "The goal is to make world movies for the world market," he said, noting the Tetris movie doesn’t need to "sandwich into a deal" because "it naturally fits."
The Tetris Company has been in collaboration on the project for over a year, and the film's financial backing has been established. Wu and Kasanoff will co-produce, with Threshold's Jimmy lenner executive producing alongside The Tetris Company and Seven Stars.
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.Episode 2 of “HBO 24/7 Red Wings/Maple Leafs: Road To The NHL Winter Classic” was a massive leap in improvement from the tepid opening edition.
One reason? A special guest star.
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Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins played both the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs during the week leading up to Episode 2, and it was his game against the Leafs that gave us the highlight of the week – and gave Sid one of his, uh, most candid moments on camera.
Also in this clip, referee Mike Leggo has an amazingly classic moment, breaking up a scrum by screaming, “YOU KNOW WHAT, [EXPLETIVE] BOTH OF YOU!”
(In other words, the language in this clip is very strong and NSFW)
For the audio impaired, the glorious exchange between Sid and Dion:
SID: “A guy runnin’ an elbow up through my head, that’s OK too, right?”
DION: “Who did?”
SID: “Kadri. [Explitive] dummy. Then he acts like he got shot.”
DION: “You [expletive] hit me from behind, Sid!”
SID: “I did not. C’mon, I don’t even hit anybody. I haven’t hit anybody [expletive] this year.”
DION: “You wouldn’t like it if I pushed you like that.”
SID: “Probably not, but you’d do it all night anyway.”
DION: “I got a job to do too.”
SID: “Yeah well Kadri is a [expletive] joke. You tell’em.”
Annnnnnnnd scene.
And with that, Sidney Crosby became the Loki of “HBO 24/7.” It doesn’t have to be his movie for him to steal every scene that he’s in, as our favorite nefarious troublemaker.
s/t Chris Peters for the video.Today is the last Meatless Monday recipe before Thanksgiving and what better way to celebrate a holiday tradition than with a traditional meal of fried NOT-chicken!
Guaranteed to put KFC to shame, this vegan fried chicken doesn’t involve birds being scalded in hot water or their throats slit (a nice image to accompany while eating real chicken, though), but it does involve Gardein faux chicken fillets, Chick’n Scallopini, available from natural and veg-friendly stores like Whole Foods. This recipe if so perfectly put together, you could probably even substitute another vegetarian chicken if Gardein is no where to be found.
Art Smith, a two time James Beard Foundation Award winner and chef living in Hyde Park, Chicago, doesn’t keep his recipe secret like some other recently named chain of chicken restaurants. Garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, black pepper and cayenne pepper added to flour provide a spiced mixture to dredge your fillets in for a crust that’s crispy with a kick.
Yes, there is an alternative to Tofurky and side dishes this week.
Grab the recipe for vegan fried chicken and enjoy your Thanksgiving in good taste and good conscious.
Possibly Related Posts:Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals have been blindsided by another Ontario Provincial Police criminal probe over the alleged deletion of documents related to a cancelled energy project. “We were not aware of any investigation until the media report,” Wynne said Wednesday, referring to a story in the Ottawa Citizen that the OPP is suddenly looking into a controversy dating to 2011.
Wind turbines near Port Burwell on Lake Erie. Trillium's lawsuit stems from the government’s cancellation of a Lake Ontario wind turbine project. ( Geoff Robins / THE CANADIAN PRESS )
“If we are contacted we will, as always, co-operate fully with authorities,” the premier told the legislature. OPP Det.-Supt. Dave Truax said the force is “investigating allegations of wrongdoing involving a proposal to supply wind energy from turbines in the eastern portion of Lake Ontario.” “An investigation was recently launched after allegations were made by a third-party vendor —Trillium Power Energy Corporation. The investigation will involve determining if any criminal offences were committed, or any offences (were committed) under a provincial statute,” said Truax.
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He declined to say if any politicians, political staff or bureaucrats are being investigated. “The investigation does involve the government of Ontario,” said Truax, adding the OPP’s anti-racket branch is investigating. Trillium Power president John Kourtoff, whose company has a longstanding $500-million lawsuit against the province over the Dalton McGuinty government’s 2011 moratorium on offshore wind projects, said he contacted the OPP in February after it appeared key documents had “vaporized.” Kourtoff said it appeared to him something was missing after normal document disclosures related to the case took place between the government and Trillium. “That’s what pulled the thread. The question is what else is missing?” said Kourtoff.
Trillium’s allegations have not been proved in court and no charges have been laid. The case is still ongoing. Currently, two ex-Liberal aides are facing several charges including breach of trust, mischief in relation to data, and misuse of a computer system in the wake of the cancellation by former premier Dalton McGuinty of power plants in Mississauga and Oakville before the 2011 election.
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McGuinty’s chief of staff and deputy chief — Laura Miller and David Livingston, respectively — were charged after an OPP anti-rackets probe of wiped hard drives related to the cancellation that could end up costing taxpayers more than $1 billion over the next 20 years. Miller and Livingstone deny any wrongdoing. Their case is back in court May 26. Asked if there’s any connection between the two probes, Truax said: “It’s too early to speculate.” “Any linkages to other investigations are not yet known. The investigation is in its early stages. As such, the OPP is unable to comment further on this matter or predict its outcome.” Trillium had hoped to build four wind projects 17 to 28 km off the shore of Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County, west of Kingston. But then-environment minister John Wilkinson announced a moratorium on all offshore wind turbines on Feb. 11, 2011. The Star has obtained a previously redacted confidential government memo to Wilkinson from policy adviser Brenda Lucas that reveals why the province halted such energy projects. “It will be clear that we don’t have adequate science to build a more specific offshore approvals process,” says the Jan. 6, 2011 document that warns the government would face heat for “moving forward without full science....” Sources say Wilkinson took that advice to McGuinty and then-energy minister Brad Duguid, and the cabinet later put offshore wind projects on hold. Wynne said Wednesday the Ministry of the Environment is still researching the subject. But Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown accused the Liberals of trying to “dodge, deny, deflect, muddy the waters” with yet another criminal investigation is underway. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said this latest OPP probe, the gas plants, and the sale of Hydro One suggest it is time for a public inquiry. “The Liberal scandals in our energy sector seem never-ending,” said Horwath. “How did we get to this point where it seems like every week there’s a new allegation about how this government has handled the energy file?” she said, noting there are now five OPP investigations of the government. Beyond the two energy probes, the police have been looking at the ORNGE air ambulance imbroglio for the past five years, and have two probes into the 2015 Sudbury byelection controversy. Last week, criminal charges were stayed against Sudbury Liberal activist Gerry Lougheed, through the OPP’s Truax said an investigation related to possible Elections Act violations is continuing.
Read more about:Manmohan Singh's former media adviser, Sanjaya Baru, had published a book titled The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh in 2014, and now producer Sunil Bohra has acquired the film rights for the book, which was released around the general elections last year.
Speaking to Economic Times, Bohra said, "My sole intention is to make a movie covering the 10 most crucial years (from 2004 to 2014), which changed the political spectrum of our country and fortunes of India's oldest political party - the Congress," adding, "My movie will be denuded of any political agenda and bereft of any political leanings. It will be a true reflection of what has been authored by Mr Baru in his book."
When the book was released, there was speculation that it would be a criticism of the Congress govt, and even though the book chronicles the 2G spectrum, Commonwealth Games and coal block allocations, Baru has gone on record to state that his book is actually in defence of the ex-prime minster.
"The chapters 1 to 13 are the strongest defence of the Prime Minister. I challenge a book which seeks to offer a stronger defence. This book is a defence of his prime ministership... Somebody had to stand up and defend this old man," said Baru, in this Times of India interview.
Contractually, Bohra has been asked not to add anything new to the script, and he plans to keep the film "apolitical". Bohra Bros. Production Pvt. has close to 150 films to its credit, such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Tanu Weds Manu and Sahib Biwi aur Gangster. The film is expected to release at the end of 2018.
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.AP President Barack Obama wants the federal government to fund research to look at the impact of violent videogames.
At a press conference Wednesday detailing his proposals for tighter gun laws, the president said that the scientific community needs to discover if there is a link between gory entertainment and the recent spate of mass-shootings.
He did not, however, make any mention of violence in the movies or on TV.
"We don't benefit from ignorance," Obama said. "We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence."
The president has been pushing for more restrictions on gun ownership in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., last month that left more than 20 people dead.
Obama said that he is instructing the Center for Disease Control to study the roots of violent behavior, and is asking Congress for $10 million to fund the research.
The film industry must be relieved not to have been targeted in the president's remarks and their omission could prevent a big dust-up. Hollywood executives and Motion Picture Association of American Chairman Chris Dodd have said they will hit back on any efforts to restrict violence in movies.
Members of the movie and television industry briefed Vice President Joe Biden and other members of the president's task-force on gun violence at the White House last week about content ratings systems, which give parents tools to regulate what kind of TV programming and movies their children watch.
Dodd, the National Association of Broadcaster's CEO Gordon Smith and National Cable Telecommunications Association CEO Michael Powell were among the industry figures present.
In addition to scientific research into gun violence, Obama is calling for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and universal background checks for gun buyers.
"When it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now, Obama said.
In addition to the killings in Newtown, Obama also cited the shootings at an Aurora, Colo., screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" last July that left 12 people dead as more evidence that there need to be more limits on what types of guns can be purchased by civilians.
"Weapons designed for war have no place in a movie theater," Obama said.
The National Rifle Association has already begun a television campaign against Obama's proposals, but the lobbying group may be more sympathetic research into media companies' role in inciting violence.
At a press conference last month on the Newtown massacre, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said the blame for these killings rested on "blood-soaked" films like "American Psycho" and violent games like "Grand Theft Auto."
"There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people," LaPierre said.
"Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?" he asked later.
At the end of the session, they released a generic statement of support for trying to reduce violence.
"This industry has a longstanding commitment to provide parents the tools necessary to make the right viewing decisions for their families," the group said. "We welcome the opportunity to share that history and look forward to doing our part to seek meaningful solutions."With the mission of diversifying the broader media landscape by investing in the next generation of necessary voices, BuzzFeed's Emerging Writers Fellowship is designed to give writers of great promise the support, mentorship, and experience necessary to take a transformative step forward in their careers.
During the four-month program, the writers in this fellowship will benefit from career mentorship and editorial guidance while also receiving financial support. The learning process must be financially viable for emerging writers if it is intended to open the gates to writers traditionally locked out of opportunities in media.
The fellows will focus on personal essay writing, cultural reportage, and criticism. During their time in fellowship, writers will be expected to pitch, report, and write with the added benefit of panel discussions with editors and writers from throughout the industry, and assigned readings. Mentorship within the program will focus on teaching writers how to thrive as freelancers as well as on staff at media organizations; this mentorship will hopefully continue well after the fellowship itself is concluded.
Ideal candidates for the BuzzFeed Emerging Writers Fellowship must have ambitious ideas and a proven desire to publish cultural criticism, personal essays, and reported pieces that create an impact on cultural conversations. The three writers selected for the fellowship will work with BuzzFeed News’ senior editorial staff; this is a full-time position based in BuzzFeed’s New York office. The work produced during the fellowship will be published on BuzzFeed. Fellows will receive a stipend of $14,000. For examples of work from previous fellows, click here.
Application Procedure:
Please submit the following materials by December 4th, 2017, using this form; we do not accept email submissions. Applications will be considered by a committee of BuzzFeed editors and staff writers. Writers accepted into the fellowship will be notified in late January; the fellowship is four months long and will begin on March 5 and end on June 29. Current and former BuzzFeed employees may not apply. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States and cannot currently be enrolled in school.
Application Materials:
1) Resume or CV.
2) 3-5 articles or essays you feel are representative of your best work; work from unpublished manuscripts is fine, too. You may link to them directly or upload them as attachments.
3) Statement of purpose (3–5 pages in length). Please attach your Statement below where the application asks for "Cover Letter." Please explain in detail, in separate sections:
If given this opportunity, what are 2–3 story ideas you are passionate about pursuing? The fellowship will focus on personal essays, cultural criticism, and reported essays usually under 4,000 words, and pitches should reflect this mix.
Why should you be the writer to pursue these stories? And what are the stakes of these stories being told, or not?
Give 3–5 examples of cultural reporting, personal essays, features, or books from contemporary writers who have had an impact on your work. What specifically did you learn from each piece?
What support would help you move forward in your career? What aspects of writing and cultural reporting are you eager to learn more about?
What are your long-term career ambitions?
4) Two letters of recommendation: Please include the email addresses of your references in the option provided in the application. While your references needn’t all be from professional or academic contacts, they should attest to your standout potential, work ethic, and ability to pursue ambitious ideas and make an impact on cultural conversations.Democratic National Committee (DNC) officials vowed Saturday to reform the party's presidential primary system while blasting Republicans for "atrocities" in the White House and Congress.
The DNC's Unity Reform Commission Chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon and Vice Chairman Larry Cohen said that the number of superdelegates in the system would be reduced by more than half.
Superdelegates are unpledged delegates that are not bound to state primaries or caucuses, and can vote for whichever candidate they prefer at the DNC's nominating convention in the summer.
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“We are incredibly proud of the work this commission has undertaken since May to ensure that our party’s presidential nominating process is far more inclusive and brings new people into the party. The recommendations that the Unity Reform Commission are putting forth for consideration are historic," Dillon and Cohen said in a statement.
“This includes reducing the number of unpledged delegates or ‘superdelegates’ by nearly 60%, and making our caucuses and primaries more accessible, transparent, and accurate."
The DNC commission officials went on to attack the Trump administration and GOP-led Congress while calling on Democrats to "unite around our values."
“With the atrocities being committed by Republicans in the White House and in Congress it is more important than ever that Democrats unite around our values."
"The meetings that have taken place over the past year and the reforms recommended by this body are a productive first step and will better prepare us for elections on the horizon so that we can elect Democrats from the school board to the Oval Office," the statement reads.
The Unity Reform Commission held its last meeting this weekend, which was meant to offer recommendations for reforming the nominating system after a bruising 2016 primary battle between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonSanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' Former Sanders campaign spokesman: Clinton staff are 'biggest a--holes in American politics' MORE and Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersPush to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback Sanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' MORE (I-Vt.).
DNC Chairman Tom Perez Thomas Edward PerezClinton’s top five vice presidential picks Government social programs: Triumph of hope over evidence Labor’s 'wasteful spending and mismanagement” at Workers’ Comp MORE and Vice Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison Keith Maurice EllisonOvernight Health Care — Presented by National Taxpayers Union — Top Dems call for end to Medicaid work rules | Chamber launching ad blitz against Trump drug plan | Google offers help to dispose of opioids Ilhan Omar defends 2012 tweet: 'I don't know how my comments would be offensive to Jewish Americans' States scramble to fill void left by federal shutdown MORE (D-Minn.) called for a reduction in the number of superdelegates in a joint CNN op-ed earlier this week.
More than a dozen progressive groups led by MoveOn.org and Our Revolution have gone further, however, and are demanding a complete end to the system.
"The superdelegate system undermines the Democratic Party’s commitment to racial and gender equity, and underrepresents the younger voters forming the future of the party," the progressive groups said a letter sent to Perez this week.The Widow Sports Cars SP1 is the brainchild of Wayne Blackwell. The idea behind the car is to create an easy to build, great looking sports car on the Mazda Miata Chassis while giving it a production car feel. The Widow Sports Car SP1 uses a 1990-1997 Miata as the donor car and the panels are direct bolt on. You can even choose between a Coupe or Targa Version.This car really can be built in a short amount of time in a small garage, driveway, or carport with tools you already have laying around. It does require a little bit of cutting to the tail light area to make room for the new lights but its nothing difficult.
The kit is comprised of the following…
COUPE Version
Front wings and nose cone one piece.
Bonnet
2 Side Sills
2 Door skins
Rear Clamshell
Mounting panels
Rear Screen made from plexiglass
2 quarter windows made from plexiglass
£4500.00
The Targa version includes all you see above but also has a targa roof section.
£4700.00
Best part about these type of kits is a lot of the parts you take off your miata donor car can easily be sold to offset the cost of the kit.
These pictures are of the Demo car in the UK. As you can see the fit and finish of this miata kit car is top notch. They are also taking orders from the USA. USA Price is just about $7000 plus shipping and crating. The US website for this great Miata Kit Car is www.widowsportscars.com. Widow Sports Cars is currently doing a special on their kit car. If you do not mind shipping from their Latvia production facility you can get a Widow Kit Car for $5999 with FREE SHIPPING. That is a killer deal on this Miata Based Kit Car.
Landline: 01245 467738
Mobile: 07538 477572At the start of the war in Afghanistan, we had the AN/PEQ-2 TPIAL, which is actually something pretty useful under that welter of characters. Let’s break out the descriptive acronym: Target Pointer/Illuminator Aiming Laser. What a TPIAL is, is a laser floodlight and laser sight, slaved to one another so they both align with the weapon’s zero, both working in the infrared regime where it cannot be seen with the naked eye. The PEQ-2 was a decent unit but only worked with night vision, was bulky and took up a lot of your rail, ate batteries like Godzilla carboloading for the Tokyo Marathon, and had a bad tendency to get knocked off zero, or knocked clean out of the fight, if clobbered pretty hard. In time it was replaced by the PEQ-15 ATPIAL. (“A” for “Advanced” Target Pointer/Illuminator Aiming Laser, naturally).
The PEQ-15 has a number of advantages over the PEQ-2. It was smaller, lighter, and more durable. The battery life is even longer (not long enough, but it is an improvement). It has an ingenious “saddlebag” cross-section that lets it mount to the top rail of your carbine without interfering with any ordinary iron or optical sight. Taken together, these things mean it screws up the balance of your carbine less than the PEQ-2 does.
The -15 has a visible as well as an IR laser pointer (selectable), which lets you use the pointer as a day sight if they day isn’t too bright, and lets you use it at night to intimidate enemies or as a pointer for allies without night vision capability. Best of all, it cost less to manufacture, so Uncle Sam could buy and issue more of them, and they became a standard part of a grunt’s kit rapidly.
But there was a problem with these, for the civilian market. The military lasers are Class 3B lasers, and are not remotely eye-safe. (There are lockout switches to prevent military users from inadvertently engaging high-energy mode in noncombat applications). The FDA, which regulates lasers in the USA, does not permit the sale of these devices to members of the public without licenses (which the FDA chooses not to grant).
So L3 Communications, the makers of the PEQ-15, have made a civilian-legal Class 1 version, which they call the ATPIAL-C (“C” for “Commercial”). It’s basically the PEQ-15, made on the same production line out of most of the same parts, just without the high-energy mode. Even side by side they’re hard to tell apart. (Look at the laser safety label — the ATPIAL-C has a triangular warning icon, as befits its lower-energy laser, and the PEQ-2 the red starburst of an eye-unsafe laser). What you give up with the -C model is some range on the laser pointer, a lot of the range on the laser floodlight, ability to focus that light, and 100% of the risk of putting someone’s eye out or having the authorities take your eBay PEQ-15 away because it was originally stolen from Uncle Sam.
The ATPIAL-C is available for pre-order for $1200 from Tactical Night Vision Company (they charge your card when you order; shipping is supposed to be in November). TNVC has an exclusive deal with L3, at lest for the time being, for these things.Ottawa police say the man found on fire in a parking garage at Carleton University Tuesday has died. He was found with burns to 90 per cent of his body.
Fire officials said emergency responders were called at about 1:35 p.m. and treated a man in his mid-20s before paramedics transported him to hospital.
Fire officials said campus security put out the fire with an extinguisher before emergency crews arrived.
Carleton officials said the incident happened in parking lot 9, adjacent to Robertson Hall.
The parking garage was closed, and Carleton officials said any vehicles parked at level three of the garage would not be permitted to leave for a while.
Vehicles at other levels were to be allowed to leave once the drivers had provided police with their names and addresses.
Foul play is not suspected, police said.Those China CDS are looking ever more attractive. Earlier today, Bank of China, Asia’s third- largest lender by market value, announced it plans to raise as much as 60 billion yuan ($8.9 billion) in a rights offer to replenish capital. Bloomberg reports: "The lender will sell 1.1 shares for every 10 held, or as many as 19.56 billion shares in Shanghai and 8.36 billion in Hong Kong, a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange showed today." This latest equity offering in a region already drowning in capital raises was enough to halt trading in BOC shares until July 5 as the response to it would hardly be considered favorable. A sale by Bank of China would “damage market sentiment and banking shares further because we’ve already been flooded by share offerings,” Tang Yayun, a Shanghai-based analyst at Northeast Securities Co., said before the announcement. “This is a surprise given that they just completed a bond sale.” The bolded sentence is critical as it merely implies that the rot from the trillions in bad loans made to assorted house flippers, tulip sniffers, and opium den casino dwellers are finally coming home to roost. Indeed, Bank of China's capital adequacy ratio fell to 11.09 percent as of March 31, below the minimum 11.5 percent required according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The next wave of the solvency crisis tsunami has now officially made landfall in China.
More from Bloomberg:Hello beautiful sparkly people! Today, I offer unto the scent dieties a review of some of Alchimia Apothecary’s Spring 2015 fragrances along with a few random others from Erin. This is my second Alchimia Haul and, if you missed it, you can read the first one here. These fragrances were all purchased by myself with two exceptions: one fragrance was a free sample (always included in each order) and the second was a guest sample from a subscription box.
Also… it is with both sad and happy tidings that I bring to you news that Alchimia Apothecary will be downsizing their shop to personalized perfumes only. Two other shop owers: Aromaleigh Cosmetics and Dreamworld Hermetica will be choosing some of Alchemia’s fragrances to carry in their stores. Which ones and who will carry what, I have no idea. Although, I have been told that they have chosen to continue to carry sample sizes. Hurrah!
The good news is that Erin at Alchimia will be able to concentrate more on personalized fragrances. A new category, which will include consulting and personalization and will lift the 5 note max will be available soon. Alternately, Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) will now be limited to 5 notes and will not include personal consulting. I’m not sure how pricing will work out but I’m happy to see that there will be two tiers to customization; one for those who want something extra special or need some consultation and one option for people who just want to get a quick custom fragrance with no hassle.
One last teaser to look forward to… In my last talk with Erin she dropped a little hint, “I can neither confirm nor deny that there may or may not be a perfume exclusive subscription box in the near (not immediate) future for Alchima.” 😀
Now, on to the review. Please remember, as always, that I have horribly finicky skin chemistry and that fragrances tend to morph a bit on me. Many of these fragrances are lovely on other folks, so when I say that I don’t like something I only mean on my own skin. I try to jot down my thoughts about the fragrances without referencing the website notes. Sometimes I’m very close and sometimes I’m not but, hey, scents tend to be difficult to pin down for all but the most highly trained noses. 🙂
Deadly Poppies (Villians/Standard Collection) 3 1/2 Stars:
When dealing with poisoned poppy fields, sometimes the smell of the work comes home with you. The commute isn’t terrible since upgrading to a top of the line broomstick made from the finest black agar and fresh mown hay. There’s also something to be said about how relaxed you are after your robes get covered in poppy petals laced with thick resinous opium ribbons.
My thoughts: Floral, red, dirty (in a good way) with slightly spicy undertones. There is also a faint waft of something citrusy – perhaps orange. After more than 1/2 hour of wear it increases in depth and some resinous notes appear. Subtle woods come along with a very slight musky undertone. It is a floral oriental but never gets sour on my skin like some oriental perfumes do.
Swamp Gas (Standard Collection) 4 Stars:
Cypress trees, oud, and other woods surround you as you immerse yourself in humid hints of fougere greens, orris, Spanish moss, ferns, fragrant orchids, and fallen leaves touching down to earth.
My thoughts: Notes of green crushed chlorophyll and rich dirt with wetness and moss. I can definitely smell oakmoss or something like it. SG reminds me a lot of Petrichor (reviewed below) except sweeter, deeper, and greener. I really love this scent and it has become one of my favorites. Swamp Gas is the scent-story of a shallow, slow moving stream in a tucked-away little corner of a dense, dark forest. I have to be in a particular mood for it, but when I am this scent is heaven.
Peony for your Thoughts (Standard Collection) 2 Stars:
The bold and intoxicating scent of peonies dominate this blend. Watery green bamboo sap and thick vines of black agar branches weave their way through delicate violets, clinging to just the slightest touch of rose infused leather.
My thoughts: In the bottle it is light, very floral, and green. On skin it looses some of the sweet tones and becomes much greener. Unfortunately, on me a slightly cloying, waxy note appears. The florals also go a bit unpleasant at about the 1/2 hour mark, which is weird because usually violets agree with my skin. This one just wan’t for me which is unfortunate because it smells much cleaner and sweeter in the bottle.
Petrichor (Spring Collection) 3 1/2 stars
The rain as it falls on dry soil. It has the after the rain sweetness of grass that comes out and dries down beautifully. There is a peppery green ozone that lurks a while that reminds me of the dusty gravel that was rain soaked in my driveway growing up… Green, wet and earthy with an almost floral quality from the sweetness of the alf |
an unmitigated disaster (despite how, of course, it’s not), and if America were to somehow actually develop a health care system similar to, say, Canada’s, that would be the end of America for certain; we’d never recover from such a devastating blow. Or something. And then came the “worst thing to ever happen” quip, and I couldn’t hold back.
They didn’t hear me, of course; the orgasmic thrum of their perfect lives drowned out my chuckle, and as I turned and looked at this beautifully entitled, happy crew from my vantage point only a few feet away but a million light years in perspective, we all shared one of the most spectacular, envied locales in the world and all of us sipped superb regional grape and not a single one of us suffered the slightest personal, social or economic indignity, every first-world need instantly met, every crab cake perfectly formed, the sunshine as flawless as Jesus on toast and no lines at the restroom and lots of free parking for his Lexus SUV.
A few thoughts struck me, all at once. The first was how nice this group all seemed – and of course they probably were – and I imagine if we had all had met under different circumstances and been chatting about, say, the weather or the soul-exploding coastline, I’m sure we would have been fast, easy friends – noting that, if we wanted to remain that way, we’d never talk about politics. Or religion.
Even so, I desperately wanted to ask Mr. Newport Beach what his stock portfolio looked like a mere six or seven years ago, when Bush & Co. ravaged the country and led us into one of the deepest, most brutal social and economic pits in modern history. Did he lose half his net worth? More? Was he worried he couldn’t feed his family or pay his mortgage? Did he lose his house? His job? Did he blame Bush? Clinton? Islam? The gays?
And by the way, how does he like the recovery so far? Which of his three perfect, multimillion-dollar homes was he on his way to, right now?
I also wanted to know, when Bush/Cheney lied to the world, openly violated the tragedy of 9/11 and invaded Iraq, killing tens of thousands, was he furious? What about now, when even Fox News is calling out Cheney and declaring Iraq invasion a colossal mistake, a lie from which we’re still unable to extricate ourselves?
Nevertheless, Obama ended Bush’s disastrous war, just like he said he would, on time and under budget. Does it matter?
And what of Newport’s female companions? I wonder if he knows that upwards of 99 percent of sexually active women have used some form of contraception. Is he in line with the GOP’s recent spate of nasty misogyny and anti-abortion spew? What about the awful SCOTUS Hobby Lobby decision, further bashing women, and Obama’s immediate moves to defend women’s rights? Is he aware? I bet those women are. Or surely, their daughters.
And really, what about the stock market? The Dow dances around record highs, Wall Street snorts rails of finely chopped gold every day, the income gap between the 1% and everyone else is more demeaning than ever and the banks haven’t fundamentally changed in the slightest. Why isn’t Mr. Newport Beach positively orgasmic about the Obama Administration’s generally wealth-favoring policies that made it all happen? Say what you like, but Obama managed to do what nearly all economists and pundits thought impossible back in 2008: reverse the ugliest, GOP-led social and economic tailspin in modern history, and make guys like Mr. Newport richer than ever.
My new friend looked good. Healthy. Fit. Good teeth, thick head of silver hair, that prostate cancer scare a couple years back easily nipped by a few wildly expensive treatments he never paid a dime for. Who did pay for his insurance? His company? Medicare? Did he have any idea what it was like not to be able to afford it, or be offered any in the first place?
I sipped my rosé, took a deep breath, enjoyed the magnificent landscape as one final, predominant thought swam into view: how? How can there be such a radical disconnect between Mr. Newport’s engorged portfolio, his fantastic insurance plan, low mortgage rate and grotesque corporate privilege – most of it born of the past six years – and Obama’s overall policy successes? Does he consider it all just a fluke? Dumb luck? Is he drunk on Limbaugh and Fox News, unable to see actual facts?
Look here, Newport: Since Obama took office, corporate profits are way up. So is business investment, job growth (moderately), retail sales, manufacturing (well, barely). Want to buy another house? Interest rates are fantastic. The housing crisis has largely subsided, and home foreclosures are way down. Also, people are buying lots of new cars, and there’s a fully recovered auto industry ready to meet all demand.
Did he know federal discretionary spending is well below average? Or that the poverty rate has stabilized? And the stock market is, as mentioned, breaking records, benefitting rich white dudes more than ever?
Of course, it’s all pretty shaky. Flawed and imbalanced and could give out at any second – but that’s just the nature of the excruciatingly complex, unstable world economy these days. And while corporations are raking it in, workers are seeing less and less of their fair share. There are still myriad problems, and Obama’s policies are far from perfect. No party’s ever are. Regardless, given the impossible economic hell-pit Obama was left with, it’s unlikely any president could have possibly done better.
Clearly I’m missing something, a huge bed of terrifying data to prove all these respectable charts and graphs wrong. But where is it? I’ve heard Mr. Newport Beach’s bizarre lament a thousand times, but I’ve yet to see a solid batch of evidence that proves Obama’s outright failure, or the nation’s savage decline. I see a blip about food stamps, I see a few weak economic signs here and there, but mostly, since 2009, it all’s been somewhere between timidly and shockingly positive. Did God smite us for gay marriage? Did the abortion factories, death panels and Nazi Kenyan socialist brain-washing farms steal my very soul? Hard to tell with all this perfect sunshine in my eyes.
The bottom line seems obvious: Much to the GOP’s bitter revulsion, it turns out a calm, intellectual black man really can run an entire country – certainly far better than an inarticulate Texas bumbler, and even in the face of what is easily the most obstructionist, hateful, acidic and often downright racist Congress in modern memory. Quite an achievement, really.
It’s curious, no? The unmitigated hate for Obama comes from the right, but the real disappointment comes from the left. It’s we liberals who seem to have the most legitimate gripes with a man we all thought would be far more radical and revolutionary. From the NSA to drone warfare to a shocking lack of transparency, a shameless kowtowing to Wall Street, a lack of serious education reform and barely a blip about the environment (until very recently) – Obama has been a far more mixed bag for the left than anyone wants to admit.
But right now, that seems like quibbling. To hear Mr. Newport Beach tell it, my president is a downright monster. Who cares if he ended the war, saved the economy, restored America’s stature in the world, nailed Osama bin Laden, invested billions in clean energy, partially reformed what is still the most expensive, least effective health care system in the industrialized world, or made the rich even richer? The guy’s the worst thing to ever happen to America. I mean, obviously. Now who wants more wine?Show full PR text
Dynamic duo: Audi TT RS Coupé and Audi TT RS Roadster
Audi is sending the most powerful TT ever into the competitive field. Its newly developed five-cylinder engine delivers 400 hp – accompanied by unmistakable engine sound. The Coupé and Roadster are celebrating their world premieres at the Beijing Motor Show.
Muscular front end, large air inlets, low-positioned spoiler, fixed rear wing – at first glance, the Audi TT RS* clearly hints at just how much power there is under its streamlined skin. Its new five-cylinder aluminum engine delivers 400 hp, which is 60 hp more than the power of the previous model. A full 480 Newton-meters (354.0 lb-ft) of torque is applied to the front and rear wheels, and a traction control system manages its distribution for maximum acceleration with minimal slip. As a result, the Coupé takes 3.7 seconds to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph), and the Roadster takes 3.9 seconds. No other TT has sprinted this fast. The brilliant torque is accompanied by typical five-cylinder sound – which is music to the ears of horsepower purists. This sound passes through the RS exhaust system and is projected to the surroundings via two large oval tailpipes. Other eye-catching features at the rear are the new OLED lights in 3D design, which are being implemented for the first time in a production Audi.
This much power requires a stiff chassis setup. At a height of just 1.34 meters (4.4 ft), the Audi TT RS is low to the asphalt, and it is both light-footed and under control as it conquers curves. The direct steering ratio gives the driver the feeling of being one with the road. No matter how intensively the driver turns the grippy sport steering wheel, the low-mounted sport seat with the strong contours of its side bolsters holds the driver in position. In the Roadster, a switch initiates open-air driving fun. It opens the car's soft top – even while driving at speeds up to around 50 km/h (31.1 mph).
Inside, the TT RS has an extremely sporty appearance – with aluminum or carbon trim elements and RS logos. As in the Audi R8, the driver starts the engine directly from the steering wheel – a feature inspired by car racing. The vehicle handling system can also be operated from an extra set of satellite controls. If drivers wish, they can modify the character of the TT RS over four modes – from comfort-oriented to emphatically dynamic. The instruments are focused entirely on the driver. The fully digital Audi virtual cockpit with its 12.3-inch screen bundles all key information – from driving speed to engine rpm and navigation. And that is not all. A special RS screen displays information on tire pressure, torque and g-forces. When the engine rev limit is reached, a shift light requests that the driver upshift via the steering wheel paddle or selector lever. A precondition is that the manual mode must be active for the dual-clutch transmission, which has sporty short gear ratios in the lower gears.
To always stay up-to-date, the driver can call upon the extensive infotainment content. Audi connect is bringing a wide variety of services on-board, which can deliver the right information – whether you are looking for parking, travel or traffic information, or inquiring about fuel prices, the weather or online news. Passengers can also tweet on the road, and upon request the system can read the messages aloud. They can connect their smartphone or tablet via the Wi-Fi hotspot and surf the world wide web. Select smartphone apps can be mirrored directly into the Audi virtual cockpit. The smartphone battery is charged inductively in the center console. Then the smartphone is also coupled to the vehicle's antenna for optimal reception, and it connects the driver with the desired contact person when prompted. A practical feature is that the microphones of the hands-free system are integrated into the seat belts in the Roadster, which guarantees high speech quality.
Want to know more? The TT RS Coupé and TT RS Roadster launch in fall 2016.
Prices for the Coupé start at 66,400 euros, and the Roadster is listed at 69,200 euros.Image copyright Reuters Image caption Madonna's single stalled at number 26 in the UK singles chart
Pop star Madonna has called Radio 1 "discriminatory and unfair" after it declined to play her latest single.
Living For Love failed to make the station's playlist, which dictates its most-played songs, when it was released last month, leading to accusations of ageism from the 56-year-old's fans.
Speaking to The Sun, Madonna said she was "shocked" by her exclusion.
"I was like, 'Wait a second. Shouldn't it be to do with whether you wrote a good, catchy pop song?"
The vast majority of people who like Madonna are over 30 and, frankly, we've moved on George Ergatoudis, Head of music, BBC Radio 1
Radio 1 says Madonna's age had nothing to do with its decision, saying it chooses songs on "musical merit and their relevance to our young audience on a case-by-case basis".
"An artist's age is never a factor," it said in a statement.
However, BBC News has learned that the station turned its back on Madonna long before Living For Love was released.
Speaking at a Radio Academy event last year, Radio 1's 49-year-old head of music, George Ergatoudis, said the station had "moved on" from her music.
Ergatoudis, who chairs the weekly playlist meetings, had been asked whether he would play Madonna's next single if she agreed to appear at Radio 1's Big Weekend festival.
In response, he said: "The BBC Trust have asked us to go after a young audience. We've got to concentrate on [people aged] 15-30. We have to bring our average age down. That's something we're very conscious of.
"The vast majority of people who like Madonna, who like her music now, are over 30 and frankly, we've moved on from Madonna."
'So stupid'
In her interview with The Sun, Madonna expressed disbelief that age would be a factor in deciding whose music to play on daytime radio.
Ageism is still an area that's taboo Madonna
"My manager said to me, 'If you're not in your twenties, it's hard. You might get your record played in your thirties. There's a handful of people who do - Pharrell [who is 41] got lucky. But if you're in your fifties, you can forget it'.
"Really? Is that how it's broken down? I'm so stupid. I didn't know it was anything to do with my age. I just do my work."
"We've made so many advances in other areas - civil rights, gay rights - but ageism is still an area that's taboo and not talked about and dealt with."
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Septuagenarian Paul McCartney is on the Radio 1 playlist, via his collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West
Radio 1 does continue to play other artists above the age of 30 - including the Foo Fighters, whose frontman Dave Grohl is 46.
72-year-old Paul McCartney also appears on the current playlist, although only as a featured artist on Kanye West and Rihanna's song FourFiveSeconds.
The Sun has run a vocal campaign criticising the station for turning its back on artists such as Take That and Kylie Minogue.
However, Madonna's single was not completely banished by Radio 1, being played on some of its specialist shows.
One of the DJs who gave the song airtime was Annie Mac, who took over the influential Evening Session programme earlier this week.
She told The Independent: "I'm a lifelong Madonna fan and I played her on my Friday show.
"[Living For Love] was produced by Diplo, who is one of the biggest artists on my show. If I'm excited by a song, then I think it's going to be all right to play it."
The single was also included on the Radio 2 playlist, which targets an older audience.
Despite that, it stalled at 26 in the charts, despite the publicity following Madonna's fall at the Brit Awards.
The star can perhaps take comfort in the fact that her new album, Rebel Heart, is on course to reach number one this weekend.
If it reaches the top spot, it will be her 12th number one album in the UK.New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis against the Dallas Mavericks. (Photo: Derick E. Hingle, USA TODAY Sports)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans were so good in the first half that they were never threatened even after he left with an injury.
Davis scored 17 points before leaving at halftime with a bruised right hip, and the Pelicans beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-105 on Tuesday night for their first victory of the season.
Davis helped the Pelicans (1-6) build an 18-point halftime lead that never dipped below 14 points even after he departed for what team officials said were precautionary reasons.
Coach Alvin Gentry said Davis had a posterior or medial thigh injury, but wasn't sure the extent or the specifics, saying only that the forward was kneed in the second quarter and was having more tests done before the Pelicans flew to Atlanta. Initial X-rays at the arena were negative.
All Gentry knows is that for the seventh game this season, New Orleans had to find a way to finish without a full roster.
"Even with Anthony playing, we've got some really key guys sitting out," Gentry said. "You can do one of two things: You can just move on and try to play and do the best you can, or you can sit around and mope and have a pity party. We don't have time for a pity party."
Ryan Anderson finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Ish Smith recorded his first career double-double, ending the game with 17 points and 12 assists. Eric Gordon, meanwhile, jump-started it all with New Orleans' first five points on his way to 17 for the game.
"We've got a long year," Anderson said. "This is a small stretch of games. Obviously now that we have a win, we want to kind of move on past (it) and have a winning mentality now. We know what we need to do."
New Orleans broke out to a 12-0 start, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
"They were making shots and we weren't," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Their level of force was higher without question. A lot of this you have to credit them. They had a bunch of guys step up and play big."
Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 points for Dallas, which trailed 37-36 after Zaza Pachulia's basket before the Pelicans went on an 18-0 run that began with three straight baskets by Davis.
New Orleans shot 50 percent for the game, including 14 of 33 from 3-point range, and outrebounded Dallas 48-44. It was just the second time this season the Pelicans have finished with more rebounds than their opponent.
Dallas, meanwhile, was just 5 for 20 beyond the arc.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: All four of the Mavericks' losses have come by double digits.. G Deron Williams was just 4 of 10 shooting and finished with eight points and three assists.
Pelicans: New Orleans signed guard Jimmer Fredette before the game to help boost an injury-depleted roster. He entered the game late in the fourth quarter.. C Omer Asik played for the first time in four games after missing the previous three with a calf strain. Asik scored four points in 15 minutes.
FOUR IN FIVE NIGHTS
Tuesday night marked the first game in a run of four contests in five nights for Dallas. It's the only time this season the Mavericks will have to do this and coach Rick Carlisle is all right with that.
"This is the most difficult stretch of the season," he said. "And, going forward, I hope we can chip away at the exhibition season and get rid of some of those. Then, eventually, we can get rid of the back-to-backs."
The Mavericks do have three other runs of four games in six nights the rest of the season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR SMITH
New Orleans signed Smith the day before the season started. He has rewarded the Pelicans on the court by leading the team in assists. He entered the game sixth in the NBA, averaging 7.5 per game.
He had a career-high 12 against Dallas after setting his previous career high four days earlier with 11 against Atlanta.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday
Pelicans: At Atlanta on Wednesday
NBA photo of the day
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Twitter is fighting to disclose how many times the government has secretly accessed its users’ data — and a judge may soon allow the company to do so. Twitter’s fight has been ongoing since 2014, and the company recently saw progress when it was allowed to publish two national security letters.
The government uses national security letters (NSLs) to extract user data from tech companies that are often unwilling to hand it over without a legal fight.
The letters are not reviewed by a judge and are instead issued directly by the FBI. They’re also often accompanied by indefinite gag orders that prevent companies from ever disclosing that they received the letters, or notifying their users that they were targeted for surveillance.
In a somewhat similar case, Microsoft is challenging the constitutionality of gag orders accompanying warrants.
Twitter argued today that it should be allowed to describe the number of NSLs it receives from the government in greater detail. Twitter and other tech companies are currently allowed to disclose these numbers in ranges of 500, and, although Twitter was allowed last month to reveal it had received two national security letters, the company can only list these letters in its semiannual transparency report in a range of 0 – 499 — an intentionally vague arrangement.
Twitter’s attorney, Lee Rubin, said today that the disclosure limitations created an “Orwellian situation” for the company and hindered its First Amendment right to speak freely about the letters it receives.
The Justice Department’s argument to counter is that allowing Twitter to disclose more specific numbers about the numbers of national security letters it receives would jeopardize national security by giving America’s adversaries too much information about when and how the government surveils Twitter users. Julia Berman, an attorney for the Justice Department, argued that the FBI doesn’t need to justify the secrecy around national security letters on a case-by-case basis because even aggregate disclosure could harm investigations.
Rubin dismissed the government argument that specificity about NSLs would harm national security. “Transparency reports show trends where the government has used well-known monitoring and surveillance tactics. It shows, already, all of the trends anyone could possibly want to know of whether one provider is less monitored or more monitored,” he said.
Remember, this is not about disclosing the precise requests or the users targeted, simply the number of requests received.
Rubin, however, faced blunt questions from U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and may have even set Twitter’s case back when he interrupted Berman’s statements. This triggered a pet peeve of Judge Gonzalez Rogers (and women everywhere) who has spoken publicly about her frustration with male lawyers who interrupt their female counterparts. “It’s entirely inappropriate to do that,” she chastised Rubin. “I don’t know if you do it because she’s younger or because she’s a woman.”
Rubin later apologized for cutting off Berman.
The case stems from a 2013 transparency report that Twitter wanted to publish, in which it presumably included specific numbers about the number of national security letters it received. The government declared that, as written, the transparency report was classified and could not be made public. Twitter sued the Justice Department in 2014, challenging the classification of the transparency report.
“Twitter remains unsatisfied with restrictions on our right to speak more freely about national security requests we may receive. We continue to push for the legal ability to speak more openly on this topic in our lawsuit against the U.S. government, Twitter v. Lynch,” Twitter’s associate general counsel Elizabeth Banker wrote in a blog post last month. “We continue to believe that reporting in government-mandated bands does not provide meaningful transparency to the public or those using our service.”
This case is one in a long line of battles Twitter has fought over more transparent reporting of government requests. And even if it wins, this is still a tiny translucent chip off of the opaque obelisk that is the government’s security apparatus.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers is expected to rule soon on whether or not Twitter should be allowed access to more information about how the government decided to classify the transparency report.Are executive women gaining power at the expense of their health? Or do their high earnings and advanced degrees protect them from unhealthy outcomes?
I surveyed 369 North American professional women, largely drawn from Fortune 500 companies, to get a fuller picture of their health. The women in my sample included a range of incomes and education levels from senior executives to entry-level analysts to executive assistants. As far as I know, it’s the first survey of its kind to look specifically at executive women’s health. My assumption was that most women would generally be healthy and have access to care, but I wondered if long hours, travel, and lack of consistent sleep would take an insidious toll. I analyzed the results using controls for variables like age, marital status, and ethnicity.
My research — which used several established self-reporting instruments, such as the California Women’s Health Survey and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire — found that for executive women, as incomes and education levels increase, several health indicators also increase. (This is in line with other findings, including CDC studies and the research of Sir Michael Marmot, who studied several populations around the world and demonstrated that health and education rise together.) For instance, in my study, the wealthier, more educated women were less likely to be overweight, more likely to get at least six hours of sleep a night, less likely to drink to excess, and less stressed. And 50% of the women in my study reported that their overall health was very good.
But I also found an interesting paradox: when I asked a broad question about their overall health, the more educated, wealthier women reported more days each month that they felt less healthy.
One reason might be that on several measures, even wealthy, educated women struggle to make time for their health. They work long hours — in fact, the more they earn, the more they work. More than 50% of respondents said they log over 50 hours a week in the office and take work home with them as well. The top 5% of earners put in the longest hours, with 50% of those earning over $250,000 working 70+ hours a week. (This puts them in a tiny minority of women: only 14% of American women without children work 50+ hours a week, and only 9% of mothers do, according to 2011 Census data.)
For these women, it’s hard to find time to see a doctor: in my study, 48% said they could not see a doctor due to workload.
Working so much also makes it hard to find time to exercise: 50% exercise two days or fewer per week, and 25% said they had not participated in any physical exercise within the past month.
Even though wealthier women were less likely to be overweight and more likely to get at least some exercise, 41% of all the women in my sample reported being overweight, and 25% said they wanted to lose more than 25 pounds.
Executive women also report high levels of stress: 30% said their change in weight was due to stress, and 26% said they had used medicine for anxiety or sleep problems in past year. In contrast, the National Institute of Medicine reports that only 18% of the general population is affected by anxiety disorders.
I also asked about alcohol use. The results here are slightly mixed. More-educated women were more likely to drink regularly than less-educated women, but less likely to drink to excess. Specifically, the more-educated women were almost twice as likely to say they’d had a drink within the past month, but the less-educated women reported drinking between 2.5 and 3 drinks per occasion of drinking, compared to only 1.5 drinks for more-educated women. Wealthier women were more likely to have had a drink in the past month than lower-income women, but there was no significant difference in the number of drinks they consumed in a sitting. The higher-income women, however, were much more likely to worry about their drinking: women earning a million dollars a year or more were almost four times more likely than women earning $20,000 to $50,000 to say they worried that they drank too much.
How can this be? How can women who report being healthier and less stressed on specific measures feel less healthy overall and worry more about their health?
My study doesn’t tell us, and there could be any number of reasons. For instance, perhaps wealthier, more educated women have higher standards for their health and judge themselves more harshly for falling short of the ideal. Perhaps they have been made more aware of the risks (from higher levels of education) of being sedentary, or of not getting enough sleep, or of drinking too much, and thus are more inclined to feel anxious about how those things affect their general health. Perhaps they have fewer other things to worry about — like how they’re going to pay their utility bills or student loans — and so have more mental energy to devote to health concerns. Perhaps those who choose to pursue more education are more likely have certain personality traits that lead them to be concerned about their health.
Other research has found that working long hours has many negative health effects. Perhaps my survey did not capture all of the ways executive women’s health is being affected by the unusually long hours they are working. More research is needed to tell us why women feel as they do and how the women’s concerns compare with men’s (something I am currently investigating).
But one thing seems clear: no matter how much we earn or how educated we are, lots of us are worried about our health. When I was at the World Economic Forum in Davos last year, I attended a small dinner at which IMF head Christine Lagarde talked about balancing life and work. It didn’t take long for the other powerful, accomplished women in the room to reveal daily lives remarkably similar to those of the hundreds of women who participated in my research. We were all working seven-days-a-week jobs. Some were managing the care of children and elderly parents even while several time zones or oceans away. With such demands on our time, it’s not surprising that so many women put our own well-being last — or that even those of us with lots of resources still have plenty of valid reasons to worry about our health.
Editor’s Note: Due to a labeling error, two charts in this piece were misleading. We have updated the piece with new charts.The Trump transition team has issued a list of 74 questions for the Energy Department, asking officials there to identify which department employees and contractors have worked on forging an international climate pact as well as domestic efforts to cut the nation's carbon output. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)
Donald Trump’s transition team has issued a list of 74 questions for the Energy Department, asking agency officials to identify which employees and contractors have worked on forging an international climate pact as well as domestic efforts to cut the nation’s carbon output.
The questionnaire requests a list of those individuals who have taken part in international climate talks over the past five years and “which programs within DOE are essential to meeting the goals of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.”
[Pruitt, Trump’s EPA pick, has both sides of climate divide girding for a major fight]
Trump and his team have vowed to dismantle specific aspects of Obama’s climate policies, and Trump has questioned the reality of climate change. The questionnaire, which one Energy Department official described as unusually “intrusive” and a matter for departmental lawyers, has raised concern that the Trump transition team is trying to figure out how to target the people, including civil servants, who have helped implement policies under Obama.
Thousands of scientists have signed petitions calling on the president-elect and his team to respect scientific integrity and refrain from singling out individual researchers whose work might conflict with the new administration’s policy goals. This potential clash could prompt a major schism within the federal government, with many career officials waging a battle against incoming political appointees.
While there have been many instances of political appointees and career scientists clashing in various administrations, what is novel is the request for the names of so many individual scientists, and the fact that it comes during the transition period, before the Trump administration has even taken power. This may be a signal of even more intense politicization after the inauguration.
Yale University environmental historian Paul Sabin said in an interview that previous administrations have worked to install like-minded energy and environmental experts in key agencies, often at the expense of employees from previous administrations.
“But what seems unusual is singling people out for a very specific substantive issue, and treating their work on that substantive issue as, by default, contaminating or disqualifying,” Sabin said, adding that officials can now track a civil servant’s past activities “in such a systematic way.”
During Ronald Reagan’s time, when his political appointees sparred with officials at the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, Sabin noted, “it would have been so much harder to collect it on paper and track it down.”
Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment. White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz told reporters that he could not speak to the questionnaire directly, saying, “If you have questions about activity that the president-elect’s team is doing, you should check in with them and try and figure out why they’re doing it.”
But Schultz added: “All I can tell you is that President Obama is enormously proud of the work of civil servants and federal workers across the administration, that over the past eight years they’ve worked to make this country stronger. And they don’t do so out a sense of great pay or because the hours are great. They do so out of a sense of patriotism. And the president’s proud of their record.”
The questionnaire was first reported by Bloomberg News. The Washington Post has obtained its own copies of both the initial document and one with some of the agency’s replies filled in, in addition to confirmation from other people in the department that the documents are legitimate.
Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), a physicist, warned that the questionnaire “threatens to undo decades of progress we have made on climate change,” and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said punishing civil servants for their work under previous administrations “would be tantamount to an illegal modern-day political witch hunt and would have a profoundly chilling impact on our dedicated federal workforce.”
The document spanned a broad area of Energy Department activities, including its loan program, technology research program, responses to Congress, estimates of offshore wind and cleanup of uranium at a site once used by the military for weapons research. In many cases, the inquiries meshed with the priorities of conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation, which held a meeting on energy and environment issues in Washington on Thursday, as well as priorities outlined in a recent fundraising pitch sent by the American Energy Alliance (AEA), a wing of the Institute for Energy Research.
Thomas Pyle, who heads the AEA, leads Trump’s Energy Department transition team. In a recent fundraising pitch, Pyle wrote supporters: “After eight years of the Obama administration’s divisive energy and environmental policies, the American people have voted for a change — a big change. We expect the Trump administration will adopt pro-energy and pro-market policies — much different than the Obama administration’s top-down government approach.”
One question zeroed in on the issue of the “social cost of carbon,” a way of calculating the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions. The transition team asked for a list of department employees or contractors who attended interagency meetings, the dates of the meetings, and emails and other materials associated with them.
The social cost of carbon is a metric that calculates the cost to society of emitting a ton of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The Obama administration has used this tool to try to calculate the benefits of regulations and initiatives that lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
At Thursday’s Heritage meeting, senior fellow David Kreutzer attacked the idea of using the social cost of carbon during the regulatory process. He said it “actually can be considered a fiction, the way it’s produced in the [Environmental Protection Agency] right now,” adding that it “is supposedly a measure of the damage done to the world economy for each ton of carbon emitted in a given year.” Kreutzer is a member of Trump’s EPA transition team; Trump recently named Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who is suing the EPA over its environmental regulations, to head the EPA.
[The staggering economic cost of air pollution]
Another question appeared to delve deeply into the mechanisms behind scientific tools called “integrated assessment models,” which scientists use to forecast future changes to the climate and energy system. It also asked what the Energy Department considers to be “the proper equilibrium climate sensitivity,” which is a way climate researchers calculate how much the planet will eventually warm, depending on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
“My guess is that they’re trying to undermine the credibility of the science that DOE has produced, particularly in the field of climate science,” said Rob Jackson, a Stanford climate and energy researcher, in response to the question about the integrated assessment models.
The questionnaire also appeared to take aim at the national laboratories, which operate with a high degree of independence but are part of the Energy Department. The questionnaire asked for a list of the top 20 salaried employees of the labs, the labs’ peer-reviewed publications over the past three years, a list of their professional society memberships, affiliations, and the websites they maintain or contribute to “during work hours.” Researchers at national labs focus on a range of issues, including renewable-energy development and climate analysis.
Career Energy officials who are the designated liaisons to the Trump transition team are allowed to disclose only publicly available information, unless it is in the context of a classified briefing to transition team members who have obtained security clearance through the White House. A response to the question about the top 20 salaried employees read: “DOE does not collect this information. This would require a call to the Labs, and the information is not available publicly.” The department gave a similar to reply to questions about professional society memberships, websites they maintain or contribute to, and paid and unpaid positions.
The transition team questionnaire also asked how to keep open aging nuclear power plants, restart the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site shelved by Obama and support the licensing of small modular reactors.
It included 15 questions for the Energy Information Administration, some of them routine but some questioning the way the agency uses data about energy production.
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conked out. With a few dozen other people coming into the room through the night and clambering into their own capsules, it made for a less-than-stellar night's rest.
Really, a capsule hotel seems just like a youth hostel, but with a tad bit more privacy. Rather than open bunk beds in a common room, you get a little enclosed pod in a common room. The sauna and shared baths were clean and refreshing, but the heavy smoking in many common areas was less so.
All in all, I'd say a capsule hotel is worth a visit just to say you've done it. But don't expect a restful night. And depending on your size, you might emerge feeling like a giant.An offseason full of storylines comes to an end Sunday night.
The Falcons play the New England Patriots, a rematch of the epic Super Bowl LI, and finally Atlanta can cease answering questions about their 28-3 lead disappearing as the nation watched in awe. This will be, at least, closure.
Except that's not how owner Arthur Blank sees it.
"No, no closure," Blank told NFL.com this week, prior to exiting the NFL Fall Meetings in New York. "There's nothing open. I mean, if there's nothing open, there's nothing to close."
Blank's philosophy mirrors that of his team. Under coach Dan Quinn's tutelage, the Falcons addressed the memorable loss, discussing it openly this spring whenever it came up. They fully processed it. By training camp, they were done. It was over, they were on to the new year.
The painful memories won't fade, but their focus quickly shifted toward the 2017 goals.
"Last year is finished," Blank continued. "I'd say the franchise had a wonderful year, I mean that truly. Both on and off the field. We finished our stadium, the team had a wonderful year, competed at the highest level. It didn't end the way we wanted to, we certainly didn't conclude the way we wanted to. But we've learned from it, grown from it, I think we're better for it."
Yet this week, no doubt the flashbacks will come. They'll look across the field and see the same Patriots as they saw in February. Different season, yes. The Patriots don't look quite as invincible, while the Falcons have lost two straight after a fast start.
Blank joked that he looks forward to every game. But it's clear this takes on a different feel.
"Whenever you play the Super Bowl champs, whether you played in the game or not, you want to have success," Blank said. "You play the champions in any sport... you watch a golf tournament, when number one in the world is leading, they all want to win the tournament and beat number one. So, New England is No. 1 and obviously we'd like to go out there and have a successful result."
As for the Patriots, tight end Rob Gronkowski said they were given "highly strict rules" not to discuss their February win. No worries, there. The Falcons simply have other things to worry about than rekindling the hype of the rematch.
"I don't think it's an issue, I really don't," Blank said. "Not for the staff, the coach, for the players. They are onto this year. You have this 24-hour rule. You don't have a grace period from one year to the next because you lost the Super Bowl. It doesn't work that way. You don't get six days off when you lose a game to end your season. We're beyond that. Right now, we've lost the last two games at home -- which is not good. We're on the road for three games. We got enough to focus on."The good news: If you’re the parent of a college-bound student, it could be cheaper to send your young person to an Ivy League school than to your friendly neighborhood public institution, a potential bargain for families struggling to pay for tuition, room, and board.
The bad news: That down-is-up scenario, where a public education might cost more than a private one, is yet another sign that college costs are out of control. It’s forcing underfunded land-grant universities to hustle, pushing themselves to compete with their affluent, privately endowed peers. Throughout September and October, the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities is running a Public University Values campaign, which seeks to spotlight the value of public higher education institutions.
RELATED: Say Good-bye to the Four-Year College Degree
State disinvestment and federal neglect “have led us to a situation in which public colleges are no longer affordable for working- and middle-class students,” said Mark Huelsman, a senior policy analyst specializing in college affordability at Demos, a New York–based think tank. Public colleges, he said, “are often public in name only, because states have allowed funding to deteriorate over a 30-year period.”
For kids from low-income families, the inability of public colleges to match private ones when it comes to affordability is the latest indicator that a postsecondary education is slipping further out of reach—even as a college degree has become a prerequisite for a good job and a decent living.
A fact sheet on the Public University Values campaign website cites College Board data that “in-state tuition and fees at public four-year universities averaged $9,410 during the 2015–16 school year, compared with $32,410 at four-year, private nonprofit universities.” With financial aid, in-state students at public four-year institutions on average “paid just $3,980 in tuition and fees during the 2015–16 academic year, compared with $14,890 at four-year, private nonprofit universities.”
RELATED: That College Psych Degree Will Earn You Barely More than a High School Diploma
“It’s really highlighting the fact that it is net [college] price that matters, not bigger price,” and navigating the system of financial aid has become more difficult, said Dewayne Matthews, an education specialist at the Lumina Foundation. “That’s a hard message to get across to people. Most of the message [of college affordability] is so tied to tuition prices and sticker price.”
At the same time, Harvard University’s website states, “Ninety percent of American families would pay the same or less to send their children to Harvard as they would a state school.” One analysis of college costs by the Bay Area News Group in 2012 found that a family of four making $130,000 a year would pay $24,000 a year to send a son or daughter to college in the California State University system—or $19,500 to the University of California, Berkeley. Because Harvard is private and wealthy, it can offer a more robust financial-aid package than can either the Cal State or University of California system, which depend on government funding. As a result, the same student from the same family could attend Harvard for $17,000.
Stefani Relles, who studies college access and affordability at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said getting to attend Harvard at more than half off tuition seems like a great deal—unless it’s a bad fit, and the student ends up dropping out. “At the wrong private school, the financial-aid package that may be financially more but doesn’t yield a degree might not be a bargain,” she said.
At the same time, said Demos’ Huelsman, “some private colleges offer generous financial-aid packages and can provide an attractive option for students, but many of those institutions are not accessible to low-income students or students of color.” Those students might come from schools that prepared them for an elite college, or they might not have the know-how to get the cut-rate tuition, particularly if their family hasn’t sent anyone to college.
Private colleges offering tuition at public-school prices “admit very few working-class students,” Huelsman said; Lumina’s Matthews said colleges usually reserve reduced tuition for students who make their admissions data look good, such as athletes or out-of-state applicants.
Huelsman said the ability of public schools to get an edge on private schools when it comes to tuition means the nation needs to reinvest in public colleges.
RELATED: Nobody Wins When Colleges Hire Too Many Part-Time Professors
“What we need is a recommitment to make the colleges that serve the vast majority of students more affordable, better funded,” he said. “We should reward those private institutions that serve and graduate high numbers of low-income students and students of color—particularly those that don’t have a lot of endowment wealth to draw upon.”
Matthews also said students and families need a new system to make college costs more obvious and accessible, a proposal President Barack Obama has said should be a national priority.
“We need to have much greater transparency over costs. People really should know what it actually costs to go to college,” Matthews said. “We should do a much better job of making that information available” to help people make better decisions.
“The second thing is, more of the aid that does support students should be allocated on the basis of need rather than so-called merit,” Matthews said. “Who could be opposed to merit—merit’s a good thing. But [we] assume scholarships for academically gifted students, and that’s not necessarily the case.”
Ultimately, he said, the college industry must acknowledge “an inconvenient truth to all of this: College costs too much. You’ve got to lower it. We need to find ways to drive down the cost of higher education.”Tutorial: IntelliJ IDEA Plugin Development—Getting Started and the StartupActivity
Posted on 01/07/2015 by Thomas Kinnen
In this blog post I will show you how to start with IntelliJ IDEA plugin development. Since there is not a lot of documentation about plugin development for IntelliJ IDEA, I’ll be explaining how to create a simple plugin and execute code after a project was opened using the StartupActivity class.
I am currently developing an IntelliJ IDEA plugin for our analysis software Teamscale (similar to our Microsoft Visual Studio extension). In this post, I want to share some knowledge that I’ve learned when creating the plugin. After opening a project the plugin needs to initialize a connection to the Teamscale server. Therefore I needed to find out how to easily execute some code after a project was opened with the plugin enabled.
Preparations
Before we can start with the development, you’ll need a working IntelliJ IDEA installation. Download either IntelliJ IDEA Community or Ultimate Edition and install it.
Getting Started
First, let’s create a new plugin project. To create one use File -> New Project… and select IntelliJ Platform Plugin. Now at the top, create a new Project SDK (if you’ve never used IntelliJ IDEA, first configure the Java JDK as prompted). As Project SDK folder, select the IntelliJ IDEA installation folder. Now continue to create the project.
After the project has been created, you should be greeted by an open plugin.xml file. It contains all necessary meta information about the plugin and is the place were actions and contributions to the UI will be registered. Insert the plugin’s name under the <name> tag and assign it a unique ID using the <id> tag:
<id>com.teamscale.ide.intellij</id> <name>Teamscale IDE Plugin</name> <version>1.0</version> <vendor url="http://www.cqse.eu">CQSE GmbH</vendor>
Running Code After Loading a Project
Now that we’ve prepared our plugin, let’s see how we can run some code after opening a project. To do that, we need to create a new class that implements StartupActivity and register it in the plugin.xml.
Creating the StartupActivtiy
First let’s create a new class implementing the StartupActivity interface:
package com.teamscale.intellij ; import com.intellij.openapi.project.Project ; import com.intellij.openapi.startup.StartupActivity ; public class SampleStartupActivity implements StartupActivity { @Override public void runActivity(Project project) { System.out.println( " Hello World! Loaded project: " + project.getName()); } }
Classes implementing the StartupActivity interface can be registered with IntelliJ IDEA to run the code in the runActivity(Project project) method.
Registering the StartupActivity
To register the SampleStartupActivity in the plugin.xml under the <extensions> tag, add the following to the <extensions> tag:
<extensions defaultExtensions="com.intellij"> <postStartupActivity implementation="com.teamscale.intellij.SampleStartupActivity"></postStartupActivity> </extensions>
Running the Plugin
Now it’s time to run the plugin and see if the SampleStartupActivity works as it is supposed to. To start the plugin, press the start button at the top right of IntelliJ IDEA:
Now a second IntelliJ IDEA instance should start. If you switch back to the main instance after the project in the new instance has finished opening and take a look at the console you should see the text printed to the console:
That’s it for this tutorial. I hope I could help you getting started with IntelliJ IDEA plugin development and am looking forward to presenting our Teamscale IntelliJ IDEA plugin as soon as it is finished.
Do you have any remarks, questions or advice on how to improve the tutorial? Make sure to let me know in the comments below!Looking for news you can trust?
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On December 30, 2012, as part of a series called Drugged, the National Geographic Channel aired an hourlong documentary about a 28-year-old named Ryan Rogers. It appeared to be a classic tale of a drunk trying against the odds to sober up, albeit with especially harrowing footage and an unusually charismatic protagonist, often shown with a radiant smile on his handsome face. In one scene, Ryan, in the midst of another day of drinking vodka straight out of the bottle, vomits into the trash can next to his armchair as his distraught grandfather looks on. In another, he roils around the passenger seat while badgering the elderly man to drive him to the liquor store.
“I apologize, you guys,” Ryan says to the camera crew in the backseat. Without a drink, “I can’t even focus or think or even understand anything.”
These scenes of craving and self-ruin unfold along the idyllic shores of Ryan’s home near Lake Tahoe, with a cheerful, late-spring alpine light dancing in the pines. During the rare moments of relative calm, Ryan’s warmth and a loving, if fraught, relationship with his family reveal someone who might have a shot at kicking addiction.
This episode of Drugged focused on the medical consequences of alcoholism, so the British production company, Pioneer Productions, followed Ryan until he entered a recovery program, which the company arranged in exchange for his willingness to lay bare his inner turmoil. Ryan’s first stop was a Texas medical clinic, where he underwent a comprehensive evaluation. After palpating his pancreas and liver, the doctor told Ryan that parts of his body were “screaming and dying” as a result of all the alcohol. The hip he broke when he fell off his bike, drunk, while pedaling to the liquor store never healed, leaving him with a rolling limp and in constant pain. At one point Ryan had permission from a psychiatrist to alleviate his withdrawal with some vodka, which he knocked back with an orange soda chaser in the men’s room. Then came the pivotal moment, a staple of addiction reality shows: the interview when the psychiatrist asked if he was willing to go into rehab.
Ryan said he was terrified, but vowed, “I want to amaze people, to let them know: I was gone, but here I am.”
The next day, Ryan arrived at Bay Recovery, a luxurious San Diego center where treatment ran about $1,800 a day. In a baggy white T-shirt, sagging jeans, and a blue bandanna, he carried his navy-blue duffel bag from a taxi to the front door of his new residence, one of several Bay Recovery houses in a neighborhood overlooking Mission Bay and SeaWorld. His room was in a tree-shaded four-bedroom house, set back from the road.
Ryan looked at the ocean and the verdant lawn. “I might not want to leave,” he said. The frame froze on his smiling face.
“Ryan took a courageous step,” the narrator intoned. “But 17 days into rehab, he died. He was only 28 years old.”
But things weren’t quite that simple. A look at the government records surrounding Ryan’s case—and the rest of the poorly regulated rehab industry—suggests that it might not have been just the drinking that killed him: It was the treatment, as well.
The documentary touched a chord with viewers. “I’m sitting here just fucking devastated,” one wrote on Reddit after the film was posted on the site. “Good God, that was absolutely crushing,” another wrote. “I was rooting so hard for him.”
Ryan’s story is a very specific tale of addiction and loss. But it’s also a case study of the fragmented, expensive, and poorly regulated rehab system. Desperate families struggle to find affordable treatment. Those who do all too often discover facilities subject to minimal standards, with regulators who do little to track what happens to patients or to assure that programs are following evidence-based best practices.
At the time of Ryan’s death, California’s medical board had opened the latest of four cases against Bay Recovery’s executive director, Dr. Jerry Rand. Among the concerns that they cited was the death of another patient several years before. And yet the center had been allowed to stay in business, leaving Rand responsible for Ryan and scores of other vulnerable addicts.
Of America’s estimated 18.7 million alcoholics, only 1.7 million—8.8 percent—are treated in specialized facilities, according to a 2012 report by Columbia’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. That five-year study reviewed more than 7,000 publications, analyzed five national datasets, conducted focus groups and surveys of addicts and treatment professionals, and investigated how rehab centers are licensed. Its conclusion: “Despite the prevalence of these conditions, the enormity of the consequences that result from them, and the availability of effective solutions, screening and early intervention for risky substance use is rare, and the vast majority of people in need of treatment do not receive anything that approximates evidence-based care.” Nine out of 10 people with alcohol or drug addiction, it said, get no treatment at all.
A major study of the rehab industry found that in many states, clinics are barely regulated and offer “unproven therapies” at “astronomical prices.”
Compounding the problem is the fact that treatment is often not covered by insurance, but paid out of pocket by addicts and families. Traditionally, private insurance has covered 54 percent of Americans’ health care costs, but only 15 percent of alcohol addiction treatment. Obamacare—which requires many government-subsidized health plans to cover treatment—stands to improve matters, but quality of care remains a serious problem. While residential treatment programs must be licensed at the state level, standards vary widely. “For no other health condition are such exemptions from routine governmental oversight considered acceptable practice,” the Columbia report concluded.
A great deal of research supports modern evidence-based approaches to addiction, often involving medically supervised withdrawal, medication to help with withdrawal symptoms, support groups, and cognitive behavioral therapy. But because there are no national standards, the Columbia study notes, “patients face a patchwork of treatment programs with vastly different approaches; many offer unproven therapies and little medical supervision,” even at centers pushing “posh residential treatment at astronomical prices.”
Part of the problem is that alcohol and drug abuse have been seen less as medical conditions than moral failings requiring self-discipline, according to Scott Walters, a University of North Texas psychologist who has studied addiction treatment. The model popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous, though effective in many cases, is not based on modern science or medical research. One result are clinics staffed by “counselors” who in many states are required to have only minimal training in responding to the serious medical problems that addicts like Ryan often face.
“There’s really no quality control,” Dr. Mark Willenbring, a former director of treatment and recovery research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told me. “The consumer is hard-pressed to know what’s what.”
Ryan’s mother, Genene Thomas, and his father, Tim, met when she was 16, he was 18, and they were both working at restaurants in the casinos that line the southern shore of Lake Tahoe. When she was 20, they married, and went on to have four sons.
Now 51, long divorced and remarried, Genene welcomed me into the living room of her cozy ranch house, filled with Western memorabilia and sepia-toned photos of her family wearing cowboy outfits. Genene has a tendency to smile when other people might cry. Some viewers of the documentary said she came across as cold, but she confesses that she just shuts down when confronted with overwhelming emotions. Since Ryan’s death, she’s filled stacks of notebooks with thoughts about her son.
When Ryan was growing up, the family moved a dozen times, across the country: Tahoe to New Jersey, back to California, Colorado, and even Hawaii. “Everyone would ask if we were in the military,” she said. “But Tim was just restless.”
He was also dangerously unpredictable and seriously mentally ill: Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, he drank and heard voices. Some days he organized scavenger hunts for his kids; others, he’d smack them around. Once Tim hit Genene for refusing to give him the bullets he wanted to use to commit suicide. When Ryan was 10, Genene had had enough and took the children to live in a safe house. After about two years of moving around, she took the boys to Las Vegas, where her parents lived.
Ryan grew into a cheerful teen, so skilled on a skateboard that a local dealership offered to sponsor him. Like many kids in his high school, he drank and experimented with marijuana. He even dabbled with meth, but it didn’t seem out of control. When he was 19, his paternal grandparents asked if he wanted to live with them to help care for his grandmother, who’d always doted on him.
There, in South Lake Tahoe, Ryan met Shaleen Miller, an outspoken 28-year-old single mother with a Bettie Page vibe. Her interests ranged from the British occultist Aleister Crowley to ribald jokes, and it was love at first sight. “There was just something about Ryan,” she said. “Anyone who met him loved him. He had this light to him I’d never seen before.” Shaleen’s two daughters adored him, and they would make up stories together. Soon Shaleen and Ryan were engaged.
But when Ryan’s grandmother passed away, he began drinking more heavily. A year and a half later, in 2008, his father—who had sobered up and reengaged in the lives of his sons—died of a blood clot at age 47. Ryan helped his grandfather clear out Tim’s room in a Carson City hotel and soon spiraled further out of control. These two deaths marked a turning point in Ryan’s life. Genene grasped the scope of the problem when she found him unconscious on his filthy bed, surrounded by more than 50 empty vodka bottles of all shapes and sizes. She couldn’t wake him up.
In 2009, Ryan secured a free charity bed at a 30-day treatment program in South Lake Tahoe. He liked it, but once he returned to his familiar surroundings, he started drinking again. (The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that 90 percent of alcoholics will experience at least one relapse during their first four years of sobriety.) Over the following two years, he was hospitalized several times for alcohol poisoning, including a stint lasting more than a month in intensive care.
In an attempt to jolt Ryan from his addiction, Shaleen broke off their engagement, but she remained determined to try to save him from himself. The average wait for subsidized treatment was six months, she and Genene were told, and Ryan would have to call every morning until a spot opened up. This was what he had done to get into the South Lake Tahoe program, but now he was too far gone to pick up the phone.
Desperate, Genene talked to a police officer she knew, and learned that her best shot might be to get Ryan arrested to force him into treatment. It was reasonably well-founded advice: The 2012 Columbia report found that 44 percent of addicts in publicly funded treatment programs are referred by the criminal-justice system, but only 6 percent come in via health care providers. When Genene heard that Ryan had tried heroin, she called the police. But his grandfather bailed him out, and the case stalled.
Then Shaleen stumbled upon a Craigslist ad from Pioneer Productions, a London television production company that was looking for severe alcoholics willing to be filmed in return for free treatment. Shaleen wrote an email and got a call the next day.
Pioneer declined to answer questions about the case, but Ryan’s family says the crew told them that they chose Bay Recovery because the clinic treated chronic pain as well as addiction, making it a good fit for Ryan’s twin struggles with alcoholism and his damaged hip. The clinic’s website boasted of its association with reality television producers like Lifetime and A&E and of the “unequaled” care provided by its medical director, Jerry Rand. Genene never found out who covered the cost of Ryan’s treatment.
Shaleen and one of the Pioneer crew dropped Ryan off in San Diego. “I just lost it,” she told me. For two years, she’d been emotionally preparing for him to die. Now, she allowed herself to take heart.
“Hope can be a bastard,” she said.
Even as Ryan arrived at Bay Recovery, Rand was fighting for his professional life. In 1988, when he was a general practitioner in Huntington Beach, the Orange County Superior Court had temporarily ordered him to stop practicing. The case came about after a woman whose daughter he was treating for a possible ear infection bolted out of Rand’s office and told a state medical board investigator—who happened to be sitting in the waiting room—that Rand was so impaired that his speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot, and he couldn’t even stand up straight. Though Rand sought treatment for his addiction to the pain pills he’d been prescribed after a back injury, the state medical board moved ahead and put his license on probation for seven years. By 1990, he had found work at a recovery center, and in 1992, he launched his own. By 2002, he was an associate director at Bay Recovery.
In 2003, Rand was barred from practicing for 60 days and put on seven years’ probation for what the medical board deemed gross negligence and incompetent treatment of a homeless patient. The board’s report does not detail what ended up happening to the patient, but in 2009—the same year Rand became Bay Recovery’s executive director—the medical board moved to revoke his license entirely. This time, the accusations included gross negligence in treating a 29-year-old woman who drowned in the bathtub at Bay Recovery. Rand had engaged in “extreme polypharmacy,” the board alleged, prescribing drugs to multiple patients with little regard for their interactions. Bay Recovery’s operations were unaffected. The California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (DADP) investigated the drowning and ordered immediate steps to secure medications, but it did not issue any citations for 16 months.
What transpired at Bay Recovery is one example of why the rehab regulatory system is so often described as fragmented. DADP was responsible for licensing the facility, but it’s unclear whether it knew about Rand’s earlier probations. And while the medical board had charged that Rand was admitting patients who were too medically and psychologically unstable to be treated at his facility, DADP never addressed this issue while Ryan was alive.
In 2012, as a nonpartisan investigator for the California Senate, I wrote a report that exposed problems in drug and alcohol treatment facilities, including deaths that occurred when programs failed to monitor medically fragile clients or accepted addicts too sick to be in a nonmedical setting. My report found that DADP failed to pursue evidence of violations after deaths, and took as long as a year and a half to investigate the serious charges. At the time of Ryan’s death, I had been asking the agency for several months why it was allowing Bay Recovery to continue treating clients. I also interviewed Rand about Bay Recovery’s troubles for my report, but he was dismissive. The woman who died had hoarded drugs, he said, and had previously overdosed. He refused to talk about Ryan’s death. I was not able to reach him for this story.
Ryan did not have a cellphone with him, but he borrowed other residents’ phones to update Shaleen. He told her that detox—the first 72 hours without a drink—was not as bad as he had feared. He said he was “eating like a pig,” putting on weight, and could not remember when he’d felt so well. He joked that he was having a tough time sitting in a hot tub overlooking the ocean. And he was making friends with staff and fellow patients. “Everybody loved him,” Kanika Swafford, a residential technician at Bay Recovery, told me. “He never felt sorry for himself. He never blamed anyone for the choices he made.”
On May 30, 10 days after Ryan arrived, Rand started him on buprenorphine, or “bupe,” which is often used to treat opiate addicts and may also help those who suffer from chronic pain. But it is not for everyone, and it came on top of a whole cocktail of other medications.
The day after starting on bupe, Ryan began to feel sick, according to a later report by the San Diego medical examiner, and in the following days he rapidly deteriorated. Sweaty and disoriented, he now could not hold a conversation. He urinated on the floor and tried to set things on fire. He grabbed at objects that were out of reach and tried to light a nonexistent cigarette. He told a staff member, “Thank you for the sandwiches; my ride is here.” One resident filed a complaint to Bay Recovery’s management, stating that Ryan was “hallucinating, talking to himself, stumbling about and almost falling down the stairs” and had turned a “gray-white color.” A residential technician told a counselor and one of the managers that Ryan needed medical attention.
The evening of June 5, a 20-year-old medical assistant named Giselle Jones heard banging from Ryan’s bedroom and found him on the floor of his closet, digging frantically through his things. She and a resident named Robert tried to put him back in bed, but he kept falling out, getting so agitated that he tried to crawl out a window. Jones tried to reach Rand and his brother Mitch, who was a manager of Bay Recovery, several times.
When Rand finally responded to the call, he prescribed more Ativan, an anti-anxiety medication, and Risperdal, an antipsychotic. Jones hesitated. The charts noted he’d already had two prior doses of both drugs earlier that evening. Was Rand certain she should give Ryan more? Even after he said yes, she called her manager, who told her to follow the doctor’s orders. She did, and 20 minutes later Ryan became listless. Jones tried to get him into bed, but every time she managed to move him, he collapsed. She watched as Ryan’s breathing became more labored. His pulse stopped for five minutes. Jones tried to reach Rand again, but there was no answer. Then she called her manager. Finally, at 3 a.m., she called 911. Robert, the other patient, performed CPR on Ryan. They waited for an ambulance.
At 3:40 a.m., Ryan was pronounced dead.
Later that morning, Shaleen tried to text Ryan via one of the other residents’ phones and eventually she got a response: “I’ll have the director call you back.” She left more messages, one more urgent than the next. She finally got a call back. “I could get in trouble if they knew I had contacted you,” the person said. “But we all loved Ryan so much.”
“I heard ‘loved’ and I just collapsed,” Shaleen said. She dropped the phone. Soon after, a police officer, whom authorities in San Diego had asked to contact the family, appeared at Genene’s door.
The San Diego medical examiner found that Ryan had died of acute respiratory distress syndrome, in which damage to the lungs prevents oxygen from reaching the blood. The deterioration apparently began around the time Rand started him on bupe, which—along with some of the other medications he’d prescribed Ryan—can depress breathing. While the evidence was not conclusive, “the suggestion is somehow that the treatment played a role in the development of the condition,” Dr. Jonathan Lucas, who certified the cause of death, told me.
Twenty days after Ryan’s death, officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the medical board, and the state licensing agency raided Bay Recovery and Rand’s home. They had already found that Rand had had employees illegally call in prescriptions for him under the name of another doctor. The state suspended Bay Recovery’s licenses in July 2012.
On September 6, 2012, the California medical board ordered Rand to surrender his medical license and “lose all rights and privileges as a Physician and Surgeon in California.” Police investigated Ryan’s death, and while no charges were filed against Rand, the state did find Bay Recovery “deficient” for failing to get Ryan to a hospital. Residents told state investigators that Rand excessively prescribed drugs with little regard for their interactions. One patient said he hadn’t been on any medications when he arrived, but now was taking at least 10. The state finally revoked Bay Recovery’s licenses and closed the facility in late 2012.
Pioneer Productions sent flowers and paid to have Ryan’s body cremated. It also gave Genene $1,020—money it had raised to help pay for Ryan to get his hip replaced. Pioneer wanted to arrange a memorial service, and a few weeks later family and friends gathered at Monitor Pass, an open slope south of Lake Tahoe with a dizzying view of Nevada’s basins and ranges, to scatter Ryan’s ashes. The crew filmed one last scene.
About a month after the memorial service, Pioneer told Genene that the company was sending someone from London to show her the film. A lawyer appeared a few days later and left Genene alone to watch the documentary on his laptop. She did—twice. The lawyer returned with a form for her to sign that stated she had seen the film and wanted it to run. Genene, feeling strong-armed so soon after losing her son, refused, but when the lawyer called from London a few days later to say that Pioneer had decided not to air the film on the National Geographic Channel, she was heartbroken. Genene and Ryan’s other relatives and friends saw the documentary as his legacy.
Eventually, things were resolved and Ryan’s documentary aired. Many viewers responded, expressing grief as well as concern. “I find this very strange, folks,” one posted online comment said. “The danger zone for any addict is the first 5 days at most. 17 days in he should have been feeling great and refreshed…I don’t think this documentary is telling the honest truth about what really happened to poor Ryan.”
To this day, Shaleen still gets Facebook messages from all over the world, and the shared grief has helped her cope. “That’s just an amazing thing to be able to hold on to,” she said. “Knowing his story made it out there. It gave some kind of purpose to it.”
But Genene continues to write in her notebooks the questions that plague her. Did Pioneer really want to help Ryan, or was it just about ratings? How could the state have allowed Bay Recovery to stay open after the death in the bathtub and the medical board’s case against Rand? Someone was bound to die there, she believes: “If it wasn’t Ryan, it would have been somebody else. And my son had to pay the ultimate price for trying to do the right thing.”Twelve South unveils gorgeous HiRise charging stand for Lightning iOS devices
Top quality equipment manufacturer 12 Southern has declared a new asking for take a position created from steel and suitable with Apple’s iOS gadgets equipped with Super I/O, such as the iPad small, iPhone 5, fifth-generation iPod touch and the newest iPod new ipod nano.
The pc take a position protects your system in place while offering an flexible position for a nice visible coordinate with your iMac, MacBook or Thunderbolt Show. Oh, and it’s created from applied steel to supplement your other Apple gadgets completely. Leap past the flip for the full expose and stunning employs shots…
Voice calling, Skype and even songs sound magnificent because, compared with other docks, HiRise does not prevent or intervene with the downward-firing sound system at all. While working at your table, HiRise keeps preferred applications front-and-center, showing news, climate and sports signals as they happen. HiRise suits in great in the office and anywhere else you recreation area your iPhone, like a bedroom table or reverse top.
The iPad mini + the HiRise stand = winning combo (especially when paired with an Apple Wireless Keyboard).
The steel stand recreational areas and raises your system for FaceTime/Skype video conversations, hands-free calling, pc asking for, watching applications and loading songs without preventing iPhone’s sound system, mic or earphone slot. You can modify the product forward and back when docked in order to provide the different thicknesses of various situations and seashells.
Speaking of situations, the HiRise is suitable “with most cases”, thanks to an flexible publish, such as those with recessed relationships. The take a position comes with three different flexible segments and roles the Super plug at a brought up size to easily link and charge your system.
It’s the ultimate stand and I want to put it on my kitchen counter!
Click Here To Get Your iPhone Unlocked Now – For Most Worldwide NetworksThe naïve view of NHL referees is that they’re straight arrow, by-the-book automatons who carry no biases nor harbor retribution against those that embarrass them.
This is, of course, idealistic nonsense. We’ve read how players are called out for diving by the League and we’ve read how NHL officials have hit lists for players.
So it stands to reason that if you’re a diver, you won’t get the benefit of the doubt. And it stands to reason that if you’re a whiner – complaining about calls you’re not receiving, questioning the integrity of the officials – they’ll do you no favors, either.
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Which brings us to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Pensblog found a clip of Bill Guerin, the team’s assistant general manager and former player, on Sportsnet’s Hockey Central (co-hosted by a lovely man named Jeff). During the interview, Doug MacLean – who interviewed for the Penguins head-coaching job, and likely offered this assessment to GM Jim Rutherford – told Guerin he believes the Pens whine too much to the officials:
Doug MacLean: Your team whines quite a bit. Do you ever say what’s going on with our group? It’s hurt you at times in key situations, and I think it’s hurt you at playoff time.
Bill Guerin: Yeah, I think it’s definitely an area that we’ve |
tell, some advice or anecdote that gave character to each member of the previously indistinguishable force.
He turned to Susan, saying “I see my own kid there. Look, there’s Ms. Honeywell’s kindergarten class. Tommy’s right there.” as he pointed them out in the crowd. They held their permission slips for the field trip like riot shields. “What are we even doing here?” he asked.
“We’re here in case this turns violent and the crowd starts looting.”
These people aren’t looters. They’re just angry that a company would sell poison. I can’t imagine my son’s kindergarten class boosting TVs or burning down shops.”
She patted his arm reassuringly. “Everyone’s first time on the beat is hard. Yours is just a bit more personal.”
“There are people that I know out there…. And you expect me to ignore that? You want me to “disperse” those kids? He replied.
Ignoring him, Susan spoke calmly into the loudspeaker. “Please evacuate the area. There have been violent incidents involving Molotov cocktails during the protest. To keep the peace, we ask you to leave in an orderly fashion. If you do not comply, forceful measures will be used.” The loudspeaker’s blare was subsumed by the din of the crowd. The few who heard her ignored it. They had come with pickets and guitars and the moral high ground. They had come bearing their First Amendment rights as concerned parents, teachers, people he had invited over to dinner parties and people he would have exchanged small talk with while waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store. Susan fired off two tear gas canisters as serenely as a checkout clerk would scan your items. The thwps of the canisters being fired reminded him of a pneumatic mail chute as plumes of white gas, so concentrated and thick it seemed to be solid, formed great white clouds from which Jeff and the riot police emerged and began marching toward the crowd. He saw mothers cowering and children crying, unable to find each other in the fog of tear gas.
The next day, he walked into the chief’s office and announced his resignation. “I signed up to protect people, not to bully them.”
The chief thought to himself, flicking one of those executive ball toys as he mused on a response. “Everyone’s first time is hard on them. Click-clack. They’re not used to how ugly it can be on the streets. Now maybe this isn’t the right place for you, maybe you can’t handle the stress on the beat. Click-clack. Take a few days and think about whether you can overcome this.”
“I appreciate your concern, but it’s not nerves, Chief. Click-clack. Those people didn’t attack. It was just some hooligans looking for kicks that did it – and we were going to arrest them all?”
“Quit grandstanding, Pinko. Click-clack. You’re not a martyr and neither are they. We stopped a riot – click-clack- and saved the town from burning down.” He said, bored by his objections.
“There were children in that crowd. Click-clack. Were they criminals? Am I supposed to sit and watch while tear gas burns their skin off?” he screamed, lobbing the executive toy at the chief. A corner of the platform glanced off his forehead.
“We can’t go around checking every potential riot for innocents, we couldn’t stop them in time if we did. We have to make estimates: where the rioters are and what to do.” The chief said unfazed.
Pinko took off his badge and turned to leave. “If you don’t have time to protect the innocent, I don’t have time for you thugs.”
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AdvertisementsThe taskforce investigating Northern Colorado's shootings on June 23 released a sketch of a possible vehicle of interest, based on several interviews. (Photo: Courtesy of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office)
The task force investigating Northern Colorado's series of unsolved shootings announced Tuesday that it has identified a vehicle of interest in the Loveland case — information that followed vague details of a fourth shooting in the region.
Investigators are asking for the public's help in locating a 1970s full-size, single-cab Chevrolet or GMC pickup truck that is a faded single-orange color with black primer on the driver's side body. The pickup also has a full-size bed and round headlights.
Residents should pay special attention to the rendering's distinctive headlights, Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokesman David Moore said in a media briefing.
"Obviously, we want this picture out in as many ways as we can," Moore said. "Ultimately, we just need someone to call the task force about this vehicle."
The vehicle description followed the announcement that an individual has come forward saying they were shot at June 3, the same night 65-year-old William Connole was gunned down while walking near the intersection of East First Street and St. Louis Avenue in Loveland. The person, who was not injured, late last week reported to the task force that the incident happened near the intersection Denver Avenue and East Eisenhower Boulevard, about 2 miles from where Connole was killed.
Moore would not say whether the person was walking, cycling or driving, nor would he identify the person or pinpoint whether the shooting occurred near a vacant field to the north or closer to a busy shopping center to the south.
The person reported being shot at "shortly before" Connole was killed about 11 p.m., Moore told the Coloradoan after Tuesday's briefing.
Moore did not explain why the individual waited two weeks to report the incident.
"We're just thankful that this person did come forward," he said.
The announcement of the new details prompted more questions than answers, and residents by Tuesday evening were sharing photos through social media of friends' pickups — some of them similar to the artist's rendering and others drastically different.
It was not immediately known how many similar vehicles are registered in the Northern Colorado area. Investigators said the depiction of the vehicle of interest was based on several interviews and canvasses during the investigation.
"The vehicle of interest is a vehicle that is potentially involved in these incidents," Moore said, adding later that the task force has been working with "many differing agencies that could help narrow down the list."
Cameras dot the area where the newly publicized shooting reportedly happened. Surveillance cameras are also in the area where Connole was shot, though Moore would not say to what degree video is being reviewed.
"If there is video, the task force is aware and has obtained that video because that would be part of any normal criminal investigation," Moore said.
Tuesday's announcement was the first news conference the task force has held since June 4, when police announced the group would be investigating Connole's homicide.
The two Loveland cases are linked. However, Moore reiterated that the Loveland shootings have not been linked to two previous Northern Colorado shootings that left a woman injured and a man dead. The description of the orange pickup truck is exclusively for the Loveland cases at this point.
The other shootings include the slaying of John Jacoby, 47, on May 18 in Windsor and the nonfatal shooting of 21-year-old Cori Romero on April 22 near Harmony Road and Interstate 25.
Moore would not say what it would take for the task force to link the two pairs of shootings.
The task force last week — in some of its most definitive language to date — wrote in a letter that the region's spate of shattered vehicle windows are not likely related to the shootings. Officials also said the task force has moved from working out of a building in Windsor to an undisclosed building in Loveland, as the FBI has an office in that city. The task force comprises the FBI, Larimer County Sheriff's Office, Windsor Police Department, Loveland Police Department and Larimer and Weld district attorney's offices.
Previously, the task force announced it was looking for the driver of a white Ford SUV, believing that person "may have important witness information for the investigation" of the Jacoby shooting. It's not been made clear whether any tips panned out in that probe.
The FBI's reward remains set at $20,000 for information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction. Larimer County Crime Stoppers on Tuesday also announced it would award $2,500 for information leading to an arrest.
Anyone with information about the shooting investigation is asked to call the task force tip line at 970-498-5595 or email taskforce@larimer.org.
Reporter Jason Pohl covers breaking news for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.
MORE ON NORTHERN COLORADO SHOOTINGS
PD refuses to rule out Loveland shooting link
Post-shooting, Northern Colorado refuses to live in fear
Public left to speculate on Northern Colorado shootings
Read or Share this story: http://noconow.co/1LrtIqRActivists hold a rally to protest the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in front of the White House on February 3 in Washington, DC. | Getty GOP platform panel strikes references to TPP
CLEVELAND — A panel crafting the Republican Party’s platform on trade has removed all references to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, citing Donald Trump’s rejection of the deal and the difficult politics that Republican incumbents are navigating.
“I think we should take out TPP completely,” said Tracey Monroe-Winburn, an Ohio delegate. “We know that our presumptive nominee isn’t in favor of it, one … and we have some senators who are running across the country that were in support of it at one time.”
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The new language must still be vetted by the GOP’s full Platform Committee Monday afternoon.
Andy Puzder, one of the co-chairs of the GOP platform economic subcommittee, suggested that TPP has become too thorny of an issue to take a specific stand on. Trump has found flaws in the current version, he said. Rather than wade into the specific agreement, he suggested embracing a broad trade platform that discourages “massive trade deficits,” negotiating better trade deals and enforcing existing deals.
“Who can argue with we shouldn’t have such big deficits?” he wondered.
The language Puzder described would dovetail more completely with Trump’s language on trade.
The platform initially urged the Republican-led Congress to reject efforts to “rush” passage of the TPP, particularly during a lame-duck session of Congress, but now simply suggests that “significant” trade decisions shouldn’t be rushed. That was already a stark shift from the GOP’s platform adopted in 2012. That document encouraged a Republican president to “complete negotiations” for the TPP “to open rapidly developing Asian markets to U.S. products.”The Dolly Sods Wilderness, located in West Virginia, is an incredible area and is the best backpacking location I’ve encountered in the mid-Atlantic so far. Granted, my experience is limited but I enjoyed the weekend here much more than previous Appalachian Trail hikes in Maryland and Virginia. Dolly Sods offers sweeping vistas, meadows of tall grass, forests of both deciduous and evergreen trees, and most importantly, a sense of wilderness that is difficult to find on the AT.
Dolly Sods has been through some rough times in the last few centuries. Before early American settlers discovered the plethora of natural resources available, dense forests of ancient red spruce and eastern hemlock blanketed the Dolly Sods highlands. These trees were massive, towering 60-90 feet tall with some measuring as large as 12 feet in diameter. Elk, bison, and mountain lions all roamed those woods along with black bears, snowshoe hares, foxes, bobcats, and many other faunae.
Unfortunately, heavy logging activities destroyed much of the Dolly Sods ecosystem in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Loggers clear-cut large swaths of land and the topsoil dried out. Sparks from trains and loggers’ fires ignited the dry ground and caused extensive fires that destroyed the remaining trees and brush deemed unfit for logging. Thankfully, nature conservancy groups and concerned citizens fought to protect the area and purchased the land and mining rights from private owners. The Dolly Sods Wilderness and greater Monongahela National Forest are now maintained for everyone’s enjoyment.
Dolly Sods Wilderness Trip Planning
Because Dolly Sods is located within a National Forest and not a National Park, regulations are relatively lax. Of course, this does not mean we hikers and backpackers are off the hook when it comes to outdoor ethics. Always practice leave-no-trace and be considerate of others, both current and future; the Forest Service website lists some general rules and provides useful publications for trip planning, including a trail map. You do not need a permit to hike or backpack in the Dolly Sods Wilderness.
Most of the trailheads in the area are accessible from Forest Road 75, a wide, gravel lane that skirts the east and south sides of the wilderness area. Plenty of parking spots and gravel pullouts exist along the road, particularly near the trailheads. Dispersed camping is allowed in the wilderness (subject to some restrictions based on proximity to trails, water, and other campers), so enjoy the freedom! However, note that most of the area is very, very wet. Plan for campsites at high points in the topography.
A Night Hike
June 23, 2017 | 1.4 mi | +200′ / -280′ | View on Map
I meet Jen, a fellow DC ultralight (DCUL) backpacker, at a metro station and we carpool out to West Virginia. It’s a long drive, made even longer by evening rush hour traffic, but time flies by when you have someone new to get to know! I have yet to meet a backpacker that I haven’t gotten along with. After all, not everyone is willing to drive into the middle of nowhere, fend off mosquitos and bears, sleep on the ground, and carry all their necessities for miles.
The forecast calls for rain all night and into tomorrow morning, but we’re lucky and don’t encounter much en route to Dolly Sods. Jen and I are the last to arrive at 9:30 or so and meet a few group members that have kindly waited for us; others have already hiked into camp.
After double and triple checking that I have my keys, I lock the car, shoulder my pack, and we set off down the Bear Rocks Trail. This weekend marks a new moon and the skies are overcast, so we all rely on headlamps to illuminate the rocky path in front of us. We don’t have a long walk to camp – only a mile or two – and the miles slip away as I chat with some other group members.
We soon reach our campsite, a flat area near the trail and above the soggy meadows surrounding a nearby stream. I struggle a bit to find a campsite in the dark but one of the other group members who arrived earlier points out a nice saddle where I can set up my tent. As I’ve only set up my tent a few times, I make several attempts before finally arranging all of the pieces in the proper orientation. And none too soon! The soft patter of raindrops in the trees above announces the arrival of forecast showers. The rain and late hour are enough to drive me inside for the night.
A Soggy Slog to Lions Head Rock
June 24, 2017 | 9.2 mi | +940′ / -1115′ | View on Map
After a somewhat restless night, I wake up and stretch my legs. Extracting myself from my tent proves to be a bit of a challenge. Although the ground beneath my sleeping bag is level, I have to scramble up a slope to get out the door on the other side (the other door is blocked by a tree). The lack of friction between my socks and the thin nylon floor only exacerbates the issue.
Once I make it into the greater outdoors, I retrieve my bear canister (I’m prepping to hike the John Muir Trail on which bear canisters are required) and add some water to a bag of oatmeal. I love hot oatmeal, but I don’t mind eating it cold especially on days as warm as today. I join a few other group members and chat about this and that – mostly questions about each others’ gear and general introductory topics like, “what do you do?” Water is still falling from the sky, though it’s difficult to tell whether it is raining or if the wind in the canopy above is knocking down droplets from earlier showers. Regardless, we keep our rain gear on for now.
Breakfast in the Rain Breakfast in the Rain, Part 2
Since we arrived late last night, we break camp a little later than usual to give everyone a chance to catch enough z’s. The trail from camp winds up to the top of a grassy plateau. I get my first glimpse of Dolly Sods from this vantage point. Heath covers the surrounding hillsides and stands of trees dot the landscape. The entire area is wet from last night’s rainstorm, although others in the group that have visited before make it clear that Dolly Sods is always wet.
Plateau A Soggy Picnic Spot
Low-hanging clouds fly over our heads as we cross the plateau and descend to a large meadow area. At first, puddles dot the trail and we side-step them to keep our shoes and feet dry. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that the trail is going to be muddy and wet for the foreseeable future. After accidentally stepping in a few ankle-deep puddles, I give up on keeping my feet dry and just walk through the water.
I fall behind the group as I stop to take pictures every few minutes. One of the joys of visiting a new place is all the new photo opportunities! Of course, not every new sight is photo-worthy; I have to remind myself of this mantra to avoid ending up with a memory card full of uninspiring snapshots.
Group Backpacking Muddy Trail
Speaking of photography, I acquired another piece of gear for my John Muir Trail (JMT) hike since my last backpacking trip: the Fuji XF 10-24mm lens. The focal range of the lens is great for backpacking: it covers the ultra-wide end at 10mm and moderate zoom levels at the 24mm end. I prefer zoom lenses like this one for hiking because I don’t have to swap lenses to change the focal length. Exchanging lenses on the trail is not only time-consuming and a little tedious but it can also introduce dust and other contaminants onto the sensor.
During the next few miles, I stop a few times to photograph dense clumps of ferns, lovely pink mountain laurel, and a pair of mushrooms perched on a mossy stone. I’m impressed by the focus distance of the lens; I’m able to hold the lens inches from the mushrooms and zoom right in! I capture the shot and then hurry to catch up with the rest of the group.
Ferns Mushroom Macro Wildflowers
After several miles of muddy trails through meadows and dense pine thickets, the trail emerges out onto a rocky plateau. Make no mistake, the ground is still sopping wet, but it’s easier to walk through puddles on stone and gravel than through mud. The skies are still filled with fast-moving, dramatic clouds left over from last night’s storm. Thankfully, the rain has stopped and doesn’t seem to be coming back any time soon.
We stop for a break, and to wait for group members to catch up, at a rocky area just north of the Breathed Mountain Trailhead on the west edge of the park. It’s only 11, but someone suggests lunch and nobody argues, so the short break becomes our lunch break. It’s a great spot to relax for a while. Visitors to his area have piled rocks into dozens of cairns just off the trail, which is sort of interesting. Normally cairns are used to mark particularly tricky sections, but they’re wholly unnecessary here. I, along with several others, take off my shoes and socks and let my wet feet dry out. The swift breeze and the sunshine feel great! I brought sunscreen just in case the sun came out, and I’m glad I have it now.
Break Time Lunch Break Shoes Off! Cairn City
After enjoying lunch (I ate hummus, dried fruit, and a tortilla), we don our wet shoes and socks and continue up the trail. The next several miles bring more of the same familiar experiences: trails turned into creeks, mud, mud, and more mud. The group spreads out as people settle into hiking paces they are comfortable with. Soon, I find myself walking alone through a pine forest. The trail (well, stream bed) is particularly beautiful here: the water cascades over roots and rocks and flows down a carved-out canyon in the dirt. Pine needles and bright green moss line the sides of the brook. Naturally, I stop to take a few photos before continuing on.
Typical Dolly Sods Trail Downstream Mud Evasion Flooded Trail
A little further down the trail, I round a bend and come face to face with a 10-foot wide section of Stonecoal Run. The trail has paralleled this creek for miles and, as tributaries join the main branch, the creek has transformed into a small river. On a drier trip, I would take the time to take off my shoes and socks before crossing. But my shoes and socks are already soaked and muddy, so why bother? If anything, walking through the water will only clean my shoes.
It’s been a long time since I’ve done a proper river crossing! There are almost always fallen logs or stepping stones across rivers and creeks in the backcountry. Most of the group has already crossed and are waiting on the other side, so I walk through the shin-deep water and wait on the opposite bank with the others for the rest of our group. We don’t have to wait long and are soon on our way again.
After the river crossing, the trail heads uphill a bit and we put a little distance between us and the soggy flatlands. The trail is – dare I say it – dry! Well, mostly dry. I particularly enjoy walking through several stands of tall pines. The biodiversity and number of different ecosystems here is incredible!
In the next mile or two, we cross Stonecoal Run two more times and each time the river grows larger. I’m not really sure why the trail crosses the waterway so many times. It would be much simpler to stay on the east side of the creek after the first crossing.
The final ford is particularly exciting with a fast current and knee deep water. I take a few minutes to package my camera in a gallon ziplock bag; I want my expensive toy protected if I slip and fall in. I’ve also been taught to undo the hip belt and chest strap for crossings like this. The idea is that in the event you fall in, you can quickly escape from your heavy, waterlogged pack and avoid becoming trapped under water. The risk here is low, but higher than I’m used to and I undo the extra straps anyway. Better safe than sorry!
We discover an impressive waterfall only a few hundred feet downstream of our last river crossing. We’re very close to camp for the night, so a few of us photography enthusiasts pause for a few minutes to capture the rushing water.
Just past the waterfall is a spur trail that leads to Lions Head. We climb the steep path up Breathed Mountain and soon level off in a beautiful stand of tall pine trees. There are campsites everywhere, and all of them are fantastic! The ground is almost perfectly flat and covered with pine needles, there are several stone fire rings, and previous visitors have constructed benches from fallen logs and slabs of stone. The pine trees are perfect for those sleeping in hammocks too! I set up a rope between trees and dry out all my gear before putting it in my tent. I leave my shoes and socks swinging in the wind and don Xero trail sandals for campsite activities.
We spend the next hour setting up camp and relaxing. Everyone is hungry after a day of hiking, and all manner of pots and stoves appear as folks prepare dinner. After eating, I and several others go in search of Lion’s Head, a rock formation that is supposed to look like a lion’s head. The small trail that leads out to the rock is marked by a small cairn near our campsite. The route winds through thick trees and brush and is occasionally difficult to follow. Cairns mark the way through the trickiest sections and we soon emerge from the dense woods onto a rocky area. Crevasses criss-cross the surface, some of them 10 – 15 feet deep, so careful footwork is required. Most of the cracks are not terribly wide, but a broken leg or ankle is easily within the realm of possibility.
Chow Time Food Prep
There are several other backpackers out soaking up the sun. A few of them direct us to the best place from which to view Lion’s Head. I can see the resemblance, but it’s no Mount Rushmore. In my opinion, the views of the surrounding countryside are much more impressive. Large, fluffy clouds punctuate the bright blue sky, and trees line the mountains as far as the eye can see. It’s a bit chilly with a stiff breeze, but the sun is shining! We all take a few minutes to admire the views. And I take pictures of people admiring the views, and of James taking pictures of people admiring the views – us photographers have to get some shots of each other!
Lions Head Overlook Lions Head What A View Photographer in Action
I wander back up to camp after taking in the views for a while. The summit of Breathed Mountain should be nearby and I go looking for it, but I’m unable to locate any significant summit. Oh well! I settle down in my tent and read John Muir’s My First Summer in the Sierra for a while. That man sure can write eloquently! His constant, unshakable awe of nature is inspiring. I finish the book in a few minutes (I didn’t have much left) and then drift off to sleep.
At 7:00, I wake up. The sun is beginning to creep down the horizon and I want to go take pictures so I put my shoes back on. They’re not quite dry, but are certainly not dripping anymore! It seems that just about everyone in the group fell asleep, so I wait for them to wake up and a bunch of us walk back down to the rocky ledge and settle down to watch the sunset. There are lots of clouds on the horizon, but I’m hopeful for a fiery display when the sun sinks just below the clouds. The sky does not disappoint and I snap a bunch of frames as the sun sets.
One of the lessons I’ve learned about sunsets is that the best light often occurs after the sun has sunk below the horizon. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away after the sun sets and regretted it 10 minutes later when my gear is stowed and the sky is on fire. So I stay out with Jim until the skies are good and dark. We walk back to camp with headlamps on and join the rest of the group around a lively campfire.
To our collective annoyance, it begins to rain while we enjoy the fire. Luckily, the showers are partially blocked by the pines above and are not long-lived. Soon, the clouds clear and stars peek through. James and I return to the rocks and spend an hour or two taking pictures of the night sky. We’re both shooting with the same camera and lens and I very much enjoy chatting with him about photography. We head back to camp at about midnight and head to bed – we’re leaving camp early tomorrow morning!
Bogs and Mountain Meadows
June 25, 2017 | 8.7 mi | +1150′ / -890′ | View on Map
We leave camp early this morning and hike back down the spur trail to Rocky Point Trail. The path here is mostly shoe-sized rocks, many of which are loose. I lead the pack for a little while and then fall behind to take a few pictures. Despite the tricky footwork, it’s refreshing to hike on dry ground. With fresh socks on, my feet are dry for the first time in 24 hours!
Rocky Trail Watch Your Feet
The Rocky Point Trail winds around Breathed Mountain and the boulders we watched the sunset from last night. Lion’s Head isn’t visible from the trail because of heavy tree cover, but it isn’t far past the tree tops. Patches of mist obscure distant trees along some sections of the trail and create spectacular sights where the early morning sun streams through the foliage. I really enjoy this stretch of trail – it’s both flat and dry!
Of course, the dryness is too good to last and I’m soon hopping from one rock to another in an attempt to avoid stepping in muddy puddles. I’m moderately successful until I reach Red Creek; crossing in shoes and socks means sopping wet feet once more. Peter has already warned us that the trail today leads through an infamous stretch of deep mud, so I knew that the dryness wouldn’t last. It was nice for a while, though!
After fording Red Creek, the path begins to climb toward Blackbird Knob. One might think that only trails in the flatlands would be soggy, but that is not the case here. I walk upstream (or ‘up trail’) through murky ankle deep pools. Maintaining stability in the slippery mud puts extra strain on my knees and hips so I’m grateful for trekking poles to help relieve the stress. The poles are particularly useful on the final hundred yards of Red Creek Trail: the grade is steep, muddy, and slippery, and being able to maintain four points of contact with the ground keeps me from landing face first in the mud.
Despite the less than ideal muddy conditions, I really enjoy the hike. After climbing a few hundred feet, this stretch of Red Creek Trail emerges from the woods into a beautiful (and soggy) meadow. Bright sunlight streams from the sky, birds are singing, and a morning breeze rustles through the long grass. I’m reminded of hiking out west, particularly of the meadow near William’s Creek Trail.
I also relish the chance to hike alone. I know there are several group members behind me and several more in front, but I can’t see or hear any of them. While I really love backpacking with groups like this, I appreciate the chance to walk on my own and dwell in my own head space for a while. I also don’t feel guilty for holding others up when I stop to take pictures if the group is fluid like this.
I expect to meet the group members that are hiking in front of me at the junction of Red Creek Trail and Blackbird Knob Trail, but when I arrive nobody is there. Those in back of me arrive soon, and then we all continue together.
After a brief walk down the Blackbird Knob Trail, we turn north on Upper Red Creek Trail. At first, the route is incredibly muddy. I pause to tighten my shoelaces to avoid losing a shoe in the deep silt. However, as the trail trends uphill the wetness subsides a bit and walking becomes easier. The forest gives way once more to meadows and the occasional stand of aspens shivering in the wind. I’ve never seen aspens in this part of the country; I wonder how they got here? Or, perhaps, if they’ve always been here, where did all the other aspens go?
I pause to take a few pictures and my hiking companions continue on ahead. The next mile on Upper Red Creek Trail is my favorite of the entire trip. Cotton ball clouds drift lazily overhead and a breeze ripples through the tall grass in the meadows. The trail morphs from single-track into several tracks where hikers have chosen drier routes. The deep tracks through the soft ground remind me of alpine trails in the mountains; the surrounding pines and cool air only add to the illusion. I establish a rhythm on this dry stretch of trail and time slows down for a while.
I meet most of the rest of the group at the junction with Dobin Grade Trail. According to our resident Dolly Sods expert, the Dobin Grade Trail is built on the bed of an old railroad. So, while it is muddy and a “right of passage” for Dolly Sods hikers, if you remain on the trail you won’t sink in past your ankles! It’s the little things in life…
We cross Red Creek once more and then brave the bog. The first muddy section takes me by surprise when I step through what appears to be solid ground. Beneath the murky water, I can feel the gravel and rocks of what I imagine are the old railroad bed. I step off the trail once or twice and sink up to my knee! I use my trekking poles as feelers after that to make sure that suspicious puddles are not deeper than they appear.
The boggy section of trail is over much sooner than I expect and we make excellent time along dry, flat trail. The Dobbin Grade Trail eventually tees into Bear Rocks Trail and we make our way back toward the cars. I enjoy actually seeing the landscape this time; it was dark when we hiked through here on Friday. The heathland stretches for miles; pines and rock outcroppings punctuate the sea of green shrubs, and those cotton ball clouds are still hanging around.
Mountain Laurel Dolly Sods High Country Bear Rocks Trail
Before I know it we’ve reached the trailhead; the cars are just a hop, skip, and a jump away. I and several others wash off our feet and legs, change into sandals, and then sit and talk for a few minutes. However, with a 3.5-hour drive still to go, we say our goodbyes and drive away.
If you’re a hiker or backpacker in the mid-Atlantic, you need to visit Dolly Sods. I was skeptical at first, especially after learning about the infamous bogs and muddy trails. However, I’ve now seen the light. Yes, it is terribly muddy, but does anyone really get into backpacking because it’s comfortable and easy? The amount of diversity is awe-inspiring and the sense of wilderness is much stronger than on other trails on the east coast. I had a great time, made even greater by the fantastic people I got to know over the weekend.
Until next time, happy trails!You’ve probably already seen the trailer. It’s gotten 800,000 YouTube hits, it’s been shown on most major broadcast and cable news shows and its name — “Seven Minutes of Terror” — has become something of an Internet meme. But the producer of the video sensation it not one of the usual Hollywood suspects. It’s NASA — and if you think the five-minute web teaser the space agency has produced is cool, wait till you see the actual show, scheduled for Aug. 5.
(LIST: The 7 Most Adorkable Moments From The NASA Control Room)
That’s the day the Mars Curiosity rover — the $2.5 billion, six-wheeled lab that’s the latest brainchild of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena — is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet. While the mission of the SUV-sized rover is ambitious — employing a new suite of instruments to go rambling about Mars sniffing out signs of past or even present life — other rovers have done similar things before. The landing, however, will be like nothing NASA has ever attempted. If the engineers can pull this one off, their efforts will be counted a success even before the rover can move so much as an inch across the soil.
There are basically two ways to land on another world: parachutes if the planet or moon has a thick enough atmosphere, and rocket engines if it doesn’t. Right away, Mars presents problems. It’s wrapped in just enough atmosphere to slow an entering spacecraft down and give a parachute something to bite, but not enough to permit a soft and survivable landing. The previous three rovers — Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity — solved that problem with a combination of parachutes, descent rockets and, for the final plunge, a swaddling of air bags that allowed the vehicles to hit the surface and bounce across the landscape until they finally rolled to a stop and could shake off their padding. It was an ignominious way to arrive, but it got them there in one piece.
But Curiosity, at 5,293 lbs. (2,400 kg), is way too heavy for the airbag model, so JPL engineers had to dream up a new approach — and dream they did. When the blunt-bottomed, conical pod carrying Curiosity slams into the Martian atmosphere on its way to a touchdown in the planet’s Gale Crater, it will be traveling at a blistering 13,000 mph (21,000 k/h). The thin air will provide enough braking force to bleed off about 93% of the speed. When the ship is about 7 mi. (11 km) above the surface and traveling 900 mph (1,448 k/h), it will at last deploy its parachute — but not just any parachute. At 51 ft. (15.5 m) in diameter with 80 suspension lines, it’s the biggest chute ever used in an extraterrestrial landing. This will slow the spacecraft down to 190 mph (305 k/h).
(PHOTOS: NASA’s New Mars Rover ‘Curiosity’)
That, of course, is not a remotely safe landing speed. So after jettisoning the no-longer needed heat shield, the ship will fire retrorockets that will slow it a crawl that actually approaches a hover. At that point, the rover could just be set gently on the surface, right? Not quite. And here things take a decidedly Jetsonian twist.
Since the blasting retrorockets could stir up an instrument-damaging dust cloud as Curiosity closes in on the ground, the spacecraft will transform itself into — wait for it — a sky crane. As it reaches a 2 mph (3.2 k/h) descent speed, half of its eight engines will shut down and four nylon cords will spool out, lowering the rover the last 25 ft. (7.5 m) to the ground. Once the spacecraft senses touchdown, the descent stage will sever the cords and soar off in a flyaway maneuver. It will crash at least 500 ft. (152 m) away, sacrificing itself to make certain its rockets don’t damage the rover.
All together now: no way!
“It’s like a big long chain, and all of the links have to work in order for the thing to land properly,” says Tom Rivellini, the JPL engineer who provides much of the memorable, conversational narration for the “Seven Minutes” video. “One of my best friends said, ‘you guys are kind of playing up the drama a little bit,’ but to be honest we’re actually downplaying it. So much stuff has to go right in order for the thing to not crash and burn. I’ll take the coolness factor once it works properly.”
Working properly is by no means a sure thing. First of all, there are the |
time. And, sure, Down On The Upside still very much sounds like a product of that version of the ’90s, but there’s a lot more going on here, and elsewhere in Soundgarden’s music, than the world of “Black Hole Sun” or whatever other obvious ’90s radio hit. It’s interesting in the context of Soundgarden and the ’90s, because it shows a bunch of megastars making a shambling, cluttered post-script to their commercial peak and their role in grunge’s mainstream moment. Albums like that can be way more intriguing than the classics they follow, because there’s so much more mystery there. As Soundgarden is overlooked or side-lined in general, Down On The Upside is an overlooked gem of the latter half of the ’90s. This is a strange, haunted, furious death-rattle of an album, and 20 years later it still sounds like it has more secrets to uncover.CountChocula Profile Joined January 2011 Canada 885 Posts #1
Original Author: BBC (Gamefy caster)
Translators: CountChocula, kupon3ss
Without Madness, What is Life?
If one is devoted to one's calling, then be it a life of abundant luxuries or bare necessities, one shall be at peace.
G-League 2011 Season 1
LGD wins G-League 2011 Season 1
ZSMJ (1), YYF (3), ChuaN (2), 830 (5), Ch (4)
In childhood, kids will ask themselves what their dream in life is. Each person's answer may be quite different, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that for most people, where they're working in their 20s is quite far from where as children they envisioned they would be working. Being able to set a goal and dedicate one's life in pursuit of that goal seeing it through to completion is undoubtedly a rare quality. People like that aren't in great supply, because the majority is composed of people like myself who have been so wearied by life to let it take its natural course and accept this life as an average person.
---
I remember getting addicted to Command & Conquer when I was preparing for my college-entry exams. Despite previously advocating a "work hard, play hard" philosophy, I had to restrain my gaming habits and immerse myself in bitter study. When it was time for summer vacation and my exam results were released, I busted out the allowance I'd been saving for a long time and spent it all at a cybercafé nearby. Then I got into Brood War, Heroes of Might and Magic 3, Diablo 1 and 2, Baldur's Gate, Warcraft 3, DotA and finally the present day Starcraft 2, League of Legends and Dota 2.
G-League 2011 Season 2
G-League 2012 Season 3
Computer games have been a big part of a lot of kids' lives growing up. Rather than observing how innately interesting such games may be, I find it more apt to point out that the difference between winning and losing is enough to appeal to those with a competitive spirit.
On the other hand, if you get too engrossed with the game, happiness won't lead to more happiness, but a painful snare instead. Struggling between opposite shores of gaming and studies, roaming between the "correct" road and a fork in the path--I've tasted this kind of bitter feeling before and it's painful to even recall.
I'm happy to work in this great industry. Despite all the bitter work, it feels like it's all been worth it. I have a few sentences I'd like to share with everyone: "If one sees esports as a career, than the obsession is probably already beyond advice. How can man know the joys of being a fish without the experience? Yet if games to you are just games, then please remember restraint, for happiness can only be borne from the basis of moderation."
---
I remember when I was still using a mechanical mouse to play Warcraft 3 at a cybercafé across the street from my school, I thought I could dedicate myself wholly to the game in exchange for extraordinary skills like those of Shomaru and MagicYang, so I too could wander the esports realm with pride and without a care in the world. After every game exhausted from putting all my effort into trying to win, I would feel adrenaline flowing through myself to my satisfaction--it is this feeling that I was obsessed with. Now ten years later, my Warcraft 3 skills are still poor, my matches against MagicYang always end in losses, but I remember my feelings at the time and they're just as good.
Every basketball fan has dreamt they were Michael Jordan. Every soccer fan has dreamt they were Ronaldo. Even though we probably can't be like them in real life, no one can take away our dream of being like them. Even though we can't return to the days of our youth, the dreams we once had cannot be obliterated so easily.
For basketball fans, you have the NBA, the FIBA World Cup. For soccer fans, you have the big five European leagues, the Euro, the World Cup. What about us then, fans of esports?
Unable to reconcile ourselves with a response to this question in 2007, we started a league that belongs partly to ourselves and partly to the fans of esports, namely G-League.
G-League 2011 Season 3
DK wins G-League 2011 Season 3
Super (2), Zippo (5), Longdd (4), rOtK (3), BurNIng (1)
I must thank 光明优+, Fabia晶锐, TT曜越 and all of our past sponsors. I also must thank the viewers who've followed G-League since 2007. These years, people have come and gone, but you've remained ever loyal. We remember your praises, we remember your criticisms, and we remember your tolerance of our mistakes that to us was the warmest form of encouragement.
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From beginnings of Brood War and Counter-Strike to Warcraft 3, Starcraft 2, League of Legends and Dota 2 of today. From a tiny studio to Century Square and Oriental Pearl, to the Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center of today. Each year, each final has its own moving tale and its own unforgettable memories. How will this new brilliance manifest?
G-League 2012 Season 1
Warcraft 3 has seen three Orc Kings, Grubby, Lyn and Fly each with their own following arguing over the King of Kings. With the departure of Grubby, the Warcraft 3 Finals might be the final struggle between the kings of the Orcs. My impression of Lyn is that of an elegant swordsman, with an unyielding heart beneath his handsome exterior. Once, upon the stage of some previous G-League finals on Secret Valley, Lyn brought himself back with nothing but the stubborn force of will, unquenchable spirit, and precise control after losing everything but his two heroes against TED. The echoes of that battle remain unforgettable today. Yet Fly gives off a feeling of directness and savagery. His unruly exterior hides a calculating nature, making his fans love his each match. The ninth of March, the two Kings of Orc will once again confront each other, yielding a final answer to this rivalry of kings!
Starcraft has long been under the dominion of Korea, in the current age of Starcraft 2. The best Chinese result has been a silver at WCG. This achievement belongs to none other than XiGua. To grab second within a circle of Korean foes is indeed rare, but the fans hope ever for the championship. Starcraft fans have never dared dream of a day Chinese Starcraft ascends to glory upon the world stage. Jim would say that XiGua’s style is too easy to counter; that a 17 year old youth has yet to understand subtlety and deceit, that behind the exchanges of words lie only brimming confidence from harsh practice. The ninth of March, the Protoss star of hope will challenge the Zerg king, look forward to a world-clash engagement!
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The prominence of League of Legends cannot be doubted; even less so is WE’s preeminence among the game’s top teams. From their origins capturing most national championships on the journey to their first International Championship at the end of 2012, WE has already unsheathed its blade, mighty among all others under heaven. “Defeat WE? The chance was pretty slim at S2, but S3 will be another story” is the reply from iG’s PDD. Only by defeating the king of the pride can a lion ascend his place of lordship, it is the same in the world of League of Legends. The ninth of march, iG will challenge WE, look forward to a duel of kings!
As the heir to DotA, Dota 2 has long been the strongest esport in China. Upon the stage of TI2, iG rose up just as Na’Vi would complete their sweep of Chinese teams on the way to the top. In Benaroya Hall, amidst the tsunami of cheers for Na’Vi, every Chinese viewer, player and press all roared in defiance, if nothing but for the battle-weary iG to feel a semblance of support and expectation. iG would finally prove themselves with a World Championship, protecting the pride of Chinese DotA. Soon, five players from across the world in the form of LGD.int would gather in China to undergo the most stringent training for the sole goal of becoming stronger. Today their strength is no weaker than that of Na`Vi from yesteryear. The ninth of March, iG will answer LGD.int’s challenge, look forward to their clash upon the pinnacle!
iG wins G-League 2012 Season 1
Ferrari (2), ChuaN (4), Zhou (1), YYF (3), Faith (5)
This time, there is not only competition. G-League will also be graced by entertainment guests with whom everybody would be familiar - the singers Chang Chen-Yue (张震岳) and MC Hotdog. I personally enjoy Chang Chen-Yue’s “Where Is The Love” and MC Hotdog’s “Mr. Almost”. Working from 9 to 5 every day, the days fly by. Yet a life without excitement is one that is unbearable. After weeks spending over 60 hours live on air, I would await change and enthusiasm as I found myself numbed by the work. Each G-League grand finals would be the focus of everyone's pent-up expectations. This mixture of esports, Rock and Roll and Rap will surely bring a brand new kind of emotion!
G-League 2012 Season 2 Grand Finals
The ninth of March 2013 AD will only happen once in history. On that day, in Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center, the Grand Finals of G-League will take place. Does the hot-blooded esports fire of your youth still burn in your heart? Or are you still young?
Upon this stage, who will be crowned emperor; below this stage, in how many hearts will once again the dream of esports be lit? We will give it our all for your heart’s content!
The ninth of March, a battle at the Mercedes-Benz Center. We invite you to come see for yourself!
For Dreams and Glory - The Battle at Mercedes-Benz Center on the Ninth of MarchOriginal Author: BBC (Gamefy caster)Translators: CountChocula, kupon3ssWithout Madness, What is Life?If one is devoted to one's calling, then be it a life of abundant luxuries or bare necessities, one shall be at peace.In childhood, kids will ask themselves what their dream in life is. Each person's answer may be quite different, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that for most people, where they're working in their 20s is quite far from where as children they envisioned they would be working. Being able to set a goal and dedicate one's life in pursuit of that goal seeing it through to completion is undoubtedly a rare quality. People like that aren't in great supply, because the majority is composed of people like myself who have been so wearied by life to let it take its natural course and accept this life as an average person.---I remember getting addicted to Command & Conquer when I was preparing for my college-entry exams. Despite previously advocating a "work hard, play hard" philosophy, I had to restrain my gaming habits and immerse myself in bitter study. When it was time for summer vacation and my exam results were released, I busted out the allowance I'd been saving for a long time and spent it all at a cybercafé nearby. Then I got into Brood War, Heroes of Might and Magic 3, Diablo 1 and 2, Baldur's Gate, Warcraft 3, DotA and finally the present day Starcraft 2, League of Legends and Dota 2.Computer games have been a big part of a lot of kids' lives growing up. Rather than observing how innately interesting such games may be, I find it more apt to point out that the difference between winning and losing is enough to appeal to those with a competitive spirit.On the other hand, if you get too engrossed with the game, happiness won't lead to more happiness, but a painful snare instead. Struggling between opposite shores of gaming and studies, roaming between the "correct" road and a fork in the path--I've tasted this kind of bitter feeling before and it's painful to even recall.I'm happy to work in this great industry. Despite all the bitter work, it feels like it's all been worth it. I have a few sentences I'd like to share with everyone: "If one sees esports as a career, than the obsession is probably already beyond advice. How can man know the joys of being a fish without the experience? Yet if games to you are just games, then please remember restraint, for happiness can only be borne from the basis of moderation."---I remember when I was still using a mechanical mouse to play Warcraft 3 at a cybercafé across the street from my school, I thought I could dedicate myself wholly to the game in exchange for extraordinary skills like those of Shomaru and MagicYang, so I too could wander the esports realm with pride and without a care in the world. After every game exhausted from putting all my effort into trying to win, I would feel adrenaline flowing through myself to my satisfaction--it is this feeling that I was obsessed with. Now ten years later, my Warcraft 3 skills are still poor, my matches against MagicYang always end in losses, but I remember my feelings at the time and they're just as good.Every basketball fan has dreamt they were Michael Jordan. Every soccer fan has dreamt they were Ronaldo. Even though we probably can't be like them in real life, no one can take away our dream of being like them. Even though we can't return to the days of our youth, the dreams we once had cannot be obliterated so easily.For basketball fans, you have the NBA, the FIBA World Cup. For soccer fans, you have the big five European leagues, the Euro, the World Cup. What about us then, fans of esports?Unable to reconcile ourselves with a response to this question in 2007, we started a league that belongs partly to ourselves and partly to the fans of esports, namely G-League.I must thank 光明优+, Fabia晶锐, TT曜越 and all of our past sponsors. I also must thank the viewers who've followed G-League since 2007. These years, people have come and gone, but you've remained ever loyal. We remember your praises, we remember your criticisms, and we remember your tolerance of our mistakes that to us was the warmest form of encouragement.---From beginnings of Brood War and Counter-Strike to Warcraft 3, Starcraft 2, League of Legends and Dota 2 of today. From a tiny studio to Century Square and Oriental Pearl, to the Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center of today. Each year, each final has its own moving tale and its own unforgettable memories. How will this new brilliance manifest?Warcraft 3 has seen three Orc Kings, Grubby, Lyn and Fly each with their own following arguing over the King of Kings. With the departure of Grubby, the Warcraft 3 Finals might be the final struggle between the kings of the Orcs. My impression of Lyn is that of an elegant swordsman, with an unyielding heart beneath his handsome exterior. Once, upon the stage of some previous G-League finals on Secret Valley, Lyn brought himself back with nothing but the stubborn force of will, unquenchable spirit, and precise control after losing everything but his two heroes against TED. The echoes of that battle remain unforgettable today. Yet Fly gives off a feeling of directness and savagery. His unruly exterior hides a calculating nature, making his fans love his each match. The ninth of March, the two Kings of Orc will once again confront each other, yielding a final answer to this rivalry of kings!Starcraft has long been under the dominion of Korea, in the current age of Starcraft 2. The best Chinese result has been a silver at WCG. This achievement belongs to none other than XiGua. To grab second within a circle of Korean foes is indeed rare, but the fans hope ever for the championship. Starcraft fans have never dared dream of a day Chinese Starcraft ascends to glory upon the world stage. Jim would say that XiGua’s style is too easy to counter; that a 17 year old youth has yet to understand subtlety and deceit, that behind the exchanges of words lie only brimming confidence from harsh practice. The ninth of March, the Protoss star of hope will challenge the Zerg king, look forward to a world-clash engagement!---The prominence of League of Legends cannot be doubted; even less so is WE’s preeminence among the game’s top teams. From their origins capturing most national championships on the journey to their first International Championship at the end of 2012, WE has already unsheathed its blade, mighty among all others under heaven. “Defeat WE? The chance was pretty slim at S2, but S3 will be another story” is the reply from iG’s PDD. Only by defeating the king of the pride can a lion ascend his place of lordship, it is the same in the world of League of Legends. The ninth of march, iG will challenge WE, look forward to a duel of kings!As the heir to DotA, Dota 2 has long been the strongest esport in China. Upon the stage of TI2, iG rose up just as Na’Vi would complete their sweep of Chinese teams on the way to the top. In Benaroya Hall, amidst the tsunami of cheers for Na’Vi, every Chinese viewer, player and press all roared in defiance, if nothing but for the battle-weary iG to feel a semblance of support and expectation. iG would finally prove themselves with a World Championship, protecting the pride of Chinese DotA. Soon, five players from across the world in the form of LGD.int would gather in China to undergo the most stringent training for the sole goal of becoming stronger. Today their strength is no weaker than that of Na`Vi from yesteryear. The ninth of March, iG will answer LGD.int’s challenge, look forward to their clash upon the pinnacle!This time, there is not only competition. G-League will also be graced by entertainment guests with whom everybody would be familiar - the singers Chang Chen-Yue (张震岳) and MC Hotdog. I personally enjoy Chang Chen-Yue’s “Where Is The Love” and MC Hotdog’s “Mr. Almost”. Working from 9 to 5 every day, the days fly by. Yet a life without excitement is one that is unbearable. After weeks spending over 60 hours live on air, I would await change and enthusiasm as I found myself numbed by the work. Each G-League grand finals would be the focus of everyone's pent-up expectations. This mixture of esports, Rock and Roll and Rap will surely bring a brand new kind of emotion!The ninth of March 2013 AD will only happen once in history. On that day, in Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center, the Grand Finals of G-League will take place. Does the hot-blooded esports fire of your youth still burn in your heart? Or are you still young?Upon this stage, who will be crowned emperor; below this stage, in how many hearts will once again the dream of esports be lit? We will give it our all for your heart’s content!The ninth of March, a battle at the Mercedes-Benz Center. We invite you to come see for yourself!
MC Hotdog’s “Mr. Almost”
MC Hotdog’s “Mr. Almost”
Chang Chen-Yue’s “Where Is The Love” Chang Chen-Yue’s “Where Is The Love” 我会让他们连馒头都吃不到 Those championships owed me over the years, I will take them back one by one.Rachel Roy's fall 2014 collection, which the New York-based designer showed during New York Fashion Week just last month, and which marked the label's 10th anniversary, isn't going to be produced, at least not by parent company Jones Group. The company has discontinued Rachel Roy Collection, a rep for Jones Group confirmed to us Tuesday morning. A source says the collection was not in line with Jones's overall strategy.
Jones, which is currently being sold to Sycamore Partners, has held a 50 percent stake in Rachel Roy's business since 2008. It will "continue to support" contemporary label Rachel Rachel Roy, which is sold exclusively at Macy's, the rep told us.
This may not be the very end of Rachel Roy Collection, which was sold in doors like Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and Saks. There were reports just last month that brand management firm Bluestar Alliance had been looking to acquire Rachel Roy. Roy told WWD that she plans to produce the collection somehow herself. A rep for Roy could not immediately be reached for comment.
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ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit WebsiteIt takes 100 years or more for some species of tree to grow to full size but a few minutes to cut them down. The roots may live and sprout but the tree never grows back in quite the same way again. The question that faces the British electorate in the next eight months or so is whether the same applies to the conventions of liberty, trust and privacy which have been felled by Labour's chainsaw. Is the damage irreversible or can the opposition parties muster the leadership and will to guarantee a restoration of all that has been lost in the last 12 years?
The question haunts me. Every day, there is some new example of madness or spite perpetrated by a government that seems now in its final gibbering months to be waging war on normality itself. What better betrays the suspicion and dread that writhe in the minds of civil servants and ministers than a law which requires every parent to join a government database and be vetted before accompanying their children's friends to some sport event or scout meeting, where, incidentally, the traditional penknife is now banned?
How have they got away with this presumption, with the lunatic idea that everyone who has contact with vulnerable people or children is a potential abuser? The bill to the taxpayer is going to be £170 million, but will the Independent Safeguarding Authority do much to prevent the abuse of the vulnerable? I very much doubt it.
It's the small things that strike you about the powers given to a great army of busybodies, guardians, wardens and police officers. The Lennox Herald in Scotland reported last week that 109 litres of alcohol had been seized during patrols around Loch Lomond in 22 days. Police logged 29 crimes and 81 other offences, reported 42 people, warned a further 255 and searched 297. Nine warrants were executed and 5,168 vehicles checked through automatic number plate recognition. There will be those who think this is a good thing, but there will be many that view this level of police attention as intimidating. The police are behaving as though the area is host to Glasgow's entire criminal fraternity.
At the other end of the UK, in Brighton, you find the same misappropriation of drink and oppressive presence of police officers. Attend a legitimate political meeting in the town and you are likely to be met by police forward intelligence teams with a video camera at the door.
This is a story I have been telling for some years now. Things don't get better; we just get used to them, which is dangerous. Beneath these measures are disturbing developments which heap suspicion on individuals and undermine their rights. Look closely at the "sleeper" clause in the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 which from the end of this month extends the range of circumstances that a restraining order can be made under Jack Straw's Protection from Harassment Act 1997. I quote from a lawyer's commentary: "Restraining orders can be issued following conviction for any offence rather than just offences covered by the 1997 act; and secondly restraining orders can also be issued following an acquittal for any offence."
Yes, that's right – following acquittal for any offence. So the innocent will become subject of an order which, if breached, may result in a maximum jail term of five years. Lewis Carroll must have had a hand in drafting this clause. If you are innocent, you are guilty – off with your head.
Innocence is compromised by excessive state suspicion. At HM Revenue and Customs, officials are seeking new powers to force businesses to provide information on customers and clients, which, according to Roy Maugham, a tax partner at UHY Hacker Young, will allow HMRC to build a database of unprecedented size and power about UK citizens and businesses. "This means," he says, "that it will be able to cross-check the bank details of potentially everyone against their tax returns in just a few clicks."
It must be obvious that we have to balance the policing of society with the interests of its tone and our conventions of tolerance. To have tax officials able to access any bank account or policemen taking pictures of every climate change activist or examining every carload of city dwellers seeking a bit of fresh air on the banks of Loch Lomond is plainly inimical to a free society.
The opposition parties understand what is going on. At the time of the Convention on Modern Liberty earlier this year, the Liberal Democrats produced the Freedom Bill which covered everything from the intrusive Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to ID cards, the regulation of CCTV and the retention of DNA from innocent people. It is an excellent blueprint. David Cameron welcomed the convention with this: "Things we have long thought were part of the fabric of liberty in this country – such as trial by jury, habeas corpus with strict limits on the time that people can be held without charge, the protection of Parliament against intrusion by the executive – have been whittled away."
In a speech in May he fitted the analysis into the overall Conservative belief in personal responsibility and local accountability. "A culture of rule-following, box-ticking and central prescription robs people of the chance to use their judgment," he said. "An increasingly Orwellian state reminds people that the powers that be don't trust them."
This is right, but I have one big doubt and that is the Tory faith in local accountability and scrutiny. During the six months since the convention, it has become clear that local authorities and police forces have thrilled to the excessive use of authoritarian powers.
We need a Great Repeal Bill, which lists in detail the large and small measures responsible for the decline in Britain's democracy. This needs to be endorsed and settled by both opposition parties in their separate ways before the election campaign begins in earnest and the issues of freedom are swamped by the debate about spending cuts and tax. The time for this action is now, in the party conference season, when ideas and commitments can be explained without haste and embedded in a campaign. Leadership and activism must join to end the beginning of tyranny.Image caption Scotland joined England in an Act of Union in 1707
A senior Conservative MP says a new Act of Union giving the four UK nations equal powers would strengthen the country.
Tory vice-chairman Michael Fabricant told BBC Radio Wales that Westminster would still be responsible for matters like defence and foreign affairs.
His call comes ahead of Scotland's independence referendum next year.
Wales' First Minister Carwyn Jones has already said constitutional reforms should include all the nations.
Mr Fabricant, whose Lichfield constituency in Staffordshire is regarded as "middle England", said: "I think in a generation from now there will be more calls for independence for Scotland and, indeed, independence for Wales.
"I think this will continue until we have proper symmetry between all the four nations."
'Different decisions'
He said Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland currently have different areas and levels of responsibility, claiming it was time to give "equal powers to each nation", including England.
"If it means you have different decisions being made by their elective bodies then so be it - that is devolution."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Michael Fabricant: "You can't have this asymmetry with the four nations... they should have equal powers"
The MP said that if Scotland received more powers after its referendum then the same should be given to the other nations.
It was the 1707 Act of Union between England and Scotland which created the United Kingdom.
On 18 September, 2014, the people of Scotland will be asked to vote on whether it should be an independent country.
In a speech last year, Wales' First Minister Carwyn Jones said he wanted "the Union to flourish, and Wales to play a dynamic role in it", adding that "for this to happen, the structures of the UK must adapt to the changing identities and aspirations of its citizens."
The Silk Commission set up by the UK government will publish a report next spring looking at the Welsh assembly's powers.
Its first report said the Welsh government should have some tax-varying powers.
The second part of its work is considering whether there should be other changes to the devolution settlement.
Mr Fabricant said although a Westminster government could rule on central issues such as defence and foreign policy, he added: "you can't have this asymmetry with the four nations... they should have equal powers".
"It's going to have to be if we are to see a United Kingdom like the United States which has endured over many years."The United States Senator who fiercely opposed Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal is back in the trenches again, this time inveighing against AT&T's proposed buyout of T-Mobile USA.
"Americans gather their information about the world, purchase products and services, work, and communicate largely through the wired and wireless information infrastructure," Senator Al Franken's (D-MN) 24-page letter to the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice contends.
"Allowing two companies to control which websites and applications are available to consumers and what content will stream at a faster speed would be very risky. We should not let an effective duopoly dictate the rules of the road for wireless networks, and I fear that will happen if this merger is approved."
The FCC and DoJ have been entrusted with considering the proposed $39 billion union. Franken pretty much throws the book at the idea. His letter disputes AT&T arguments that the telco needs T-Mobile's network resources to roll out 4G broadband to most of the country. And he suggests that the marriage would stifle innovation, cause job losses, raise retail prices, and undermine the prospects for effective net neutrality rules.
The merger would also cripple competition in the national wireless market, allowing AT&T and Verizon to exclude rivals, the Senator insists. "It would create an unreasonable risk to the economy to entrust too much power over such a crucial industry to a company that has a history of market domination."
Troubling steps
Franken's missive follows a series of mixed signals from his political party. About a week ago three House Democrats issued a statement calling the merger "a troubling backward step in federal public policy." They were joined a day later by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI). But other Democrats, such as North Carolina Representative G.K. Butterfield and Gene Green of Texas, support the merger—as does the traditionally Democratic-leaning Communications Workers of America.
The latest statement also comes following the FCC's temporary suspension of its AT&T/T-Mobile merger review process. Last week the Commission announced that it had been informed by AT&T that the telco has developed "new models" to "bolster its arguments concerning the size of the efficiencies made possible by the merger as weighed against the potential anti-competitive effects."
As a consequence of that disclosure, the agency announced that it had stopped its "informal 180-day clock" on the merger review "until we have the information required to evaluate these models."
AT&T filed economic analysis comments on Monday, but Franken obviously isn't watching the clock to make his views known. His letter contends that in an environment in which AT&T and Verizon would serve 82 percent of national, post-paid wireless subscribers, Sprint's days as the third market share carrier would be numbered, even further concentrating the industry.
"I also fear it would only be a matter of months before Sprint is so marginalized that it becomes an acquisition target," following a merger, Franken warns:
Handset manufacturers and technology innovators would not be interested in developing hardware that only Sprint could use, and Sprint's customers would face significant problems when traveling because their handsets would be technically unable to roam on other networks. In addition to these disadvantages, AT&T and Verizon would be in a very strong position to use their superior resources and spectrum to push Sprint out of the business.
Jobs and prices
The letter treads more cautiously when it comes assessing the impact that the merger might have on jobs in the telecommunications sector. Franken acknowledges the CWA's arguments that AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile could create "as many as 96,000 jobs," and give the latter telco's workers an opportunity to gain collective bargaining rights (since the larger company recognizes unions).
"I care a tremendous amount about creating and protecting American jobs, and if this merger is approved, I recognize that T-Mobile workers will finally have the benefit of union representation, which is long overdue," Franken notes. But the statement also expresses concern that the acquisition could instead result in the termination of jobs.
The merger of AT&T and T-Mobile would likely involve thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of layoffs. Despite having been asked directly by me and several other members of Congress to provide estimates of the number of layoffs AT&T is expecting to result from the merger, AT&T has refused to release this information. According to recent reports, AT&T employs 266,590 people and T-Mobile employs 37,795. AT&T has calculated that it will reap $3 billion per year in "operational savings" and "cost synergies" as a result of the merger. While it will not discuss what portion of these "synergies" comes from the elimination of jobs, I think it is fair to assume that layoffs constitute a substantial portion of the cost savings AT&T is promising to its investors.
And whatever gains in employment status were made would be overshadowed by what Franken sees as a major consequence of the merger, a "significant rise" in mobile subscription and retail device prices. The logic here is that T-Mobile offers "consistently lower" prices than AT&T. Thus the smaller telco functions as a competitive check, preventing AT&T's rates from "creeping ever higher."
The letter cites a think tank study suggesting that retail prices could double for both T-Mobile and AT&T customers following a merger.
"Without T-Mobile, the market would have no effective check on price increases or technological stagnation by AT&T and Verizon," Franken's section on consumer prices concludes. "Sprint places very little pressure on the prices of AT&T and Verizon, because it charges only marginally less than they do. The elimination of the lowest cost national wireless option likely explains why so many T-Mobile customers are opposed to this deal."Just a few weeks ago, the Atlanta Hawks were considering shaking up their roster by putting All-Star Paul Millsap on the trading block. Atlanta ultimately decided to keep Millsap but the Hawks did make one move, trading Kyle Korver to the Cleveland Cavaliers for essentially Mike Dunleavy and a first-round pick.
Millsap and Korver weren't the only players the Hawks were considering trading. Thabo Sefolosha was rumored to be on the trading block, and, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe, Atlanta was also thinking about trading Dwight Howard, who they just signed in the offseason.
According to Lowe, the Hawks discussed trading Howard to the Pelicans but these talks were just exploratory and the two sides never got into any serious discussion:
But they haven't committed to staying small, and sticking [Anthony] Davis at center. They worry about the physical toll it would take, and fretted after Davis picked up two quick fouls jostling with Dwight Howard two weeks ago. In the days that followed, Atlanta and New Orleans had exploratory talks about possible Howard trades before the Hawks pulled everyone off the market, according to several league sources. It is unclear how interested New Orleans was, and there was not unanimous support within the team for acquiring Howard.
Teams have exploratory talks from time to time, so this shouldn't be viewed as the Hawks wanting to part ways with Howard. Atlanta and New Orleans simply had a chat, and as Lowe notes, the Pelicans may not have even been that serious about acquiring Howard in the first place.
But the idea that the Pelicans were thinking about trading for Howard is interesting. They do need to upgrade at center since Omer Asik is just not getting the job done. Anthony Davis has excelled while playing at that position, but since he's the Pelicans' main star you can understand their angst with him at the 5 spot due to the wear and tear incurred by going up against bigger players.
Howard would definitely be an upgrade over Asik and if he was playing alongside Davis, the Pelicans would be incredibly tough to score on in the paint. And Howard has played well with the Hawks, remaining healthy and not demanding a larger offensive role on the team. But overall, he just doesn't seem to be a good fit for the Pelicans, especially since coach Alvin Gentry wants to have a free flowing offense.
The Pelicans seem to have realized this, which is why their talks with Atlanta never got past the exploratory phase. But it does seem like the Pelicans want to make a change at center, which may help them as they try to move up the standings and secure the eighth seed in the West.A middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy and Rashad Evans is currently targeted for the UFC's first event in New York City.
Sources close to the bout confirmed the news with FloCombat on Monday afternoon.
The fight will be Evans debut at middleweight. The former NCAA division 1 wrestler from Michigan State first burst onto the UFC scene when he won the heavyweight portion of The Ultimate Fighter season 2. After winning as an undersized heavyweight, Evans dropped down to light heavyweight, where he would eventually capture the title in that division |
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High school senior Jamar Pagpaguitan won a contest held by Mountain View's Community School of Music and Arts to come up with a logo for the shuttles that saw over 100 submissions. "My inspiration came from my own love and effort to draw and knowing it would be shown all over Mountain View," he reportedly said of the effort.
The companies running the MVgo shuttle have formed the Mountain View Transit Management Association (MTMA), a requirement of office development in Mountain View to run shared shuttles and find other ways to manage traffic congestion.
"Private companies in Mountain View are effectively collaborating and working in partnership with the city and local transit agencies to fill gaps in the local transportation network and allow people to travel to work car-free," said MTMA chair Denise Pinkston in a statement. "MTMA represents the first and only partnership that includes Valley employers (Google, LinkedIn, Intuit, and Samsung Research America) and Valley landowners (Broadreach Capital Partners, Sares Regis, the Sobrato Organization, and TMG Partners) working together to solve challenging traffic problems that face us all."
A similar shuttle service nearly came about in 2001. It included a lunchtime shuttle service between downtown and North Bayshore to bolster business for downtown restaurants, but a lack of interest and funding meant putting the whole idea on the back-burner.
For more information on the two shuttle systems launching next month, visit mvgo.org and mountainview.gov/depts/pw/community_shuttle.aspOnline peer support For online peer support, join For online peer support, join The Official Scripting Guys Forum! To provide feedback or report bugs in sample scripts, please start a new discussion on the Discussions tab for this script.
Disclaimer The sample scripts are not supported under any Microsoft standard support program or service. The sample scripts are provided AS IS without warranty of any kind. Microsoft further disclaims all implied warranties including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk arising out of the use or performance of the sample scripts and documentation remains with you. In no event shall Microsoft, its authors, or anyone else involved in the creation, production, or delivery of the scripts be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use the sample scripts or documentation, even if Microsoft has been advised of the possibility of such damages.Hello and welcome to the very last Blocktix Development Update of the year 2017, and we are already at number 10! Before everyone starts enjoying the festivities of Christmas and of course Boxing Day we have an update for this Christmas Eve. So let’s get on with it and close the year off with a little fireworks!
Blocktix Alpha Release
Today we are releasing our Blocktix Alpha (MVP) to the public! The Blocktix Alpha Web Application is now officially done and you can explore it today. The completed Alpha includes event creation, event editing, ticketing by type, buying tickets, sending and selling tickets.
We are releasing the Blocktix Alpha on a public network we created specifically for Blocktix. While it is possible to deploy the current version of Blocktix on the Ethereum mainnet, we have chosen not to do this so we can speed up completion of the full feature sets laid out in the Blocktix whitepaper. With important additions to the system, like Governance, Advertising/Promotion and Credit Card support still in development, we feel that adding the current Blocktix version to the Ethereum mainnet would not be beneficial as the current Alpha version would get little actual usage without these additional features added to the system.
We are allowing users open an account at https://alpha.blocktix.io to get access to the Blocktix Alpha at https://blocktix.iterate.build
Support is available on Discord through #alpha
New team member
We are happy to announce the addition of Matt Gray as our Marketing Director and head of our Promotions team. Matt was recruited from his role as Associate Director at IZEA, the leading technology company in the influencer marketing space. Matt joined our team last month and has brought his extensive experience in influencer marketing to the Blocktix team. Matt has since started work on targeted digital marketing and social listening based influencer campaigns for the Blocktix system. These campaigns will be focused toward the areas in which Blocktix plans to host its initial promotional events later next year. These campaigns will begin soon after our mobile apps are complete and the UX is tested and improved. In future updates we will release more details on the digital/influencer marketing strategy and the timelines for these campaigns that we are currently developing.
Opening of Blocktix Netherlands officeA Ghanaian footballer capped a man-of-the-match display by scoring the most embarrassing of own goals as he accidentally thanked his wife AND his girlfriend during a live interview.
Mohammed Anas was taking the plaudits off the fans and broadcasters after his brace helped Free State Stars earn a point away to Ajax Cape Town, but the star of the show may have explaining to do when he gets home.
In a brief interview after the match, Anas got carried away with his acceptance speech, as he listed off both his wife and his girlfriend in a cringe-worthy moment that perhaps should be put down to nerves.
Free State Stars striker Mohammed Anas has become an overnight sensation for his error
Anas comically thanked his wife and his girlfriend during a live interview after scoring a brace
'And I appreciate my fans also, my wife and my girlfriend... yeah my wife. Sorry for saying that! I'm so sorry... I love you so much with all my heart!
You must keep supporting me, thanks for coming, and there is more to come,' he said before the embarrassing interview came to an end.
The confused Anas, who plays in the South African Premier League, certainly avoided the trite responses players often give immediately after finishing a game, but the striker was extremely apologetic towards his wife after his glaring gaffe.
Anas plays in the South African Premier League after was the star of the show this weekend
The Ghanaian striker made the gaffe after his two goals moved Free State Stars up to 12th
Anas might well be in trouble with his wife after this man of the match interview
While such a slip of the tongue can be expected from a player not using his native language to give interviews, Twitter was unsurprisingly merciless with Anas' error going viral on Saturday.
One user wrote: 'Two goals, two girls. Mohammed Anas' while another gave him a 'vote of confidence to lead South African men'.
Free State Stars took the lead against the run of play in the 18th minute when Anas fired an unstoppable shot which beat Ajax goalkeeper Jody February.
After Rodrick Kabwe and Mark Mayambela netted for Ajax Cape Town, it was Anas who tapped in the equaliser to move them up to 13th in the table, wile Ajax Cape Town remain 12th.The video clip went viral within the American soccer Twittersphere two years ago.
Footballing legend Thierry Henry was holding court with reporters after a game against Columbus Crew SC. He was insisting the best player on the field was Wil Trapp.
“Wil Trapp is the key of that team,” Henry told reporters. “… Wil Trapp does his job. He brings the ball out for them. Difficult to stop. He has hopefully for them a good future. He is American. You guys should be happy.”
The moment, of course, was a special one for Trapp. Trapp was just 21 years old at the time and in his second professional season. A legend was singing his praises. It would turn into a somewhat transformative moment for the young midfielder.
Trapp didn’t feel like he played a particularly strong game that night. He did the simple things right. He tackled the ball away from Henry and sparked a goal with a pass. That Henry appreciated that performance, however, reinforced to Trapp how he should approach the game.
“It’s [about], ‘How can I effect the opponent with passing, with movement, with positioning to get my teammates in a better position and be able to really unsettle the opponent?” Trapp told FourFourTwo last week. “My position is one that’s very subtle. Subtle in movement, and subtle in the things that make the difference. … It’s more about the small things done well over time that make the difference.”
Reaching his potential
Two years later, as Trapp approaches the end of his fourth professional season, there is speculation about what should come next for the 23-year-old. He is still one of the best players in the country. On Wednesday, he was announced as No. 7 on MLSSoccer.com’s 24 Under 24 list. Yet some wonder whether Trapp must make a move to Europe to take the next step in his game.
For his part, Trapp believes there is still work to be done in MLS.
“For myself, I’m one of those types of players that if I’m not improving, what am I doing?” Trapp said. “I need to continue to dive into a deeper pool, so to speak, and see if I can swim. If that becomes the decision that has to be made, to go overseas and play, that’s the course of action we will take. At this moment, I’m trying to stay as rooted as possible in Columbus and focus on this year and next year, accomplish everything I can here and get better within this environment.”
Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Columbus has struggled this season after winning the Eastern Conference and playing for an MLS Cup last year. Crew SC sits in ninth place in the East with just six wins on the season. Trapp has played in 25 games this year and ranks eighth in the league in passing percentage.
Yet, Trapp said he is learning how to be more of a leader in the locker room, and in the midst of a losing season is evaluating many aspects of what he can do better as an individual.
Excellence in simplicity
Watching Trapp play is an appreciation in doing things the simple way. It’s often one of the toughest lessons to learn as a young player, and it is why Trapp has long stood out from others his age at his position. Trapp is a connector for Columbus. He finds the game and picks the right passes. He keeps the ball circulating through the team and, most importantly, allows the playmakers to stay up the field so they can receive the ball in more dangerous positions.
Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter said he believes Trapp still has plenty of room to grow, and that the development can and should occur in MLS. Berhalter said he is looking at the specifics with Trapp: Key passes – finding passes that really hurt the opposition – and defensive transition moments – killing off attacks before they start.
“Once he does that, then he’ll be ready,” Berhalter told FourFourTwo. “Then he’ll be more of a finished product.”
Both Trapp and Berhalter brought up the prime example at defensive midfield: Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets. The sturdy midfielder will never outshine the likes of Neymar or Luis Suárez or Lionel Messi. But “he means so much to that group,” Berhalter said. Busquets completes 93 percent of his passes for Barcelona while averaging the third-most passes in La Liga.
“That’s the model,” Berhalter said. “A guy who is aggressive in defensive transition when you lose the ball, but also keeps the whole thing moving smoothly. His ball possession, keeping the fluidity of the ball around the field, and when there is that moment to make the pass that is going to hurt the opponent, he can do that also. You get the ball to the right guys to make the final pass. Wil is not going to be the guy that makes the final pass most often, but he can get it to the guys who can do that.”
Laying the groundwork
Trapp is refreshingly candid about his approach to the game. He is at once reflective and introspective, but also confident and optimistic. He knows Columbus has struggled this year, but also sees how the results challenge him in new ways. He believes in the growth of MLS and thinks he is getting better as a player as a result of it. He is also focused on finding a way to break through with a U.S. national team that has moved to a formation that doesn’t fit his role with Columbus perfectly.
Trapp said he knows he has to push himself out of his comfort zones to prove to Jurgen Klinsmann that he is capable of sparking counter attacks out of a 4-4-2, and that he can eat up space in front of a back line. He also knows his club’s form this season directly impacts his standing with the national team.
“When results are not going your way, you have to find ways to look at yourself objectively and find out what’s not going well, what is going well and truly evaluate your progress and performance,” Trapp said. “I’ve done a lot of reflecting this year. I think what can be hidden in a poorly-executed season like we’ve had in terms of results is the amount of work and growth that can come to fruition at the end of this year or next year even. You are laying the groundwork and the foundation for the right habits and the right type of thinking that can push you to create success. Not immediately, but over time.”
It is that type of maturity that struck Berhalter when he first met Trapp. The midfielder has a real understanding for how to see the game in the big picture, and that ability to read the game is what has made him such an integral piece of what Columbus does. Berhalter said he asks a lot of Trapp, but that the Ohio native handles it well. He is, as Berhalter put it, the “balance” of the team.
Columbus has already fielded inquiries from Europe about Trapp, Berhalter said. For now, they’ve turned teams down.
“He’s an easy player to watch,” Berhalter said. “It makes sense. He plays very simple, but effective. There are a lot of teams drawn to that. … The way I look at it is, it’s a collaboration. We want to do it together. We think MLS is the perfect stage for him, but we’re also open when the time is right to put him in a position where he can continue to develop.”
The moment may be soon approaching. For now, though, Trapp has more to prove in MLS.
More features from FFT | MLS
Paul Tenorio is a reporter for FourFourTwo. Follow him on Twitter @PaulTenorio.Although the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was one of the biggest blunders in smartphone history, the South Korean firm believes it will stand up to Apple's 10th anniversary iPhone 8.
A new report has revealed that Samsung is set to launch its Galaxy Note 8 in late August - months before the iOS handset hits the market.
Rumors surrounding the Note 8 first came to light in April, which had suggested that the Android could have significantly smaller bezels, an infinity screen and dual cameras.
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A new report has revealed that Samsung is set to launch its Galaxy Note 8 (pictured is Galaxy Note 7) in late August - months before Apple's 10th anniversary iPhone 8
NOTE 8 RUMORS Rumors surrounding the Note 8 first came to light in April, which had suggested that the Android could have significantly smaller bezels, an infinity screen and dual cameras. Sources have said its design will mirror that of the Galaxy S8. Sources have suggested that the Note 8 will have an Infinity display, which has an 18.5-to-9 width-to-length ratio.
Samsung has traditionally released a Note device shortly after each of its smartphones.
It is likely the new gadget will be a variant of the Note range, which traditionally offers smartphones and tablets with large screens and a stylus.
And it seems the firm is banking on the Galaxy Note 8 to keep it in the race as Apple gears up to release its highly anticipated iPhone 8.
The latest report regarding the Android smartphone was revealed by The Korea Herald and picked up by BGR, which noted that the Note 8’s design is set to mirror that of the Galaxy S8.
Sources have suggested that the Note 8 is set to include the Infinity display, which has an 18.5-to-9 width-to-length ratio.
A separate report had claimed that the Note 8 was being tested on Android 7.1.1 (Nougat), rather than a beta version of the upcoming.
FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE NOTE 8? A nine second video was uploaded to Weibo, China's leading social media site in May. It was later posted on Twitter by the leaker @mmddj_china. If the video is to be believed, the new Note 8 would have a 6.3 inch screen which would reach to each edge of the device. This bezel-less design is similar to the Infinity Display featured on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ released earlier this year. A similar design is rumored for the next flagship iPhone. The screen dimensions shown would make the Note 8 0.6 inches larger than its predecessor. It would also be 0.1 inches larger than the S8 + which would make it the largest flagship smartphone ever released by Samsung. Other rumors suggest it will have a fingerprint scanner on the front as well as a dual camera on the rear.
The latest report regarding the Android smartphone has suggested that the Note 8 is set to mirror that of the Galaxy S8 (pictured). Sources said Note 8 is set to include the Infinity display, which has an 18.5-to-9 width-to-length ratio that was first released in April with the S8 model
This news has suggested that the smartphone will launch before the new OS, dubbed 'O', is released - which is set to be released in the fall.
Another rumor had surfaced last month, which was a nice second video claiming to be the first glimpse of the Note 8.
The clip was first uploaded to Weibo, China's leading social media site.
It was later posted on Twitter by the leaker @mmddj_china with the simple question 'Note 8?'.
Another rumor had surfaced last month, which was a nice second video claiming to be the first glimpse of the Note 8. The clip was first uploaded to Weibo, China's leading social media site
If the video is to be believed, the new Note 8 would have a 6.3 inch (16 centimeter) screen which would reach to each edge of the device.
This bezel-less design is similar to the Infinity Display featured on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ released earlier this year.
A similar design is rumoured for the next flagship iPhone.
The screen dimensions shown would make the Note 8 0.6 inches (1.5 centimeters) larger than its predecessor.
It would also be 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) larger than the S8 + which would make it the largest flagship smartphone ever released by Samsung.
Other rumors suggest it will have a fingerprint scanner on the front as well as a dual camera on the rear.
If the video is to be believed, the new Note 8 would have a 6.3 inch screen (left) which would reach to each edge of the device. The screen dimensions shown (right) would make the Note 8 0.6 inches (1.5 centimeters) larger than its predecessor
In April, Samsung dropped a huge hint on the follow-up to its exploding Galaxy Note 7 series.
A Samsung spokesperson has said to expect a 'new flagship smartphone' before the end of the year.
A new device could hit shelves in the second half of 2017 once hype around its new Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones has settled down.
This bezel-less design (left) is similar to the Infinity Display featured on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ released earlier this year. The screen (right) would also be 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) larger than the S8 + which would make it the largest flagship smartphone ever released by Samsung
Samsung was forced to scrap its Galaxy Note 7 range last year after repeated reports from users that they were catching fire.
Airliners banned the devices over safety fears and the company had to recall three million handsets.
Samsung launched a vast inquiry into the issue that is expected to cost the company an estimate $5.3 billion (£4.3 billion)
Samsung was forced to scrap its Galaxy Note 7 (pictured) range last year after repeated reports from users that they were catching fire (stock image)
Airliners banned the devices over safety fears due to overheating batteries led to the devices catching fire (pictured). Samsung had to recall three million handsets
It later claimed a battery fault in the Galaxy Note 7 was to blame.
Last week it was announced that the South Korean firm will begin to sell refurbished versions of its its ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, as well as plans to rebrand it.
Pictures of the new handset leaked online revealed what it will look like and, unsurprisingly, it's exactly the same.
WHAT'S INSIDE YOUR PHONE? The hazardous ingredients of mobile phones have long been kept under wraps by manufacturers who are tight lipped about the recipes they use for their high-tech components. Cobalt is also used in rechargable batteries found in many laptops, mobile phones and electric vehicles. HeathyStuff.org sampled 36 different mobile phones to see what lurks behind the sleek smartphone covers. The phones were completely disassembled and interior and exterior components were sampled by X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry - a process which determines the chemical composition of a material. Each phone reportedly had either lead, bromine, mercury, cadmium, chlorine, or some combination of those chemicals. These hazardous substances can pollute throughout a product's life cycle, including when the minerals are extracted; when they are processed; during phone manufacturing; and at the end of the phone's useful life. The average smartphone contains up to 62 different types of metals and many are rare-earth metals.
The only difference, according to the images sent to Droidholic, are a large R stamped onto the back of the handset.
A recent report has revealed that the South Korean firm has renamed the smartphone 'Galaxy Note FE', which stands for 'Fandom Edition', in a bid to'minimize the refurbished phone image'.
Samsung's senior official, Lee Myung-bak, has also chimed in to give more details regarding the Note 7 FE's price and release date.
Pictures of the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 handset had recently leaked online revealed what it will look like and, unsurprisingly, it's exactly the same. The handset is believed to come with a smaller 3,200 mAh battery
'The Galaxy Note 7 Ripper Phone is most likely to launch in Korea at the end of June,' he explained.
The term 'ripper' is used in Korea to signify a refurbished phone.
The handset is said to boast the same look as the original, but with a smaller 3,200 mAh battery – it is also speculated to cost 30 per cent less than the Galaxy Note 7.
The refurbished Galaxy Note FE is set to hit the South Korean market by the end of June.
And Samsung plans to release 30,000 units at launch.President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired FBI Director James Comey after his attorney general and deputy attorney general recommended his removal.
In a signed letter, Trump informed Comey that he was "hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately," explaining that he reached the conclusion that Comey is "not able to effectively lead the bureau."
"It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission," Trump told Comey in the letter. "I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors."
Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to defend the move.
James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017
Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said shortly before 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday that Comey was "notified a short time ago," but declined to say how Comey was notified. Comey's dismissal took effect immediately.
Spicer told reporters that Trump "accepted the recommendation of the deputy attorney general and the attorney general," who both recommended Comey's "dismissal."
"The FBI is one of our nation's most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement," Trump said in a statement.
The White House said it will immediately launch the search for a new FBI director.
Comey was appointed FBI director by President Barack Obama in 2013.
In so doing, he elevated a Republican law enforcement veteran who had been critical of the Justice Department under former President George W. Bush to the top domestic investigative and surveillance organization, among the most powerful posts in the world.
In the decades since former FBI Director J Edgar Hoover, the controversial director who brought FBI into the modern era, law enforcement has avoided the appearance of influencing politics the way Hoover did.
But Comey's decision to thrust himself repeatedly into the 2016 election, put him at odds with the FBI's general decision to stay away from the political spotlight.
Comey made the decision in July to go public with his recommendation that the Justice Department not pursue any charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or her former staffers over her email practices as secretary of state. However, he also took the opportunity to rebuke Clinton at length as being "extremely careless" with sensitive information.
Then-candidate Trump had talked up the investigation until this point, at which time he and his campaign derided Comey for the "political" decision.
Just days away from the election, Comey jumped into the race again. He informed Congress, via letter, that the FBI had re-opened its investigation into Clinton. The decision was made because of its investigation into former Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is married to Clinton confidant Huma Abedin. Comey followed up days later with another letter, informing Congress that the FBI didn't find anything and continued to believe Clinton's practices did not merit the pursuance of any criminal charges.
After Clinton's loss, former President Bill Clinton blamed Comey for it, as have many Clinton staffers, at least in part.
After taking office, Trump met with Comey at the White House.
He offered a cryptic remark to the FBI chief.
"Oh, here's Jim," Trump said in January. "He's become more famous than me."How Zee TV fuelled state action against JNU students
Local police filed their FIR not on the basis of the information they gathered on campus on February 9, but on the basis of Zee TV footage made available to them.
THE HOOT desk reports the incitement its anchors indulged in
If there is a sedition case filed against the alleged anti-nationalism on display on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus, it is because of Zee News more than Times Now. Arnab Goswami’s Newshour is getting too much credit for feeding the outrage over slogans shouted on the JNU campus. Zee News was off the block first, was even more single-minded than Times Now in demanding accountability if that is possible, and was strident in questioning the BJP, the Press Club and others as to why the police was not being brought into the picture. This channel’s answer to Goswami is Zee’s Rohit Sardana who converted his show called Taal Thok Ke into an inquisition against the campus protests and its leaders.
But first, Zee’s contribution to the first information report registered at the Vasant Kunj North police station.
Extract from FIR filed naming JNUSU President Kanhaiya Lal (sic) and others, dated 11-02-2016, in Police station Vasant Kunj North
Here is what the FIR says: At 7.30 pm on the evening of February 9 a call was received by the PCR to report that two groups had clashed near the Sabarmati Dhabha and the situation was deteriorating. A police team set out and found two groups approaching Ganga Dhabha and shouting slogans. The FIR says the local police and JNU security staff maintained distance between them, and media persons were also present. By about 8.30 the groups dispersed and went their way still shouting slogans.
On February 10 the police came to know that Zee TV had telecast a programme which showed that the students had been chanting anti-national slogans. The FIR says the police requested footage from Zee TV and a CD given to them showed them the kind of slogans which were being shouted, including Pakistan Zindabad. The slogans are further described and then an FIR registered on the basis of the offences recorded.
The short point is that the police were present when the groups were clashing and shouting slogans, they stayed on the campus until the two sides dispersed, they saw no reason to register any complaint on the basis of the slogan shouting they heard. It is the Zee video which gave them actionable evidence. The implication is that Zee did their recording by being there in time for the action, did it at length, and showed the ‘anti-national’ parts the next day. How did the police come to know of the programme shown? It does not say. Did the channel bring it to their notice?
FIR no 0110 at police station Vasant Kunj North was registered on the 11th of October. Two days after the event, even though a police team was present at the spot on the 9th night. Who brought pressure on them to register an FIR?
Reporter or anchor, from February 10 onwards the programming was heavily judgmental. On a Feb 10 Aaj Ka Special the slogan shouting is replayed and Pavan Nara of Zee News intones, how long should we tolerate this? An ABVP student activist gets time to have her full say on the anti national behavior of the slogan shouters.
On another programme the same day anchor Sudhir Chaudhury harangues viewers about the amount of money spent on JNU students by the government, and invokes the sacrifice of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa. He goes on to talk about the bill France has passed taking away the citizenship of those indulging in terrorism.
Chaudhury of Zee and Arnab Goswami of Times Now curiously have the same points of attack against the students, and both channels repeated these every day. That they are getting an education heavily subsidized by the tax payer, and this subsidy is feeding anti-national activities. And that at a time when Lance Naik Hanumathappa was fighting for his life here were these students making a mockery of his sacrifice by supporting those convicted for terrorism such as Afzal Guru.
Sardana and Zee anchor Sudhir Chaudhary between them conducted two to three shows on the JNU agitiation every day on the 10th, 11th and 13th that are archived on YouTube. The first conducted inquisitions, telling student leader Umar Khalid nastily at one point, when he asked a question, you are not here to ask me questions, you are here to answer my questions.
On the 10th Zee news was asking the Vice Chancellor of JNU whether he would take action against those who had shouted anti national slogans. On YouTube the programmes are billed thus:
MUST WATCH!! Anti India event organiser of JNU ripped apart by Zee News Anchor Rohit Sardana!!
On the 11th the channel was asking the Press Club of india president why he had allowed the premises of the club to be used for a meeting by SAR Geelani and not filed a written complaint against Geelani for the way the meeting went. The same day on an edition of Taal Thok Ke Sardana was upbraiding the BJP spokesperson on his show: Sambit Patra you kept saying desh drohi hai but your government did not take any suo moto action against these sloganeering students, why not?
He goes on to jibe, “The same day Lance Nayak Hanumanthappa dies the government that boasts of a 56 inch chest does nothing?” He gets so aggressive that he puts Sambit Patra on the defensive.
At one point JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar tells Sardana, ‘TRP ke liye pura desh ka mohol kharab kar rahein hai”. ( You are destroying the peace of the country for the sake of TRPs.) He is told to listen, while the slogans that have been telecast many times over on this channel are repeated for him to hear.
Zee TV’s programmes amounted to incitement against the students of JNU. On February 19 when Ravish Kumar of NDTV conducted a programme registering his objection to the way TV anchors were behaving, a long extract played without the visuals was from a harangue by Rohit Sardana, using the words desh drohi.
Relevant links:
JNU shouts anti-nationalist slogans; nation questions intent.......... 10 Feb
DNA: JNU students clash over Afzal Guru row- Part II...... 10 Feb
Afzal Guru row: Why not action against supporters at JNU?...... 11 Feb
Afzal Guru row: Why not action against supporters at JNU?- Part II........ 11 Feb
Afzal Guru row: Why not action against supporters at JNU?....... 11 Feb
Taal Thok Ke Special : Panel discussion on JNU Row........... 13 Feb
Taal Thok Ke Special : Panel discussion on JNU Row - Part - VII........ 13 Feb
Taal Thok Ke: Politics Over JNU Row - Part 4.... 15 FebSignificance We identify a consistent reduction in the clarity and vividness of people’s memory of their past unethical actions, which explains why they behave dishonestly repeatedly over time. Across nine studies using diverse sample populations and more than 2,100 participants, we find that, as compared with people who engaged in ethical behavior and those who engaged in positive or negative actions, people who acted unethically are the least likely to remember the details of their actions. That is, people experience unethical amnesia: unethical actions tend to be forgotten and, when remembered, memories of unethical behavior become less clear and vivid over time than memories of other types of behaviors. Our findings advance the science of dishonesty, memory, and decision making.
Abstract Despite our optimistic belief that we would behave honestly when facing the temptation to act unethically, we often cross ethical boundaries. This paper explores one possibility of why people engage in unethical behavior over time by suggesting that their memory for their past unethical actions is impaired. We propose that, after engaging in unethical behavior, individuals’ memories of their actions become more obfuscated over time because of the psychological distress and discomfort such misdeeds cause. In nine studies (n = 2,109), we show that engaging in unethical behavior produces changes in memory so that memories of unethical actions gradually become less clear and vivid than memories of ethical actions or other types of actions that are either positive or negative in valence. We term this memory obfuscation of one’s unethical acts over time “unethical amnesia.” Because of unethical amnesia, people are more likely to act dishonestly repeatedly over time.
Across the globe, dishonesty is a widespread and common phenomenon. On an all-too-regular basis, the news reports cases of ethical misconduct in business, politics, sports, education, and medicine, behaviors that cost society millions, possibly billions, of dollars every year. Although certainly worrisome, these actions account for only a small portion of the dishonesty present in societies across the globe. Many people who consider themselves honest nevertheless often cheat on taxes, steal from the workplace, illegally download music from the internet, have extramarital affairs, use public transportation for free, lie, and so on. The costs of such arguably small-scale dishonesty are surprisingly large, both socially and financially.
These troubling data explain, at least in part, why scholars across disciplines ranging from law and economics to psychology and management have become increasingly interested in studying when and why people, even those who report that they value morality, often act unethically (1). To date, this research has focused largely on identifying situational pressures that can sway a person’s moral compass (2) and on examining how individual differences predict various forms of unethical behavior (3).
Despite the many insights such work has provided, we still know little about why people engage in unethical behavior repeatedly over time. Because dishonesty often results in guilt, remorse, or other negative emotions (4), we might expect that people would avoid continuing to act unethically. However, anecdotal evidence across the domains highlighted earlier suggests just the opposite. Here, we identify one possible reason for persistent dishonesty: Unethical actions tend to be forgotten; when remembered, memories of unethical behavior become less clear and vivid over time than those of ethical actions or other types of positive and negative behaviors.
Despite the common belief people hold that they are more ethical and fairer than others (5) and their strong desire to maintain a positive self-image, when facing the opportunity to act unethically, they often do so, if only by a little bit (1, 6). Because people hold an overly positive view of their morality but consistently fail to live up to this standard, they experience psychological discomfort after behaving dishonestly and engage in various strategies to alleviate this dissonance and reduce their distress. For instance, individuals come up with justifications for their unethical behavior to distance themselves from it (7) or view it as morally permissible—for example, by dehumanizing the victims of their dishonesty (8). That is, they recode their action by morally disengaging. In fact, people’s unethical acts lead them to disengage morally by judging wrongdoing as less morally problematic than they would otherwise (7). Additionally, to reduce the psychological discomfort experienced after committing unethical acts, people use a double-distancing mechanism, judging others’ transgressions more harshly than their own and presenting themselves as more virtuous and ethical in comparison (9).
Another strategy people use, we suggest, is forgetting the details of their unethical actions over time. Such information, in fact, threatens their moral self-image and creates distress. An extensive body of research has documented that people actively forget some of their past behavior when doing so is convenient or makes them feel good (10). In the case of dishonesty, laboratory studies show that guilty participants can suppress retrieval of their crimes when instructed to do so. In fact, in such situations the brain activity of those who committed crimes is indistinguishable from that of innocent people (11, 12).
More generally, we argue, people experience what we refer to as “unethical amnesia”: |
to work less since they get to keep less of what they earn. Low- and moderate-income workers face the same incentive because they can now maintain the same standard of living with even less effort.
Do high tax rates really harm the economy? Consider the countries of the European Union. Since the end of the Second World War, these nations have offered their citizens generous social benefits such as government provided health care and mandated lengthy vacations. Today per capita purchasing power in the EU is just two-thirds that of the US. More-equal slices maybe, but from a much smaller pie.
To deflect criticism that his policies are harming the economy, the president has tried to rely on his formidable rhetorical skills: expanding health care coverage was going to somehow drive down costs, handouts to state and local governments became a stimulus package, climate change legislation became a “green jobs” bill, and so on. Voters, it seems, aren’t buying any of it.
Policies that achieve growth and fairness
This didn’t have to happen. Obama could have embraced many policies that would have enhanced both equity and economic performance. And some of them could have bridged the ideological divide.
An obvious candidate would have been to tackle one of the biggest factors that contributed to the financial crisis in the first place: massive federal subsidies to the real estate industry via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The implicit loan guarantees provided by Fannie and Freddie prior to the bust shifted risk from participants in real estate transactions to taxpayers and allowed capital to flow into the industry under very favorable terms.
This allowed Realtors, homebuilders, developers, mortgage lenders, securities traders, and others to reap enormous gains during the boom, only to dump their losses on taxpayers during the bust. It was a classic case of private gains, socialized losses. Eliminating these loan guaranteees – indeed, cutting all federal support for Fannie and Freddie – would not only have greatly enhanced equity, it would also have helped steer investment away from ever more conspicuous McMansions and into productive endeavors like building newer, more-efficient factories, stimulating economic growth.
Another area ripe for reform would have been the loophole-ridden tax code. Today the proliferation of carve-outs means that only 40 percent of personal income is taxed, pushing rates to more than twice what they could be and creating the situation where similarly situated families often face vastly different tax burdens depending on their ability to game the system. It also means that investment is steered away from companies adept at building better products and into those with the knack for lobbying.
By closing loopholes and broadening the tax base, the president could have slashed rates, enhanced equity, and provided a huge stimulus to the economy. Instead, he’s done the opposite, adding even more loopholes and promising to raise rates.
Obama and Democrats will probably pay a high price next week for failing to see a pro-growth path to fairness. Will the presence of a Republican-led, pro-growth Congress persuade the president to pursue his goal of greater fairness in a way that helps economic growth? Our mutual prosperity depends on it.
Patrick Fleenor is chief economist of the Fiscal Economics, Inc.by Media Co-op Editors
The Halifax Media Co-op is going on indefinite hiatus.
Since 2009 the HMC has published hundreds of grassroots news stories from Halifax and around the province. We've tried our best to help amplify underrepresented voices, focusing on Indigenous issues, voices of people in poverty, workers, queer folks, and others.
We've done this on a yearly budget of less than half the salary of a CBC reporter. This has meant relying on a great deal of volunteer labour. Recently, several of our core volunteers have moved on to other projects, meaning that capacity to keep the co-op running functionally has dried up.
The HMC's website will remain on-line for the time being. Anyone with an existing account may continue to post articles, blogs, news releases or events. Occasionally a volunteer editor may look over the page and choose to feature some of these posts. However, we will not be accepting any story pitches for pay.
We thank the thousands of people who have written, read, edited, drawn, shared, liked, tweeted, advertised, donated and otherwise supported the Media Co-op over the past seven years.
If anyone would like to become a core volunteer in order to keep the HMC running, please e-mail hmc@mediacoop.ca
Thank you,
Hillary Lindsay
Suzanne MacNeil
Moira Peters
Ben Sichel
Halifax Media Co-op interim editorial collective× Man, teen charged with taking cash, guns and meds from Powhatan homes
POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. — A teenager and a 22-year-old man were charged in connection to six home break-ins, according to Anne Reynolds with the Powhatan Sheriff’s Office. Deputies used a K-9 to track down the teen after an August 11 home break-in along the 2400 block of Mt. View.
“Through investigation, a second subject, Robert C. Corbitt, III, 22, of Powhatan County, was also arrested in connection with these crimes,” Reynolds wrote in an email. “Items stolen from these homes include cash, guns, jewelry and prescription drugs.”
The break-ins occurred between July 30 and August 11 at the following locations:
2400 block Mt. View Road
2500 block of Mt. View Road
2900 block of Janet Lane
2900 block of Lake Louise Drive
1700 block of Reams Road
4300 block of Cosby Road.
Both suspects were arraigned Wednesday morning.by
What is at stake in Yemen that far more systematic violations of the Geneva Conventions than in any of the recent wars which Western powers have supported in the Arab world (Iraq, Syria, Libya and Gaza) are met with resounding silence?
For six months there has been a blockade of food and fuel, and management of aid (even that through the UN) as part of war strategy, bombing of civilian, historical, educational, religious and medical targets, destruction of infrastructure from roads to electricity and water, and use of prohibited weapons.
All of this occurs in a country of over twenty million persons, which has no effective air defences – a country as open to aerial bombardment as Gaza. Yet as an Israeli Foreign Ministry official has pointed out, the principles of international humanitarian law systematically violated in Yemen are those invoked by UN bodies, governments, the Western media, and civil organisations when they charge Israel with the commission of war crimes in Gaza.
In other words, by its silence and support for Coalition bombing in Yemen, the international community completes the erasure of legal reference in war.
That is a big price to pay for success in a conflict seemingly so minor it receives virtually no press coverage.
How is the conflict explained to us? Spokesmen of Western governments state that a militia movement (Ansarallah) took over the capital forcing out the legitimate government. Thus, as upholders of ‘legitimacy,’ the UNSC (minus Russia) judged it vital to reinstate the earlier government, even though the bulk of the Yemeni national army came over to the side of the Ansarallah, itself with a substantial popular base in Sanaa and the north. This is evident. But rarely are we reminded that a year ago, under UN auspices a political agreement (‘Peace and National Participation’) was co-signed by the Ansarallah and other Yemeni parties, only for the UN representative to be fired, another appointed, political discussions with the Ansarallah movement terminated, and a military Coalition assembled to reinstate ‘legitimacy’ inside Yemen.
As the Coalition has gone on to destroy not only Yemen but law itself, surely continuing political negotiation would have been a lower price to pay?
Why was it not?
Could it really be that some words just should never be uttered? For example, Ansarallah’s slogans call for ‘death to America and Israel.’ That slogans against America and Israel resound in the streets of a capital city, even of a small, poor, peripheral Arab country, doubled by curses on the Saudi monarch since the bombing began, clearly is unacceptable to the powers concerned. (More gratuitous and offensive to this writer is the puerile call for curses on Jews, who so long formed a component of Yemeni society, and so few of whom remain there.) But are America and Israel sacred terms that no one should ever decry?
And, slogans aside, the fact remains that Ansarallah is a religio-political movement which, unlike al-Qa`idah or Da`ish, works with secular political parties, including the Yemeni Socialist Party, and time and again negotiates politically, most recently accepting the basic clauses of the UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which the Coalition gives as the basis for its attack to restore ‘legitimacy.’
So what else is at stake that the Coalition has been left to bomb for six months to the sound of world silence?
Is it just money? Obviously Saudi Arabia (with more British airplanes than the British army) and the GCC can buy a lot of media, weapons, and people. Yet the support of the US, France and the UK to the Coalition goes beyond what money can buy, even today. So what else is at stake?
A tentative answer:
The French, who are facilitating the naval blockade, still have a base in Djibouti. It allows them to continue as players in a global network (Diego Garcia and 1400 US overseas bases) expanded from the days of the Cold War. Today, Djibouti’s major function may be not just above, but under, water: to watch the communication cables, which pass between China, Asia and the West that lie on the sea bed. Although all that visitors to Djibouti may see are French army frogmen diving to check the cables, there must be wider coordination with the Israeli submarines patrolling in the Red Sea.
The Coalition is meant to be the first exercise of a GCC ‘rapid deployment force’ advised discreetly by Israeli and American officers. Such coordination in the attack of an Arab country is novel. How has this been marketed? The rage provoked by the deaths of the invading GCC forces in Mar`ib suggests that Yemen was dreamt of as a training programme for wars modelled on recent Israeli ones – a war to be determined by aerial bombardment, but without the international outrage at war crimes that Israel suffers.
Yemen as a laboratory for new wars? It seems bizarre since, compared to Gaza, Yemen is far larger, intelligence mapping of the population far poorer, and there is still something of a ground army standing. But if one remembers how Yemen has served as a laboratory for US drones, including targeted assassination of a US citizen, perhaps it was so marketed.
Indeed there is something glossy about the way the war was sold to the GCC leaders (GCC minus Oman which refused to participate) even if we, the general public, haven’t seen the brochures. For the Emiratis it was to lead to ‘the City of Light’ (al-Noor Yemen) of booming commerce on the Indian Ocean and open to East Africa but subject to the management choices of Dubai. To the Saudi very much more was promised: unified control of ‘The Empty Quarter’ and its fabled unexploited quantities of oil and gas which the US guarded in the ground so long as the government was Yemeni; practice in making and unmaking societies and governments by precision bombing of a population dependent on food imports; and a victory so stunning, the Arabian Peninsula becoming effectively theirs, that peace with Israel could soon be publically celebrated.
In early June at a Council on Foreign Relations event, retired Major General Anwar Eshki of Saudi Arabia laid out the package. He was joined at the event by Ambassador Dore Gold of Israel. What Eshki said is not news in Saudi Arabia. But it is not often spoken out aloud, and certainly not reported with any measure of diligence in the West. Here is Eshki’s package:
“In the Arabian Peninsula, there is a promising oil field in the Empty Quarter [Rub’al-Khali] that will obligate the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Yemen to cooperate to protect it and its gains. This unity will be modeled—or rather, must be modeled—on the U.S. constitution that united America and granted it its democracy. As for the promising Ogaden [oil] field in Ethiopia, it will unite the Horn of Africa under Ethiopia’s leadership. And a bridge shall be built between the African continent and the Arabian Peninsula: The Al-Noor Bridge that shall connect the city of Al-Noor in Djibouti and the city of Al-Noor in Yemen.
All this demands a number of things:
1 Achieving peace between Arabs and Israel.
2 Changing the political system in Iran.
3 Unity of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
4 Achieving peace in Yemen and revitalizing the port of Aden because this will rebalance the demographics of employment in the Gulf.
5 Establishing an Arab force with American and European blessing to protect the countries of the Gulf as well as the Arab countries and to safeguard stability.
6 The speedy establishment of the foundations of democracy with Islamic principles in the Arab world.
7 Working toward the creation of a greater Kurdistan in peaceful ways as this will weaken Iranian, Turkish, and Iraqi ambitions and would split up a third of each of these countries in favor of Kurdistan.”
Why is the West so silent about Yemen? Perhaps these seven points provide the elements of an answer.”Alexandra Mitchell loves politics, but not voting.
The 55-year-old Dallas paralegal says candidates from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama have never been good enough for her to bother. But Donald Trump is.
“I always knew that the only person I would vote for would be an honest, rich man,” Mitchell said. “That kind of leader doesn’t need to be afraid.”
Mitchell is one of a growing number of Texans throwing their support to the bombastic billionaire. The phenomenon will be evident in Dallas on Monday, with up to 20,000 people expected at American Airlines Center for his mega-rally, scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
Trump’s appearance is more than a show of shows. His brash, often brutal assessment of the direction of the country and the fitness of his rivals has captivated a cavalcade of followers and propelled him to the top of the polls.
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Even in Texas, where favorite son Ted Cruz is expected to be a tough competitor for the bulk of the state’s delegates, Trump is culling together a following.
And it’s not just Republicans he’s attracting. Political observers expect Monday’s crowd will contain hard-right conservatives, moderates, independents, some Democrats and even folks from the Green Party.
Many will be there to hear Trump’s gospel, while others want to absorb the spectacle.
“Half will be there because they specifically want him to be president,” said conservative radio talk show host Mark Davis. “The other half is there because they are enjoying the ride.”
Trump’s huge rally could be his warning shot to Cruz and several other candidates with Texas ties who are counting on the state’s March 1 primary, the first big-state contest.
But while Trump can pack a house, he’s yet to develop the campaign infrastructure and organization needed to mobilize in such a big state.
“The question to be asked is, does he need a political organization in this state,” said former Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Jonathan Neerman, a supporter of Jeb Bush. “You can win the state through media without a statewide ground campaign. That’s what should scare people.”
Trump’s presence in Dallas is repulsive to some, including Democrats and some Hispanic leaders.
Hispanic leaders are planning a “Dump the Trump” rally near American Airlines Center.
“There are 2 million Latinos in the North Texas area,” former LULAC President Hector Flores said Sunday on Lone Star Politics on KXAS-TV (NBC5). “He is now getting people excited about voting against something.”
Mitchell says she likes Trump because “he calls a spade a spade.” She likes his positions on curbing illegal immigration and restoring American’s greatness abroad, including the Middle East.
“We finally have someone who will tell the truth,” Mitchell said. “It’s called conviction. He has guts and common sense.”
Mitchell said there’s only one way she’ll turn away from Trump.
“If he’s in favor of supply-side economics, I’m off the bandwagon,” she said. “My income has been stagnant for 15 years.”
Plano business owner Wayne Richard said he likes Trump because he’s a straight shooter on important, controversial issues.
“People in this country are very concerned about the illegal immigration issue,” Richard said. “That’s the issue that hit the bell first.”
With 16 Republicans in the race, potential voters are considering two or three contenders at a time.
For 39-year-old salesman Matt Keepman, Trump is a second choice, behind Cruz, the junior senator from Texas.
“I can appreciate what he’s doing to the GOP establishment,” Keepman said. “A lot of people are frustrated out there. They want someone outside of Washington or outside of the establishment.”
Keepman said Trump could go all the way but would probably stumble when voters demand detailed policies and better answers to questions.
“After a while, the American people could tire of him,” he said. “I see him as a John the Baptist forerunner type. He’s probably as surprised as anyone about his appeal.”
Tea party leader Katrina Pierson of Garland has appeared on national cable news shows defending Trump. She’s also a longtime Cruz supporter.
“People are over the fake and transparent president-in-a-box, dog and pony shows. Mr. Trump is exactly the opposite of your typical run-of-the-mill empty suit,” Pierson said. “He has strength, passion and an ability to get things done. He is a winner, and no one questions his ability to be successful.”
Pierson said the appeal is similar to what drove Cruz’s rapid rise in Texas politics.
“This is also why, nationally, Cruz is listed as an outsider with Trump, while all the other elected officials in the races are grouped as insiders,” she said.
Jeff Lord, a contributing editor for The American Spectator magazine and a former aide to Ronald Reagan, said Cruz could attract Trump supporters, or the other way around. And Cruz has risen in the polls as he has been careful not to criticize Trump.
The businessman is “the total antithesis of the political class,” Lord said. “People are in utter rebellion against their leadership.”
Even among those who like Trump, though, there’s doubt he’ll be around for the long haul.
Jim Mack, a 55-year-old furniture store owner from Houston, said Trump was for free enterprise and could create jobs for the 90 million Americans who needed them. He said other candidates supported those goals, but Trump was special.
“He’s a street fighter,” Mack said. “He can get the job done. He’s done it his whole career.”
Tom Scott, a 75-year-old retired businessman from Mount Vernon, said he was trying to get a buddy to pick him up and drive him to the rally.
But he suspects Trump’s flame will ultimately burn out short of the White House.
“I can’t imagine somebody who doesn’t have government experience of any kind trying to operate the government,” Scott said. “That’s what scares me.”
Follow Gromer Jeffers Jr. on Twitter at @gromerjeffers.
RelatedIt's ownership change number nine (we think) for Toronto's storied music venue the El Mocambo. After less than a year at the helm, Sam Grosso, owner of the Cadillac Lounge, has decided to sell his stake in the business, calling it a "decision that has been weighing on me for some time" in a statement on Facebook.
The shake-up leaves Marco Petrucci, the owner of 99 Sudbury, the sole owner of the El Mo while major renovations take place. "I thought we'd be able to maintain three to four days a week booking bands or events and then renovating the second floor as we're operating on the ground floor," says Grosso, admitting the improvements the pair promised when they took on the venue last summer will require a total shutdown, a move he can't personally afford.
"I didn't have the finances to pay a mortgage, insurance, property taxes, hydro, and gas bills, and then on top of that do major renovations," he says. Grosso will focus on running the Cadillac Lounge and spending more time with his children.
One estimate puts the closure at between eight and ten months, though it's not clear exactly how long it will take to carry out structural repairs, replace the stage, build a new rooftop patio, and make cosmetic improvements, including a new bar. Bands that were booked for the coming weeks will be accommodated at one of the pair's other venues, Grosso says, but there are no guarantees all of the acts will be flexible enough to move.
The El Mo opened in 1948 and established a reputation as a live music venue in the 60s and 70s. The Rolling Stones famously played there under the stage name The Cockroaches over two nights in March 1977. Debbie Harry and Blondie, The Ramones, U2 and Billy Idol have all packed out the two-floor Spadina Ave. building at the peak of their fame.
In recent years the space had fallen on hard times. Before Grosso and Petrucci took over, owner Abbas Jahangiri had tried to convert the upper floor into a dance studio. Before him, the Stones were famously prevented from reprising their famous appearance by the El Mo's strict indie-only policy.
One of the most noticeable changes made in the last 12 months was the $20,000 restoration of the famous tropical sign by local glass worker Grant Farrell, one of the few neon artists in the country.
"I'm very proud of the 10 months I was there - I think I put a little bit of a footprint on the place. I know everybody in the city was very, very excited about it. Every time I walked somewhere it was like 'Hey, how's the El Mocambo going? You're the guy that's going to do it!'."
"I felt like someone was putting another log on my shoulder," admits Grosso.
"As they say in the Italian culture, 'family first'."
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: El Mocambo, Chris Luckhardt/blogTO Flickr pool.US secretary of state breaks off from Asian tour with Obama as efforts to broker a ceasefire intensify
Hillary Clinton is en route to the Middle East to join efforts to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, in a move that suggests a breakthrough is close.
The US secretary of state, who had been accompanying Obama on his visit to south-east Asia, left Cambodia on Tuesday for talks in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo, where she will meet the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, Palestinian officials and Egyptian leaders.
Gaza City was relatively quiet overnight, but the Israeli military said it had struck 100 targets over the coastal strip, including the Gaza headquarters of the National Islamic Bank.
Five rockets were fired from Gaza during the course of the night, following a pattern of reduced missile launches for the past three nights. Rocket fire resumed on Tuesday morning.
A possible ground invasion by Israeli troops is on hold while talks in Cairo continue. However, there was evidence of the military buildup along the border with a heavy presence of reservist soldiers.
In Cairo, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, warned that further escalation in the conflict could endanger the region. "This must stop, immediate steps are needed to avoid further escalation, including a ground operation," he said. He is to visit Jerusalem on Tuesday for talks with Netanyahu before heading to Ramallah to see the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
Netanyahu met members of his security cabinet overnight. A senior Israeli official told Reuters after the meeting: "Before deciding on a ground invasion, the prime minister intends to exhaust the diplomatic move in order to see if a long-term ceasefire can be achieved."
A White House spokesman said Clinton would make clear an escalation of the conflict would be in nobody's interest. The US, Britain and other western governments have urged Israel not to mount an assault similar to Operation Cast Lead, in which 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza were killed four years ago.
By Tuesday, civilians accounted for 54 of the 113 Palestinians killed since the operation began. Some 840 people have been wounded, including 225 children, Gaza health officials said. Three Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rocket fire.
Khaled Meshal, the Hamas leader, who was in Cairo for talks on Monday, told reporters Israel must be the first to halt military operations since it had begun them last week by assassinating the movement's military chief, Ahmed al-Jaabari. "A ground invasion will not be a walk in the park," Meshal warned. "We don't have the same military and deterrence capabilities [as Israel] but we have deterred them with our will. Our enemy is drowning in the blood of children."
Officials in Jerusalem flatly denied Meshal's claim that Israel was seeking a ceasefire. It was Hamas, one official said, that was looking for a way to "climb down" after more than 400 air strikes in Gaza had significantly eroded the Palestinians' ability to launch missiles at Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities.
But diplomats in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were hopeful a deal could be forged. "The fact that the talks are still going on is a good sign," said one. "And the fact that Israel hasn't yet gone in on the ground is a good sign."
The Cairo truce talks ran into trouble on Sunday after news that 10 members of one family had been killed in Gaza in an air strike apparently aimed at killing a Hamas or Islamic Jihad leader.
British officials monitoring the crisis said the key was to de-escalate, secure a durable ceasefire, and then return to the key questions of promoting reconciliation between Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organisation and re-invigorating a moribund peace process.
The British foreign secretary, William Hague, said in Brussels: "I am pleased that Israel has held back from a ground invasion while such negotiations go on, and that the rate of rocket attacks on Israel has fallen, for whatever reason, over the last 24 hours. These are positive developments, but of course it remains a desperately serious and difficult situation."
Palestinian sources said that Abbas had responded angrily on Monday to Tony Blair, the Middle East Quartet's (the UN, US, EU and Russia) envoy, in a meeting in Ramallah. Blair is trying to persuade Abbas to refrain from seeking observer status at the UN – a move opposed by the US and Israel. Abbas reportedly told him to leave if he was not there to talk about the crisis in Gaza.
Israeli sources made clear that a ceasefire deal would have to mean an end to all hostile fire from Gaza into Israel, including small arms fire at troops near the border. Hamas fighters must also be stopped from crossing into Sinai to mount attacks against Israel from Egyptian territory. Hamas must not be allowed to rearm. Any ceasefire must not be a simple "time out" for Hamas but provide an extended period of quiet for southern Israel.
Support for Operation Defensive Pillar remains solid in Israel. According to an opinion poll in the Haaretz newspaper, 30% of the Israeli public support a ground invasion despite the risk of high casualties. Overall the operation has the backing of around 84% of the public, with 12% opposed.
But in one sign of dissent, 100 writers, intellectuals and artists on Monday issued a petition calling for a long-term ceasefire, and more significantly for talks with Hamas, which has long been a political taboo. "We must speak out because the people of southern Israel, like the people of Gaza, deserve to be able to look up at the sky in hope and not in fear," wrote the author Amos Oz, playwright Yehoshua Sobol and others.
Additional reporting by Abdel-Rahman Hussein in CairoMy name is Jim Waterson. I'm the person on the left. I write about UK politics for BuzzFeed News. The man on the right is Jim Watson, the mayor of Ottawa, Canada's capital city.
My name is Jim Waterson. I'm the person on the left. I write about UK politics for BuzzFeed News. The man on the right is Jim Watson, the mayor of Ottawa, Canada's capital city.
Thanks to the wonders of Twitter, every so often messages meant for the attention of powerful municipal chief @JimWatsonOttawa get sent to me, the lowly British journalist @JimWaterson
Sometimes I forward complaints to Jim Watson, in the hope he'll somehow save me from angry Ottawans.
Sadly, he's never actually responded to any of the issues raised. It's almost like he's got better things to do, such as running a major world capital.
But in the name of campaigning journalism on behalf of fat-fingered Canadian internet users everywhere, I decided to give him a call in order to sort out his constituents' complaints.
Luckily, Watson agreed to take the time to have a chat with someone who knows absolutely nothing about Ottawa or Canada.Pitched fighting intensified Monday in Yemen's second-largest city, Aden, leaving streets littered with dead bodies, as Shia rebels and their allies waged their strongest push yet to seize control of the main bastion of supporters of their rival, the country's embattled President.
The fierce fighting in the southern port city on the Arabian Sea raises doubts over the possibility of landing ground forces from a Saudi-led coalition backing President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to try to carve out an enclave to which Hadi, who fled the country two weeks ago, could return.
Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan to contribute soldiers to the military campaign, as well as air and naval assets, Pakistan's defence minister said Monday. Pakistan's parliament is debating the request and is expected to vote in coming days.
Saudi Arabia has been leading an air campaign since March 26 against the Houthis and their allies, military units loyal to Hadi's predecessor, ousted autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh. The International Committee for the Red Cross said Monday it was still unable to get medical supplies into the capital, Sanaa, or to Aden amid the air and sea blockade by the coalition.
On Monday, Houthi fighters and pro-Saleh forces attacked Aden's Moalla neighbourhood, one of the last districts held by Hadi loyalists where the presidential palace, port facilities, TV, government offices and a military camp are located. The districts are on a peninsula that juts into the sea, meaning Hadi's forces are bottled up in the neighbourhoods.
"We are jumping over dead bodies," Radwan Allawi, a pro-Hadi fighter, told The Associated Press from Aden. He said mosque loudspeakers were calling on Hadi's supporters to defend Moalla.
"It's intense street fighting, direct fire. The only difference between life and death may be an electricity pole behind which one can hide," the 20-year-old said.
Pro-Hadi fighters destroyed three tanks deployed in Moalla by their opponents overnight, only to find new ones Monday. At least one residential building was in flames from the fighting. Coalition forces started an airdrop of weapons to Hadi's forces on Friday, but some military officials say the weapons are falling into the wrong hands.
The number of casualties was not immediately known, with medical facilities in the city overwhelmed and volunteers coming under fire from rival groups.
Mohammed Abdo Hariri, a 50-year old resident of Aden, said he fled the city during a lull in the fighting and found its streets littered with corpses and burned-out armoured vehicles. "This is a tragedy," he said.
Military experts say the intense fighting makes any ground operation in Aden far more difficult, particularly if the administrative centre falls. Saudi officials have never said publicly that the coalition intends a ground operation, but some officials in Hadi's government have called for one. Egyptian officials have previously told the AP of plans to land forces at Aden and move other troops across the Saudi border into northern Yemen once airstrikes have sufficiently weakened the Houthis and their allies.
If Aden falls, ground forces "would be deprived of that location, which can be a command centre," said retired Yemeni army general Khairi Hassan. He said coalition troops might still attempt to land at a smaller coastal town west of Aden, but at greater risk because there are few supportive forces on the ground in the area.
Mustafa al-Ani, a security analyst with close contacts in the Saudi government, said a large-scale ground operation is "out of the question," though a small number of special forces could be sent to guide airstrikes and gather intelligence. "You don't have the solid ground, the safe haven, where you can land your troops," he said of Aden.
Asked about the Pakistani comments, the Saudi ambassador to the United States played down the suggestion of an imminent ground invasion in Yemen by the coalition.
"No options are taken off the table, but I don't think we're there yet," Adel al-Jubeir told journalists in Washington. "We're in the air phase," he said.
Instead, the aim of the air campaign is "to break the back" of the Houthis and force them into negotiations, while encouraging Sunni tribes to revolt against them, said al-Ani, a Dubai-based analyst for the Gulf Research Center.
The Saudi-led airstrikes have targeted military camps, air bases, weapons depots and rebel headquarters in all but four of Yemen's 21 provinces, and civilian areas have often been hit. The United Nations estimates more than 500 people have been killed – many of them civilians – and thousands displaced by the fighting and the airstrikes.
On their 12th day Monday, the strikes began before sunset, hitting western parts of Sanaa, the Houthi's northern stronghold of Saada and in southern al-Dhale province, a supply route for Houthis fighting in Aden.
Meanwhile, the Houthis and their allies were launching a new advance into the province of Shabwa, one of the centres of Yemen's oil industry. The Houthis were seeking deals with local tribes to allow their forces safe passage to the provincial capital, Ataq, tribal leaders said. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from Houthis.
Humanitarian groups have called for a pause in the fighting to allow aid to reach Yemen amid dwindling medical supplies and overstretched personnel. At least three Red Crescent volunteers were killed over the past week while evacuating wounded and retrieving the dead in Aden and al-Dhale.
The International Committee for the Red Cross said an aid plane it attempted to send to Sanaa was in Djibouti, across the Red Sea from Yemen, unable to fly because it belongs to Yemen's national carrier, Yemenia, which has halted all flights. Talks were under way with the Saudi coalition and other warring factions to arrange another cargo flight into the capital, said Marie Claire Feghali, an ICRC spokeswoman in Sanaa.
Also urgently needed, she said, is clearance to allow a surgical team to arrive in Aden from Djibouti by boat. No clearance has been granted, she said, without elaborating.
"The hospitals are exhausted," she said. "There are dead bodies on the streets in Aden. This is why we called for a 24-hour humanitarian pause in the fighting so that people can go and collect the dead."
Sarah El Deeb reported from Cairo. Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.We are appalled and outraged by the events at the Kotel this week, when Reform rabbis and lay leaders were physically attacked by Kotel security guards. The Reform leaders were engaged in an act of civil disobedience to push for implementation of the Kotel agreement, which the Netanyahu government disavowed after months of negotiation. One can agree or disagree with civil disobedience as a change strategy, but responding with violence is not acceptable, especially at our holiest site. It also involves several Torah and rabbinic prohibitions. This is not the way of Torah.
We affirm our belief that the Kotel belongs to all Jews, and call upon Prime Minister Netanyahu to implement a practical and equitable solution to allow for a pluralistic prayer space at the Kotel.
We condemn in no uncertain terms recent Orthodox claims that Reform Jews are “worse than Holocaust deniers,” “idolaters,” and “not Jews.” Although we have significant theological and Halachic differences with Reform Judaism, Reform Jews are our brothers and sisters, and Reform rabbis and leaders are admirable in their dedication to Klal Yisrael. They are people with and from whom we can learn, and without their contributions to our people we would be impoverished.
Rabbi David Bigman
Rabbi Dr. Ariel Burger
Rabbanit Dr. Carmella Abraham
Rabbi Yehoshua Engelman
Rabbi Daniel Geretz
Rabbi Dr. Mel Gottlieb
Rabbi Steve Greenberg
Rabbi Dr. Yitz Greenberg
Rabbi Herzl Hefter
Rabbi Tyson Herberger
Rabbi David Jaffe
Rabbi David Kalb
Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky
Rabbanit Rachel Keren
Rabbi Fred Klein
Rabbanit Oshra Koren
Rabbi Daniel Landes
Rabbi Asher Lopatin
Rabbi Avram Mlotek
Rabbi Dina Najman
Rabbi Micah Odenheimer
Rabbi Dr. Ariel Picard
Rabbi Gabriel Kretzmer-Seed
Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein
Rabbi Devin Villarreal
Dr. Sharon Weiss-Greenberg
Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz
This story "Progressive Orthodox Rabbis Stand With Reform Leaders Attacked At Kotel" was written by Rabbinic members of Torat Chayim the Progressive Orthodox Rabbinic Association.Ninjas in Pyjamas will soon tie down Mikail "Maikelele" Bill to a contract, the organisation's CEO has revealed.
Mikail "Maikelele" Bill was brought in as a stand-in by NiP for DreamHack Winter following the retirement of longtime member Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson, who had been with the team since their creation.
At the Swedish major, NiP came just one step shy of winning the top prize of $100,000 as they fell short against LDLC in the grand final.
Maikelele will commit to NiP soon
With the players currently taking a break - which forced the team to withdraw from the ESL Pro League -, NiP CEO Per Lilliefelth has now indicated that Maikelele is poised to sign a long-term deal with the organisation.
"We noticed pretty quickly that he was accepted by the team and the right man for the job, so there’s really nothing to think about," Lilliefelth told aftonbladet.se.
"He will of course be signed as soon as possible. We’re going to sit down with him and get the details sorted out. "I thought he was amazing and I like him in a lot of ways. He’s a great person who |
, the Ravens decided to elevate his status to active and place him on the 53-man roster.
We have placed CB Sheldon Price on IR and waived RB Jeremy Langford. We have signed RB Alex Collins & CB Tony McRae from the practice squad. — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 16, 2017
In his Raven’s debut, Collins split back-up carries with Terrance West, touching the ball seven times for 42 yards, a 6.0 average. Two of his rushes went for first downs, including his first touch that went for 16 yards.
Back To His Old Ways
After not being targeted in the season opener, tight end Hunter Henry picked up the start on Sunday, leading all Charger tight ends in receiving with a career-high seven receptions for 80 yards, including a 17-yard catch with 55 seconds remaining, to set up a potential game-winning field goal.Get the biggest Liverpool FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Jamie Carragher was full of praise for former club Liverpool after their display against Manchester City this weekend.
Jurgen Klopp's side turned in their best performance of the season so far to put their hosts to the sword, scoring three first-half goals en route to a 4-1 success.
There were star turns from Brazilians Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, both of whom had a hand in the first three goals, plus a fine fourth from defender Martin Skrtel.
The result lifted the Reds to ninth in the Premier League and drew a rave review from Carragher.
"The first 30 or 35 minutes was as good as anything I can remember," the ex-England defender said on Sky's Monday Night Football.
LANG:
(Image: Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine)
"Not from Klopp or any Liverpool team, but in the Premier League - at least when going away to a big team like Man City who are one of the top sides.
"For Liverpool supporters in their forties or fifties, the run they went on for the first goal was like Ian Rush running onto the end of a Kenny Dalglish pass - a straight pass to a diagonal run. That is what you saw all day.
"It was like the Red Arrows watching Liverpool, they were just running through people all the time. They could've scored another two or three goals just from this sort of tactic.
"The front three of Coutinho, Firmino and Adam Lallana were scintillating and they played very narrow. The two reasons for that, I think, was to stop Man City - when they were in possession - from playing balls into midfield and force them wide.
"But also when they're that narrow, they can make penetrating runs from there because City centre-backs like to step out to the ball, be aggressive and when they're on the edge of the box, they always hold that line."
Carragher feels that the work being done on the training ground by Klopp is beginning to pay off at Anfield, even if results have remained a touch inconsistent since the German's arrival.
READ MORE: Klopp's US TV interview after the game
(Image: Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine)
(Image: Reuters / Phil Noble)
"You could see the work that had been done during the week," Carragher added.
"There was talk about why [Christian] Benteke wasn't playing and Klopp said, 'Well I've been using the same players for the last 10 days in training' and you can see how that's worked.
"We've spoken about the work of Klopp in terms of being organised and pressing. I think that was the first time we've seen the work of him offensively, what he can do and maybe the damage he can cause with his teams, and that's from working with those players for 10 days during the international break."Please enable Javascript to watch this video
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More DX Scouting Reports and Video Breakdowns:
The 43rd ranked high school recruit in his class, Dejounte Murray exceeded expectations as a freshman, emerging as a second team All-Pac 12 Conference player after averaging 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Washington did not have a great season overall, finishing 19-15 and 9-9 in conference play, with one of the youngest rosters in college basketball.Murray took advantage of the opportunities he was presented with playing a major role for the fastest paced team in major-conference college basketball, and surprised somewhat by electing to enter the draft and hire an agent already in March, without testing the waters or even waiting on an evaluation from the NBA Draft underclassmen advisory committee.Murray has good size for either guard position, measuring 6'5 in shoes with a 6'9 ½ wingspan. He has a thin frame, currently only listed at 170 pounds, but has fairly wide shoulders that indicate he should be able to fill out and get stronger in time. While not freakishly athletic in a traditional sense, Murray is a very fluid and slithery player, capable of playing above the rim in space, and knowing how to get to where he needs to on the floor thanks to his excellent instincts and pace.Seeing a huge portion of his possessions in the open court, Murray is at his best pushing the ball in transition or in the early offense, where he shows a few different gears he can utilize to attack defenses. Although he's not particularly strong, Murray is an incredibly aggressive player, always looking for ways to get inside the paint and get a shot off, not being afraid of contact in the least bit. He shows some interesting ball-handling moves, with big swooping crossovers and fancy change of speed moves, mixing in terrific body control with instinctive footwork that allows him to execute some highly advanced scoring combos at times.Lacking a degree of strength and explosiveness as a finisher around the basket, Murray is highly dependent on his floater to bail him out when he can't draw contact and get to the free throw line. He shows impressive touch and range on it, and made more floaters than any other draft prospect in the country this season according to Synergy Sports Technology, converting them at a decent 45% rate. There's a reason why more prospects don't take (or make) that many of those shots, though, as it's a very difficult way to make a living. Murray really struggles finishing in traffic otherwise, even in the open court, which is one of the reasons he shot just 46% from 2-point range.While primary hunting for his own shot at all times seemingly, Murray will occasionally display some vision and creativity finding teammates for open looks, primarily off the dribble. He's turnover prone, often just passing as a last resort after exhausting all other options, and trying to get way too flashy at times, but does demonstrate some potential at times with his ability to hit the roll man, throw impressive lob passes, or whip the ball around in transition. As he gets older and the game slows down for him, he may be able to develop his point guard skills even further and learn how to run a team with a steadier hand.Murray's biggest weakness offensively, besides his poor decision making skills, revolves around his very inconsistent jump-shot. He hit just 29% of his 3-pointers on the season, showing poor footwork and a lot of wasted motion in his release, having a difficult time in particular making shots off the dribble (15/59, 25%). This didn't prevent Murray from heaving up more than four jumpers per game, as defenses would often just sag off him completely, knowing they could bait him into settling for bad shots. The fact that he was able to make over one 3-pointer a game is a reflection of his instincts as a scorer and natural touch, which leaves some hope he can continue to develop this part of his game in time with better shot-selection and improved technique.Defensively, Murray's long arms and excellent instincts give him some potential to grow into, but he was largely ineffective on this end of the floor as a freshman. He doesn't put much effort into this part of his game at this stage of his career, as he has poor fundamentals and isn't particularly attentive either. His lack of strength made it easy for players to bulldoze their way straight through him, he rarely gives a second effort after getting beat, and often looks very upright just standing straight up off the ball.With that said, Murray shows quick hands and reaction time sniffing out passes and getting in the passing lanes (1.9 steals per-40 pace adjusted) and was one of the better rebounding guards in our Top-100 (6.3 per-40, 6th), which leaves some room for optimism that he can improve this part of his game over the next few years with better coaching and effort.While some NBA teams likely would have preferred to see Murray return to school and gain more experience at the college level in what would have been a very talented Washington team next season, his family situation reportedly played a heavy role in him electing to declare early. Murray's size, length, creativity, scoring instincts, aggressive mentality and youth give him a nice framework to build off as a prospect, even if he's likely years away from helping a NBA team. A team looking to swing for the fences in the 20-40 range could very well elect to pick him and hope they can develop into a better player than you typically expect to find in that part of the draft, thanks to his talent-level. They'll have to be very patient, though.Islamist militants have brought dozens of fighters from the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zour to Iraq to join them in their fight against security forces, Al Sumaria News reported activists as saying on Saturday.
Without specifying an exact figure, the Syrian activists said that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group brought dozens of Deir al-Zour residents “to participate in battles on different fronts including the Iraqi forces and the [Kurdish] Peshmerga."
The news come after the Pentagon said on Friday that ISIS militants are having to spend more effort defending key supply lines in Iraq due to U.S.-led air strikes and pressure from local forces.
ISIS’ supply routes into Iraq from neighboring Syria have become a central focus of combat, with Iraqi government and Kurdish forces -- along with coalition warplanes -- seeking to disrupt and cut off the militants' access to weapons and equipment, spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.
“They’re trying to protect what they can hold onto now, and... also we're seeing them put a lot more emphasis on protecting their lines of communications,” Kirby said. “That’s where they're putting their energy.”
U.S. officials say the Iraqi government army is being trained and armed to stage a major counter-offensive later in 2015, but in the meantime, the international coalition is seeking to pile pressure on ISIS supply lines.
“If you look at the air strikes we’re conducting, and you look at some of the operations that are being done by Iraqi and Kurdish forces, you can see that we're trying to disrupt their ability to do that, to preserve those lines of communication,” he said.
“One of the keys for them to maintain the control they have is to be able to sustain themselves, and we're trying to make that as difficult as we can for them.”
However, it was unclear if the ISIS group had faced serious difficulty resupplying its fighters as a result.
U.S. reports 11 anti-ISIS air strikes
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led forces launched five air strikes near Kobani, Syria, and six in Iraq since Thursday in their battle against ISIS, the American military said.
The strikes in Syria hit several ISIS fighting positions, two tactical units and destroyed a building, according to a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force. The strikes in Iraq hit near al-Qaim, al-Asad, Sinjar and Mosul.
After nearly 1,700 air raids by U.S.-led forces since Aug. 8, ISIS’ advance has been halted for the most part but the jihadists have held on to much of the territory they seized in Syria and Iraq last year.
(With AFP and Reuters)
Last Update: Saturday, 10 January 2015 KSA 14:00 - GMT 11:00President Obama Says He'll Rein In NSA... Then Proceeds To Praise And Defend Everything They've Done
from the not-very-convincing dept
"The challenge is...we do have people who are trying to hurt us. And they communicate through these same systems," Obama said. "And if we're going to do a good job preventing a terrorist attack in this country, a weapon of mass destruction getting on the New York subway system, etc., we do want to keep eyes on some bad actors."
"I want to everybody to be clear: the people at the NSA, generally, are looking out for the safety of the American people. They are not interested in reading your emails. They're not interested in reading your text messages. And that's not something that's done. And we've got a big system of checks and balances, including the courts and Congress, who have the capacity to prevent that from happening," the president added.
"The N.S.A. actually does a very good job about not engaging in domestic surveillance, not reading people's emails, not listening to the contents of their phone calls. Outside of our borders, the NSA's more aggressive. It's not constrained by laws," Obama said.
In an interview on Thursday, President Obama said that he's going to propose some "self-restraint on the NSA" and to "initiate some reforms that can give people more confidence." Of course, he's the boss of the NSA. He doesn't need to "propose" anything -- he can order them to stop. Furthermore, it appears that nearly everything else he talked about was supporting the actions of the NSA, so it's a bit difficult to take seriously this idea that there will be any significant decrease in NSA activity.That's misleading to inaccurate, depending on your perspective. The checks and balances are not all they're cracked up to be, with everyone pretty much reliant on the NSA telling the truth, combined with the fact that many of those responsible for "oversight" are so close with the NSA that they're more co-conspirators than actual overseers.Separately, can we drop this whole "they're not interested in reading your emails" bullshit? All people are saying there is "look you're a peon so shut up and deal with the fact that you have no privacy." That's ridiculous. Clearly the NSA is reading lots of people's emails (and getting data about them and what they do). While they might not make use of itto spy onin particular, that doesn't mean that it won't change in the future when suddenly you become "a person of interest" for whatever reason. It's easy for some people to think that the government won't ever care what they're doing -- but that can always change in a hurry and by the time it does, it's too late to start "worrying" about your privacy.On top of that, recent revelations have made it clear that the NSA has no qualms at all about using information it gathers onthat it doesn't like to try to destroy their lives. Sure, the NSA might not want to read your email today. But, piss off the wrong person tomorrow...Separately, if they don't want to spy on me, let's make a simple deal then: stop doing it. It's hard to square this claim from NSA defenders that it's okay to spy on all of us because they don't want to spy on all of us. The right response is to. You want to go after the so-called "bad people," okay, then target those people but not everyone in hopes you might find some bad people mixed in there.Oh, and once again, it's incredibly insulting how completely unconcerned the President and other NSA defenders seem to be about the rest of the world. Once again the message is basically: if you're not American, fuck you.But it can be constrained by their boss, who happens to be the President. Will he actually do anything?
Filed Under: barack obama, foreigners, nsa, nsa surveillanceYou've got to be kidding! Herd of mountain goats casually climb near-vertical 160ft dam
Advertisement
At first look you could be forgiven for thinking this photo of the Cingino dam in the Italian Alps is unremarkable, but for the feat of civil engineering it represents.
However, look a bit closer and you might feel like a bit of a silly billy for not realising those specks on its sheer 160ft face are something altogether more amazing.
See the video below...
Alpine horns: At first sight the specks on this dam appear appear to be rocks, but on closer inspection.....
These incredible pictures show Alpine Ibex goats wandering across the face of the near-vertical dam in Northern Italy without a care in the world.
The gravity-defying goats typically live in very steep and rocky terrain at altitudes of up to to 4,600m and have no fear of falling whether climbing up or down the 160ft dam wall.
And they aren't doing it just to show off.
It is thought the goats are actually grazing, licking the stones for their salts.
Don't look down: The goats have no fear of falling
The photos have captured the imagination of bloggers across the internet including Jolle Jolles, a 25-year-old zoologist working at Cambridge University.
'I have a great fascination for goats,' he said.
'I think they are one if not the most fascinating animals on our planet. Probably most of you might at first not agree, thinking of your favourite animal (as) the panda, lion or dolphin.
'But goats have more to offer than their great grazing abilities.'Education is at once the great social mobiliser and the great leveller in our society. Educated citizens are safeguards in our democracy, and an educated workforce is vital to a productive, innovative and entrepreneurial economy. Education breaks the shackles of disadvantage and empowers those who live without privilege.
But how fair and accessible are Australia’s schools? Almost five years on since the Gonski Review, are we making progress?
CPD latest report, Uneven playing field: the state of Australia’s schools, takes a look at these questions. It is co-authored by CPD Fellow Chris Bonnor and Bernie Shepherd, who between them have 80 years of experience as NSW principals and education policy experts.
Examining key data from the My School website, the report shows:
Equity in our schools is declining – Family and personal background are having a greater impact on student achievement than is desirable in an open, accessible system like ours.
Students who have the means are shifting to different schools – Enrolment growth in more advantaged schools is growing strongly while enrolment growth in more disadvantaged schools is well below the national average.
A schools hierarchy is hardening along advantage/disadvantage lines – Disadvantaged students are increasingly concentrated in disadvantaged schools, and the educational challenges for these students are compounding as a result.
The local school is becoming detached from its surrounding neighbourhoods – The local public school is increasingly less representative of the local area because many students are attending school elsewhere. The connections the local school has with the community are breaking down.
Government funding is converging across government and non-government schools – Based on current trends, by 2016-17 the recurrent government funding that non-government schools receive converge with, then outstrip, that received by the public schools in a similar socio-economic range.
The report argues that the current government policies and funding arrangements are wholly unsustainable, and recommends four key things overall:
Revitalise Gonski – Policymakers should revising the findings and establish the mechanisms recommended by the Review – including a National Schools Resourcing Body to drive implementation of a Schools Resourcing Standard.
Level the playing field for schools and students – Federal and state governments to commit to full funding of all the Gonski recommendations as a high priority. If additional funding is not forthcoming, governments should rebalance the funding mix towards additional investment in schools with greatest need, regardless of sector. This should include a review of those schools where current finding levels are much greater than for other schools with similar enrolment profiles, differ markedly from other schools with similar enrolments, and a hold in growth in public funding for non-government schools pending a review of how funding is distributed and what obligations should accompany public funding.
Restore the local school – Policy should focus on maximising opportunities for all children to enrol and succeed in their most accessible local school.
Reduce the impact of disadvantage on student outcomes – The clear relationship between social disadvantage and poor educational outcomes – driven in part by separation of students with socio-educational advantage – must be addressed as an urgent priority. Incentives available to certain schools to aggregate advantage should be progressively reduced, and the capacity of less advantaged schools to offer excellent education to all students and families in a community must be increased.
You can read both the full report and the press release here.
Key links
Full report Press release
Media coverage
Print and online
‘Federal aid for private schools to outstrip funding for similar state schools‘, Gareth Hutchens, The Guardian.
‘Private school students to receive $100 more in government funds than public students by 2020‘, Timna Jacks and Matthew Knot, Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.
‘Election 2016: Harsh truths for both sides on school funding, but we’ll just muddle on‘, Matthew Knot, Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.
‘Private schools the big winners from taxpayer funding‘, Leith van Onselen, Macrobusiness.
‘Schools out during the long election campaign‘, Chris Bonnor and Bernie Shepherd, Inside Story.
Radio
Co-author Chris Bonnor discussed the report on Mornings with Jon Faine on ABC Radio in Melbourne.
TV
Chris also appeared on Channel 7’s The Morning Show on 2 June and on Sky’s Newsday with Ashley Gillon on 3 June.26 March 2015 No Snowden Asylum, He's a CIA Fraud Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2015 12:19:23 +0100
From: "Dr Les Sachs" <l.sachs[at]inbox.lt>
Subject: Swiss gov letter: No Snowden asylum, he's a CIA fraud
To: info[at]pandodaily.com Here is the letter at the Swiss government agencies which terminated the plan to re-locate Snowden into Switzerland, with a link to the larger intelligence agency dossier at EU governments on how the US agencies have run this hoax. Fine to publish the letter with my e-mail address as well, just please not the phone number
Cheers
Les
Dr Les (Leszek - Leslie) Sachs
tel. xxxxx
* * *
His Excellency Bénédict de Cerjat, Embassy of the Swiss Confederation to the Kingdom of Belgium Mr Roberto Balzaretti, Chief of Mission of the Swiss Confederation to the European Union Schweizer Nachrichtendienst des Bundes - Service de renseignement de la Confédération Suisse Schweizer Bundesamt für Polizei - Office fédéral de la police suisse
Re: Intelligence dossier on active CIA agent & fraud 'Edward Snowden', threats to Switzerland
Your Excellency, Chief of Mission, and Swiss Confederation Intel & Police Authorities,
Since the previous year - in case you did not know - the governments and intelligence agencies of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Belgium, have all known that the man in Russia 'Edward Snowden' publicly requesting Swiss asylum, is a liar and fraud, an active CIA agent hoaxing and defrauding European citizens, a man who may have already helped murder innocent people via the CIA 'Operation Fake Dissident Snowden'.
There is a substantial intelligence agency file on 'Snowden' in the possession of the above countries, describing in detail the comprehensive CIA connections and evil purposes of this grand hoax, by which the US regime is attempting to humiliate Switzerland, the USA not being content with the billions already extorted from Swiss banks and institutions by the corrupt USA judicial apparatus. The 'Snowden' intel file is attached in e-mails to you, and can also be viewed online here: Report to FSB SVR 'Snowden, Greenwald are CIA frauds' http://homment.com/3K3xdsYD7a The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service will understand this report quickly, if not holding it already, and may find amusement confronting Mr Snowden himself, his lying CIA-backed 'Snowden' journalists, and the CIA and US regime over this 'Snowden' fraud, which was clear from the beginning, when Snowden was promoted by the same CIA media, Guardian & NY Times - who have criminal charge complaints registered against them in Europe for spreading criminal lies about a genuine exiled USA dissident. No real victim receives 'Snowden'-type promotion by CIA media. And Snowden proved himself to be a fraud via his own words, not even interested in the corruption of the US judges who would put him on trial. Everyone around Snowden is CIA - his lawyers, his journalists, etc. 'Operation Snowden' is a CIA 'limited hang-out', i.e., speaking some truths, to sell lies that defraud and murder. Among the purposes of 'Snowden' - who never'stole' any documents - is to increase the sense of terrorism and blackmail among governments; to promote CIA-tied media, their lies and frauds; and very likely to entrap genuine USA dissidents, who may have already been silenced or killed after contacting 'Team Snowden'. The fraud 'Snowden' is now a subject for quiet USA-Russia negotiation. The USA would like to move this liar Snowden to Switzerland, where he can meet more easily with CIA colleagues and continue his criminal activity the US prefers this option to bringing Snowden back to the USA for a fake 'trial' and an fake staged 'imprisonment' of a few years while Snowden would be hidden at a CIA site. Edward Snowden has no hesitation about fraud, murder, deception, or even the violation of children. He has perhaps already defrauded Swiss citizens into donating 'Snowden defence' funds to what is already known in several nations as a proven CIA programme. The good Swiss citizens deserve your protection from 'Operation Fake Dissident Snowden'; the file above will lead you to all that you need. Very sincerely yours, Dr Les (Leszek - Leslie) Sachs, contributor to 'Snowden CIA fraud' report, Harvard classmate of top US leaders, expert on USA judicial corruption and media control crimes, reporting to & informing EU governments; and genuine targeted political victim of the USA
tel. xxxxx
---------- End of forwarded message ----------ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Prosecutors say an Alaska dentist charged with Medicaid fraud pulled a sedated patient’s tooth while riding a hoverboard.
Seth Lookhart was charged with 17 counts of Medicaid fraud after prosecutors say he billed Medicaid $1.8 million last year for IV sedation used in procedures that didn’t call for it.
Prosecutors say in an indictment that investigators found a video on Lookhart’s phone of him riding a hoverboard while extracting a sedated patient’s tooth. They say he texted the video to his office manager and joked that it was a “new standard of care.” Prosecutors say investigators contacted the patient and she told them she was unaware that Lookhart was riding the hoverboard while operating on her.
Lookhart’s attorney, Michael Moberly, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lookhart’s office manager is also charged in the case.The age of American Gods is nigh.
Production is currently underway on the Starz adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 2001 fantasy novel, and the author posted a behind-the-scenes photo from the set Wednesday, adding the caption, “Oh yes. It’s happening. It’s really happening.”
Bryan Fuller and Michael Green are serving as showrunners on the series, which centers on a battle between the old biblical and mythological gods and a new generation of deities representing modern America’s obsession with technology, media, and wealth. David Slade is directing the pilot and additional episodes.
The cast includes Ricky Whittle (The 100) as protagonist Shadow Moon; Ian McShane as Mr. Wednesday, the mysterious man who hires Shadow as a bodyguard; Emily Browning (Sucker Punch) as Shadow’s wife, Laura Moon; Crispin Glover as series antagonist Mr. World; and Sean Harris, Yetide Badaki, and Bruce Langley as three mystical characters.
A premiere date for American Gods has yet to be announced, though Fuller has said the show will likely debut in 2017.UP TO 8X CPU / CORES - INTEL OR AMD
BATCH & MULTIOUPUT / BATCH CAPABILITY
You can set cinec to use one or more Core CPUs - threads of your computer to speed up the time necesary to encode videos. Or, if you want to create a video from a sequence of images you can set how many paral·lel processes want to run at the same time.All at your convenience, so if you have a dedicated workstation and need to get the job done for a customer as soon as possible, simply set the CPU Cores value to the maximum number. If you're in home watching youtube / vimeo or doing some other things, then set to 1 or 2 cores.Did you bought a Intel Haswell CPU?Cinec supports mmx, avs and sse among other CPU multimedia resources, so its your perfect companion for Intel Haswell (Z87-Z97), Intel Haswell E (X99 - 2011-3) and Intel Haswell EP (C610 - 2011-3), as well as AMD FX series.Cinec is not limited to encode 1 file at a time. Cinec includes an advanced grid array, in which you can load several videos at a time, this provides thefeature meaning that by pressing the "Encode" button one time, all videos will be processed.Cinec makes the tedius work of processing several videos and/or to several outputs, a simple workFURIOUS: Nelson College principal Gary O'Shea said the prize-giving prank that saw five students run semi-naked through their sister school's assembly was 'disrespectful' and 'un-necessary'
Five senior Nelson College students have been stood down after running semi-nude through their sister school’s end of year prize giving assembly.
Headmaster Gary O’Shea said he was ‘‘furious’’ about the incident at Nelson College for Girls. ‘‘It’s just totally un-necessary. It’s not funny, it’s inappropriate and it’s disrespectful of our sister school.’’
The Nelson College for Girls assembly was attended by students’ parents.
The Nelson College students were stood down for three days and barred from attending both graduation dinner and senior prize giving. They were also stripped of their prefect badges.
O’Shea said the group was not nude but ‘‘they weren’t wearing much’’. They appeared on stage and then ran through the hall.
‘‘I can handle pranks inside our school but I won’t tolerate disrespect. It’s a complete brain fade by five boys.’’
The school has a regular history of students running amok at this time of year but for the past several years that had been confined to pranks in the school. In the past students had consumed alcohol and vandalised nearby properties.
‘‘Usually something happens but usually it’s a very small number that taints the whole school.’’
O’Shea had apologised to Nelson College for Girls but said he was getting tired of doing so for a small group of students.
The students would be allowed back to school in time to start their end of year exams on Thursday.It's small charity week and to celebrate we revisit our most popular blogposts - from how-to guides on charity PR to Coppafeel!'s partnership with the Sun newspaper
Small charities may be a fraction of the size of charity juggernauts such as Cancer Research UK, Shelter and the British Heart Foundation, but what an impact they make.
Small organisations make up the majority of the sector – more than 90% – and continue to fight for the causes so dear to our hearts.
This week is small charity week and to celebrate, we've compiled our top five small charity blogposts from the network - they're either written by small charity experts or are from our series dedicated to you – but most of all they celebrate what small charities do.
5. Falling at the first hurdle: marathon fundraising passes small charities by
According to Ogden-Newton, everyone knows the London Marathon raises millions for worthwhile causes but few realise that small charities miss out. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
Earlier this year, small charity chief executive Allison Ogden-Newton wrote that small charities find it almost impossible to fundraise through events like the London Marathon. Despite sporting events having huge fundraising opportunities and potential, the high price of entry costs and often the unluckiness of the draw, means that smaller organisations often miss out.
4. How-to guide: public relations for charities on a shoestring budget
Hamilton explains how small charities can manage their publication relations on a small budget. Photograph: Image Source / Rex Features
In at fourth, we have the most popular of our how to guides - PR on a budget. The charity PR extraordinaire David Hamilton wrote the piece and explained that by picking up the phone and asking for help, any small organisation can be a media whizz.
3. Wanted: musical sea eagle. The five weirdest volunteer roles
It's Volunteer's Week - to celebrate we have rounded up the five wackiest volunteering roles. Photograph: Robin Utrecht/EPA
Next up is our most recent and fun. During Volunteer's Week 2014 we hunted down the weirdest and most bizarre of volunteering roles. From Wheatfields Hospice calling for a chicken knitter to larger charity RSPB asking for a sea eagle that could play the fiddle - the list demonstrated that the charity sector is wacky and pretty original!
2. Pancreatic Cancer Action: why we ran a controversial ad campaign
Photograph: Pancreatic Cancer Action
When PCA ran their 'I wish I had' campaign there was much backlash from the public and media. However, chief executive Ali Stunt explained: "We knew that the response generated was strong and was therefore likely to lodge in people's memories – thus helping our objectives of raising awareness of this terrible disease and its symptoms."
1. Why my charity CoppaFeel! partnered with the Sun newspaper's Page 3
Hallenga thinks partnering with the Sun's Page 3 was the best move for Coppafeel!'s campaign. Photograph: The Sun
Whether you agree with this partnership or not - Coppafeel!'s link up with the Sun page 3 sure had an impact. Kristen Hallenga - the founder of the breast cancer charity - explained that as a small awareness charity with a little marketing budget they rely heavily on corporate and media partnerships to help broadcast their message.
For more news, opinions and ideas about the voluntary sector, join our community - it's freeParsedown Party is a new WordPress Plugin I wrote with PHP namespaces, Composer support, 90% code coverage, and Travis-CI for automatic testing and releases.
While writing this Plugin, I settled on some WordPress coding conventions that I’d like to talk about.
Namespaces
One of the weirder things I read as a WordPress Plugin developer are tips such as “prefix all your function with name_” or “put all your functions in a class and declare them as static.” This advice is to prevent code collisions with the other 53,123+ Plugins available for WordPress. Big number.
On the other hand, Packagist lists 164,796+ PHP Composer packages, does not follow the aforementioned recommendations and has no such code collisions. Why? Because they use namespaces.
PHP Namespaces have been available since 2009. Other programming languages such as Java or Perl have had them for longer. WordPress Core doesn’t encourage PHP Namespaces but the syntax is fully supported.
If my class is a bunch of static methods and nothing else then I am doing it wrong. I should instead write a library of functions. If I’m afraid of function name collisions then I should use Namespaces because they solve that exact problem and they work fine with WordPress.
add_action( 'login_head', '\Kizu514\Coolname\this_works_fine' ); add_filter( 'login_headerurl', '\Kizu514\Coolname\welcome_to_php' );
Objects
Another odd thing I see while browsing OPP (other people’s plugins) are objects with “mostly” static methods. There is some object-oriented approach to the design but most of the methods are static because they hook into actions and filters.
I think that an object in a WordPress Plugin should have, at most, two static methods. Every other method in a class should be public, protected or private.
There are very few cases where static methods are necessary. Most of the time public methods can be used. At worst, namespaced functions can invoke objects as needed and these concerns should be separate.
Here’s an example of what I mean (the code must also have PHPDoc comments but for brevity, I have omitted these):
namespace Kizu514\CoolClass; class Plugin { private static $instance = null; private $obj1; private $obj2; private $obj3; static public function init() { if ( is_null( self::$instance ) ) { $obj1 = new \Obj1(); $obj2 = new \Obj2(); $obj3 = new \Obj4( new \Obj3() ); self::$instance = new self( $obj1, $obj2, $obj3 ); self::hooks( self::$instance ); } return self::$instance; } static public function hooks( Plugin $obj ) { add_action('save_post', [ $obj, 'doSomething' ] ); add_filter( 'the_content', [ $obj, 'doSomethingElse' ] ); } public function __construct( $obj1, $obj2, $obj3 ) { $this->obj1 = $obj1; $this->obj2 = $obj2; $this->obj3 = $obj3; } public function doSomething( $post_id ) { /**/ } public function doSomethingElse( $content) { /**/ } }
Some time passes….
add_action( 'after_setup_theme', [ '\Kizu514\CoolClass\Plugin', 'init' ] );
The first static method, init, is hooked into one of many available launch points like plugins_loaded, after_setup_theme, or init. Because these actions happen before everything else a second static method, hooks, can do the rest of the work from inside the object itself.
Admittedly, even if I am down to just two static methods, they are gross. Glaring problems include “Singletons are evil” and not using Inversion of Control.
I’m very happy with this code style and I will be using it moving forward.Keep your dog away from your pack of sugarless gum — it could be deadly.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned dog owners that xylitol, a sweetener used in sugarless gum, mints, |
GMT
The concept of “bitchy resting face” may have started off as a joke, but ever since the fake PSA went live – garnering more than 2 million hits on the comedy site Funny or Die and YouTube – scores of women have come forward to own up to the “disorder.”
Actress Anna Paquin of True Blood bemoaned her “BRF” during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last week, saying that despite being happy and satisfied with her life, her default face makes her look like she “wants to kill people.” Jezebel’s Kristine Gutierrez, on the other hand, celebrated her “chronic bitch face,” proclaiming “it’s not my responsibility to be everyone’s sunshine.”
“I need to print this on business cards so I can hand it out to people who stop me and ask why I’m unhappy or angry or tell me to smile on a daily basis,” one commenter wrote in response to the video.
Written by journalist and comedian Taylor Orci, the short video was created as a parody of commercials for seemingly pseudo medical disorders. But does bitchy resting face – and its male equivalent, “a**hole resting face” -- actually exist?
Absolutely, says Michigan-based plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn.
“Bitchy resting face is a definite phenomenon that plastic surgeons like myself have described, just never with that term,” he says. “Basically many of us have features that we inherit and/or develop with age that can make us look unpleasant, grumpy, or even, yes, bitchy.”
Youn says many plastic surgeons perform what he calls “expression surgeries,” procedures meant to improve resting facial expressions.
“One procedure I perform in the grin lift, used to turn a permanent frown upside down,” he says. “As we age, some of us – myself included – find that the corners of our mouths droop, giving us a grumpy look. This is usually present with a resting face.”
Aside from a downturned mouth, what makes a face look angry or bitchy?
Youn quickly points to the deep vertical lines between eyebrows (often referred to as 11s) as another culprit that can produce an angry or unhappy vibe. Droopy or overly arched eyebrows can also work to create a wrong impression.
He estimates that he performs about 20 “grin lifts” in a year as well as 100 filler procedures to turn up the corners of the mouth. Botox injections to relax those vertical “11s” are much more prevalent. “I probably do 1,500 of those Botox procedures a year,” he says. “We do a lot. We’re very busy with that.”
While age can enhance our grumpy features, Youn says genetics also play a role in a person’s “resting face."
Julianne Barclay, a 47-year-old stay-at-home mom from Vancouver, Wash., readily admits to having a “bitchy resting face” – which she attributes to her Norwegian roots – and says she’s passed it along to her daughter.
“We’ve always joked about our resting faces looking like bitchy faces,” she says. “Sometimes it works in our favor as a natural deterrent to people we’d rather not deal with. But most of the time we laugh, thinking of all the potential friends who got away because we had ‘bitch’ written all over our faces.”
Youn says fillers, Botox and procedures like grin lifts can all help people counteract a bad case of BRF.
But simply training yourself to smile more also works.
Ann-Marie Stillion, a communication strategist and artist from Seattle, says she’s recently made an effort to wear a smile when in public after having her resting face repeatedly misinterpreted by strangers, friends, and colleagues.
“I look mad when I am thinking which has gotten me in a whole lot of trouble,” she says. “So, I smile a lot now, not because I’m so happy but because I know it makes people more comfortable. It’s good for your face, too.”
Stillion says part of her hates having to paste on a grin whenever she leaves the house because of the deeper cultural implications.
“Culturally, women are not allowed to be thoughtful and serious,” she says. “And it’s also a cultural imperative that women are expected to smile and make men happy. It’s like our ‘job’.”
Despite the annoyance of appeasing creepy dudes who expect women to “Smile!” on command, she admits the way we present ourselves to others is crucial.
“I feel like I have a stupid smile,” she says. “But I do employ it now, especially when I’m engaged with new people. If I think they may be intimidated, I slap on a smile and it makes a whole lot of difference. It’s good to be mindful of what you’re projecting to other people. And it’s good to smile, to give other people warmth.”
Just don’t go too far. You might end up with the same condition Anna Paquin says her husband and co-star Stephen Moyer suffers from: “happy resting face."A Superior Court judge has stayed charges against a heroin dealer after finding a Peel police officer stole a statue of Scarface character Tony Montana from the man’s storage unit and then, along with three other officers, lied about it in court. In a scathing 46-page judgment delivered Wednesday in Brampton, Justice Jennifer Woollcombe described the conduct of Major Drugs and Vice Unit constables Richard Rerrie, Mihai Muresan, Emanuel Pinheiro and Damian Savino as “profoundly and demonstrably inconsistent with what a fair justice system requires.”
A picture of the Tony Montana statue that was stolen from Lowell Somerville's storage unit in Toronto. ( kim schofield ) Surveillance video shows four Peel Region police officers walking into a storage locker. Surveillance video shows officers walking out of the storage locker facility carrying a large object, covered in a beige cloth. Surveillance video show Peel police officers walking out into the parking lot of the storage facility.
Peel police Chief Jennifer Evans ordered an internal investigation after learning about the ruling. “I am committed to accountability to maintain the trust that we have worked so hard to build with our community,” Evans said in a news release. The ruling stems from a 2014 Peel police investigation that resulted in five drug trafficking and possession charges against Lowell Somerville of Brampton, now 35.
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According to a summary of evidence in Woollcombe’s judgment, Peel police witnessed a drug deal involving Somerville on June 23, 2014 while he was under surveillance. Police arrested Somerville for trafficking, and while searching his car, found a gram each of heroin and methamphetamine. They obtained a search warrant for his basement apartment in Brampton, where they found more drugs including 24.2 grams of heroin. Police also discovered Somerville was leasing a storage locker in downtown Toronto and obtained a search warrant for the unit. In their initial testimonies, all four officers said nothing had been taken from the storage unit. But Somerville testified that after being released from custody, he went to the unit and noticed some of his possessions were missing — among them, a metre-tall, “one-of-a-kind” hand-painted wood statue of infamous fictional drug dealer Tony Montana that he kept covered with beige cloths. “The statue is modelled on Montana’s character, at the end of the movie Scarface, at the point at which he utters the phrase, ‘say hello to my little friend,’ in reference to the gun that he is carrying,” Woollcombe wrote in her ruling. Believing his unit had been broken into, Somerville contacted his lawyer, Kim Schofield, who requested security footage from the storage facility.
The footage, which Schofield submitted as evidence during Somerville’s trial, shows Rerrie, Muresan, Panheiro and Savino entering the facility the morning of June 24, 2014, apparently empty-handed. In footage of the officers leaving the facility, Rerrie can clearly be seen with a large object, covered in a beige cloth, under his right arm.
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Under cross-examination, and again after viewing the video, Rerrie said he’d taken a “stand-up heater” from a hallway in the facility that he said was in a green or black garbage bag and had a sign taped to it saying it was free. Rerrie testified he threw the heater out a few days later as it didn’t work properly. In her judgment, Woollcombe noted “the shape of the object that was carried out of the facility by Officer Rerrie appears very similar to the shape of the statue of Tony Montana,” and that a heater “was really not a necessity” as it was June. After Rerrie’s cross-examination, the other three officers were recalled to court, where they all repeated that nothing had been taken from the storage unit and, when asked by Schofield, denied having seen the Tony Montana statue in it. After shown the security footage, they all acknowledged that it showed Rerrie carrying a large object under his arm, but could not recall what Rerrie was carrying nor where the object came from. “First, while Mr. Somerville has a criminal record and apparently makes a living selling illegal narcotics and gambling, I accept his evidence that he owned a valuable Tony Montana statue... I accept that the statue was stored in his storage unit, under two beige cloth coverings,” Woollcombe wrote. “I do not accept Officer Rerrie’s evidence that he took a free heater from the hall of the facility after the execution of the search warrant.... I have found that Officer Rerrie stole Mr. Somerville’s Tony Montana statue from his storage unit.” While acknowledging she doesn’t know exactly what happened in the storage unit nor the motivation for taking the statue, Woollcombe wrote that “it seemed most likely that one of them found the statue and that a number of them recognized the statue as Tony Montana, a renowned drug dealer in a movie that they were familiar with... The irony of finding a statue of a drug dealer in a storage unit of a person they had just arrested for drug dealing is obvious.” “Each officer knew that this was something that they had no right to take,” Woollcombe wrote. “Perhaps because they never suspected a drug dealer would complain, or would be believed if he did, they committed what they knew was a theft of property.” “The officers all lied with the intention of deceiving the court about what they’d done.” Somerville also said he was missing several pieces of valuable jewelry and large amounts of cash, but Woollcombe could not “conclude, on a balance of probabilities, that the officers stole these items.” The charges against Somerville “are very serious,” Woollcombe wrote, but “the court must distance itself from this kind of egregious police conduct.” “This was theft of valuable property during the execution of a search warrant... By itself, the police misconduct at the storage facility is completely unjustifiable and intolerable. But for me, what is worse, is that four officers attempted in their testimony, to deliberately mislead the court.” “It is only by permanently stopping these proceedings through a stay that the court can effectively distance the just system from this gross and continuing misconduct... Going forward with a trial in light of the police conduct would, in my view, be ‘offensive.’” Following the ruling, Schofield said outside court she was happy the charges against her client were stayed, but that the judge’s findings that the officers lied in court raises concerns about other cases they may have been involved with. “The question becomes, you have perjured evidence from an elite squad — how does this affect dozens and dozens, of not hundreds of other cases in the region of Peel?” Schofield asked, saying the case presents a “challenge” to Peel police’s Professional Standards Unit. “They must investigate and if there’s ground, lay the charges and prosecute them effectively, and let’s get to the bottom of this,” she said. The statue of Tony Montana is still at large.LOS ANGELES (Jan. 13, 2017) — As part of its ongoing effort to develop world class players, coaches, and referees, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Friday the candidates for the second edition of the U.S. Soccer Pro Course. The 17 selected applicants, headlined by U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis, will embark on a year-long coaching education and development program that will include three collective meetings, two individual club visits from U.S. Soccer coach educators, and a final presentation. With an overarching purpose to raise the level and the standard of coaching in the United States at the professional level, the Pro Course sets out to inspire the current and future generations of coaches.
2017 Pro Course Participants:
Paul Buckle (Sacramento Republic, USL) Colin Clarke (North Carolina FC, NASL) Steven Cooke (Colorado Rapids, MLS) Jill Ellis (U.S. WNT) Jim Gabarra (Washington Spirit, NWSL) Jay Heaps (New England Revolution, MLS) Dominic Kinnear (San Jose Earthquakes, MLS) Jesse Marsch (New York Red Bulls, MLS) Pat Noonan (U.S. MNT) Caleb Porter (Portland Timbers, MLS) Darren Powell (San Antonio FC, USL) Brian Schmetzer (Seattle Sounders, MLS) Daryl Shore (Real Salt Lake, MLS) Mike Sorber (Philadelphia Union, MLS) Greg Vanney (Toronto FC, MLS) Josh Wolff (Columbus Crew, MLS) Kerry Zavagnin (Sporting KC, MLS)
Each candidate was selected from an application process only open to coaches within the domestic professional environment. Selections were made based on a coach’s body of work, in addition to holding the required prerequisite, the U.S. Soccer A License.
In December, 13 professional coaches from Major League Soccer and U.S. Youth National Team programs completed the pilot Pro Course. Of those names, former U-17 MNT head coach Richie Williams and current U-17 head coach John Hackworth reflected on the course and what advice they would give to the upcoming cohort.
“This is the right thing to do,” Williams said. “You are always learning as a coach. I’ve been coaching for 10 years, but I learned a lot from this course. Every day you are continuing to learn so you can’t take learning opportunities for granted. Don’t think you don’t need the license, because there are many things we talked about that you pick up on, that you can apply to your coaching and make yourself better as a coach and as a person.”
“I thought it was extremely valuable for my growth as a coach and a process about personal growth,” Hackworth said. “In the end, I think I am a better coach, a better leader and a better manager. I think my training sessions are better and I think my game management is better. When you spend 12 months in this process you certainly do a lot of work, but you realize that this is not the end. Now we need to continue the processes that we’ve learned along the way and continue to develop.”
The group’s first of three collective meetings are set take place from Jan. 14-18 in Los Angeles. While each meeting phase of the course is designed to spark collaboration and discussion, the first meeting will specifically provide a program overview, course introduction and serve as a gathering between candidates and the U.S. Soccer coach educators. As one of the major components of the course meetings, guest speakers are brought in to share experiences and provide coaches with thought provoking material to incorporate into their individualized plans. The January meeting guest list includes U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bruce Arena, as well as the UEFA’s Head of Football Education Services, Frank Ludolph.
“It’s a honor to be a part of this program and to be able to exchange ideas with this group of coaches,” Arena said. “The Pro Course is something that all professional soccer coaches should aspire to achieve. The Pro Course is not only raising the standard, but also amplifying this notion of continued development. We should always be looking to better ourselves and our community of coaches.”
Los Angeles Guest Speakers:
Bruce Arena, U.S. MNT Coach Jill Ellis, U.S. WNT Coach / Pro Course Candidate Frank Ludolph, UEFA Head of Football Education Services Gautum Mukunda, Harvard Business School Daniel Coyle, Author of Talent Code Thomas Schaaf, Manager (Hanover 96, Eintracht Frankfurt, Werder Bremen) Mark Williams, Professor University of Utah
After the completion of the January meetings, the second phase of the Pro Course will take shape with individual club visits. During these engagements, U.S. Soccer coach educators work with candidates in their specific coaching environments. In part with the Pro Course’s content structure, each coach is evaluated and presented with a tailored program that is based on specific fundamentals, including management, leadership and coaching. At each site visit, the Coach Educators observe the candidate within their performance environment structured to lead up to a competition. While on site, instructors observe a variety of coaching variables including the coach’s relationship and interactions with players, staff, assistant coaches, and others involved in the team development process.
The U.S. Soccer coach educators for the 2017 Pro Course are Nico Romeijn, Wim van Zwam and Vanni Sartini. Romeijn’s previous experience includes head of education for the KNVB, UEFA Jira Panel and a UEFA Technical Instructor. Van Zwam’s past experience includes time as a professional coach in the Netherlands, instructor for the UEFA A Youth and UEFA Pro license, as well as youth national team coach for the KNVB. For Sartini, his pedigree in the coaching community was most recently cemented with the Italian FA as an educator. Before the Italian FA, Sartini served as an assistant in both the Serie A and Serie B.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - National farm and crop insurance subsidies would be cut by $30 billion over 10 years under a proposal made by the House of Representatives Budget Committee chairman on Tuesday, far larger reductions than agricultural-state lawmakers suggested.
A piece of corn is seen in a hay bale at a farm in Fredericksburg, Texas September 9, 2011. REUTERS/Joshua Lott
Budget chairman Paul Ryan called for reductions in the $5-billion-a-year “direct payment” subsidy and for reforms to control the soaring cost of federally subsidized crop insurance, the largest part of the farm safety net at nearly $9 billion a year.
“These reforms will save taxpayers roughly $30 billion over the next decade,” Ryan wrote in a budget blueprint for the federal government. The cuts equal 19 percent of projected spending in the two areas through fiscal 2022.
If the House agrees with Ryan, the Agriculture Committee will be required to write a farm bill that meets the goal of $30 billion in cuts. Earlier this month, its leaders said $23 billion would be appropriate. The Senate Agriculture Committee aims for a bill that saves $23 billion.
Ryan’s plan would reduce “the fixed payments that go to farmers irrespective of price levels” and “reform the open-ended nature of the government’s support for crop insurance so that agricultural producers assume the same kind of responsibility for managing risk that other businesses do”.
“The process outlined by the House Republican budget all but guarantees there will be no farm bill this year,” said Collin Peterson, the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee. He said the proposed cuts in farm supports and food stamps were too large for Congress to accept.
If a farm bill is not passed this year, either Congress would have to approve an extension of the existing farm law or a 1949 law, that would feature higher costs and limited plantings, would automatically go into effect.
Agriculture chairman Frank Lucas, Oklahoma Republican, said the cuts “are only suggestions” and his committee will have a free hand in reforming policy and outlays. The new five-year farm bill will cost around $480 billion before any cuts.
The government now pays 60 percent of the premium for crop insurance as well as underwriting insurers’ operating costs and sharing the burden of payments to farmers in high-loss years.
President Barack Obama proposed $32 billion in farm subsidies in his budget proposal on February 13. He would end the direct payment, idle less land, reduce crop-insurance subsidies, and revive a standby disaster-relief program.
“Ryan’s plan throws a monkey wrench into (farm bill) discussions,” said agricultural economist Vincent Smith of Montana State University, an advocate of crop insurance reform.
Farmers and their allies in Congress commonly oppose cuts as a threat to crop insurance viability.
Requiring growers to pay 60 percent of their premiums instead of 40 percent would save $1 billion a year, said Smith. Reducing the federal subsidy for delivery of policies would save as much or more, he said.
Smith said crop insurance is unduly expensive for the government and overwhelmingly benefits big operators. Growers could shield themselves from losses by common methods such as buying a futures contract, adjusting use of pesticides and crop nutrients or relying on their own resources, absent the hefty federal subsidy, he said.
Ryan also criticized the Dodd-Frank financial reform law as “government over-reach in the private sector”. The law brings over-the-counter trading in derivatives under federal regulation and has brought complaints of a welter of costly and complicated rules for futures and derivatives markets.
Much of Ryan’s criticism was aimed at the law’s impact on Wall Street. However, he called for a thorough review of financial regulations and for “repealing recent expansions of the federal role in financial services”.
Food stamps, which help poor people buy food, would become a block grant to states with a limit on spending in the Ryan plan. Access would be tied to work or job training. Food stamps account for three-quarters of farm-bill spending.
Ryan made a similar proposal a year ago and faced strong opposition. By one estimate, it would cut funds by $122 billion or 16 percent over 10 years; too much for antihunger advocates.Tecmo Super Bowl was a revolutionary game not just because it was the first video game to feature both real NFL rosters and real NFL logos, but also because it did what seemed like a miracle: The game saved your season progress as you played and kept track of your stats, even when the game was turned off. For most people I’ve asked, the answer to how the game did this was a mystery.
Turns out it’s frighteningly simple: Part of the game cartridge never turned off, thanks to a watch battery inside the game.
The guys at eStarland.com, a retro game retailer and repair shop in Chantilly, Virginia, cracked open a copy of Tecmo to show us how it worked. They also told us that the battery doesn’t last forever: It was supposed to last about 20 years. Many cartridges (including mine) have lasted longer, but the store gets people in with dead batteries for cartridges (especially The Legend of Zelda, the first game to feature this technology) about once per week. They showed us how to replace the battery yourself–with a soldering iron–but you can also have a store like theirs do the fix for about $5.The question is no longer whether his leadership should end, because at Westminster it already has. The challenge for the Labour left is to rescue something from it
Since the beginning Jeremy Corbyn has faced a die-hard band of parliamentary enemies who were not interested in his support from Labour party members, and took every chance to question his suitability to lead. It was, however, not this small gang of irreconcilables but 81% of his MPs, encompassing the mushy middle and the soft left as well as the right, who tonight supported a vote of no confidence in him. The question is thus no longer whether Mr Corbyn should continue to lead, but whether he is in fact any longer leading at all. The unavoidable answer is that he has ceased to do so, in any ordinary sense.
His few friends in parliament, and many grassroots supporters, have some legitimate complaints. They object that a move against him after the EU referendum loss is arbitrary punishment for what was, first and foremost, David Cameron’s defeat; punishment which, furthermore, is out of kilter with the public’s Brexit vote. They also resent the choreographing of so many shadow cabinet resignations to do maximum damage, and protest, too, that Mr Corbyn’s electoral record is better than is often said. He held his own in a run of byelections, most recently and impressively in Tooting, and avoided the wholesale blood-letting in the English councils that was widely predicted in May.
But there is no use pretending the Corbyn Labour party has been doing well enough. Its vote share in the local elections was down on Ed Miliband’s 2012 starting point, before Mr Miliband, lest we forget, went on to a shocking defeat. Mr Corbyn’s success in mobilising a new activist base, including many in a younger generation that is priced out of decent housing and saddled with insecure work, has not reconnected the party with those crumbling heartlands that broke so heavily for leave. His radical pitch was meant to get Labour back in the game in Scotland, but at Holyrood this year it sank even below 2015’s depths, and got beaten by the Tories.
Mr Corbyn was always isolated at Westminster, with at most 20 genuinely loyal MPs. But until the referendum he could run a half-functioning frontbench, because some sceptical colleagues were willing to give his experiment time. No longer. What’s changed is less Brexit itself than the sudden potential – despite Boris Johnson’s denials – for an early election.
A defiant Mr Corbyn tonight brushed off the thumbs-down that four in five colleagues gave him, by reciting the rulebook which puts the leadership decision in the hands of the members who he believes remain as loyal as ever, although – amid such chaos – can that be assumed? More fundamentally, the rulebook becomes immaterial when there is no ability to do the basic job. The rules of a charity may, for example, put the appointment of a chief executive in the hands of the trustees, but that chief executive will not be able to function if the staff all want him out. And in the Corbyn case, the option of replacing “the staff” does not exist without showing contempt to the electorate, since they are not mere party functionaries, but MPs elected by 9.3 million Labour voters. And if the election comes this year, there would be no time to go for wholesale reselections to pick a new slate of Corbynite candidates, even if Mr Corbyn had not solemnly promised to avoid this unwise course.
What next for Labour when the party’s civil war is over? | Letters Read more
Mr Corbyn is thus saddled with trying to lead a team that wants him out, and the balance of forces is even more hostile than that which did for Iain Duncan Smith. The existential danger for Labour is that the pivot which has defined it for a century – the pivot between the voluntary and parliamentary wings – would come unstuck if Mr Corbyn clings to his leadership of the former after his leadership of the latter has collapsed. That cannot be allowed to happen. But nor should Mr Corbyn’s supporters be asked to fold without some reassurance about what happens next. His victory last year reflected deep discontent with New Labour’s economic and foreign policies. The national executive committee, which is evenly balanced between Labour’s right and left factions, must ensure the next leader builds a broad team that includes the long-neglected left. It must guarantee, too, a more open policymaking process, with franker debate than New Labour allowed. The Corbyn experiment is effectively over at Westminster, but in these ways it could still bequeath a useful legacy.The Government has won its motion of confidence in the Dáil by just five votes - 57 to 52, with 44 abstentions - after a series of tense exchanges between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.
Fianna Fáil abstained in the vote. Sinn Féin, Labour, Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit, Independents4Change, Social Democrats, Green Party and Independents Michael FitzMaurice, Mattie McGrath and Michael Collins voted against the Government.
The Government’s confidence motion was in response to a Sinn Féin motion of no confidence in the Coalition following its handling of the alleged smear campaign against Garda whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe by senior gardaí.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny sharply attacked Sinn Féin as the Dáil debate on the motion kicked off.
Mr Kenny said that Sinn Féin were not content with collapsing the powersharing arrangements in the North and now wanted to cause similar chaos down here.
“By their actions, Sinn Féin have deprived the people of Northern Ireland of proper political representation at this crucial time in the Brexit process and I am not going to let them do the same in this State,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin told the Dáil that “we have no evidence the Government acted in bad faith” in regard to the McCabe controversy and there had been no attempt to block an inquiry into the matter.
“This Dáil has not yet fulfilled its obligation to the people who we are elected to serve,” he said.
However, he warned there was a point after which “there will be no alternative” but an early general election.
Mr Martin said that, “while we have refused to play games”, the Government had breached its confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáil.
He criticised mutterings by Fine Gael Ministers who were manoeuvring for a post-Enda Kenny world and saying that “we’ll put manners on Fianna Fáil”.
He said that if the concern of TDs was “genuinely to deal with the scandal”, the question before the Dáil should be about the terms of reference of any inquiry into the controversy and the questions to be answered.
However, instead, he said, “the question is should we collapse the Dáil and have a general election”.
Mr Martin also claimed Sinn Féin was acting in its own political interests.
When Sinn Féin comes across an issue, he said, it looks at ways to exploit it, rather than address it.
He said it was not possible to believe that Sinn Féin was interested in getting at the truth of allegations against Garda whistleblowers.
He said that “every deputy elected to this Dáil has a duty to make this Dáil work”.
Paschal Donohoe
Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe accused Sinn Féin of trying to destabilise the Government and the country’s progress.
He said nobody in the House had bought Sinn Féin’s new-found interest in An Garda Síochána.
He said An Garda Síochána had suffered at the hands of the party’s “associates’’.
He also said nobody was buying the party’s interest in whistleblowers, given the way the party had treated former senator Máiría Cahill and “the blatant and ongoing denial” of the truth about the handling of cases of sexual abuse within the IRA.
Mr Donohoe also said members of the Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit, who had advocated that people break the law on water charges, were now purporting to be champions of those who enforced the law.
Minister for Housing Simon Coveney said nobody would be more surprised than Sinn Féin if it won the vote on its motion of no confidence in the Government.
He said: “This is simply yet another negative stunt that comes from a party that offers nothing constructive or positive.”
Mr Coveney said Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil focused on solutions, including putting a just solution in place for Mr McCabe.
Who is Sgt Maurice McCabe? In 2008, Sgt Maurice McCabe raised concerns about quashing of penalty points. Claims that he was the subject of a smear campaign are to be examined in a tribunal of inquiry. The Garda whistleblowers: read more I found this helpful Yes No
Fianna Fáil foreign affairs spokesman Darragh O’Brien said it was incumbent on all of them to get to the truth for Mr McCabe.
He said the parties should “never again preside over the absolute sorry saga we have seen in the last week to 10 days, bordering on the pathetic”.
He asked Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan “to have a think about her stewardship of the force and if she’s happy with her performance... if she’s not, she knows what to do”.
Leo Varadkar
Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar said it was not the time for party politics.
He said that “given what has emerged in recent days about the sustained smear campaign against Sgt McCabe, the attempts to destroy his reputation, the torment he and his family have endured, it is clear that his service to the State has not just been distinguished, it has been heroic”.
Mr Varadkar said he had no doubt “that Sgt McCabe was subjected to a scurrilous whispering campaign designed to discredit him. What I do not know, is exactly who was involved and the extent to which it was organised.
“The inquiry must find that out. What is evident is that its aim was not only to intimidate him but also to scare people off from supporting his claims. And, for a time, it was successful.
“We now need to know whether similar campaigns were organised against other gardaí, against public figures and private citizens.
“I believe the Government owes a full and unequivocal apology to Sgt McCabe for the appalling treatment he endured at the hands of gardaí, State agencies and Government departments.”
He said that Fine Gael “is the party of law and order and a party of integrity in public office.
“These are among our core values as a political movement. The events of the past week have undermined belief in us as a party and confidence in the Government. But we can and will put things right.”
He said it was “time to bring an end to a culture where wrong is done but no one is held to account.
“System failures, administrative errors, endless reviews and prevarications, lost records, putting on the green jersey, alleged lack of resources - all these things have been used to justify wrongdoing. No longer.”
Independent Minister of State Finian McGrath stressed the need to get to the truth “in a fair and balanced manner... and that’s why the Independent Alliance is staying in Government”.
Mr McGrath said the Independent Alliance had been “dismayed and disturbed” by contradictory accounts of how the Government handled the case.
“This is not how we wish to do business,” he said. “We went into Government in good faith and have today secured a commitment from the Minister for Justice for an international independent audit of An Garda Síochána.”
Sinn Féin response
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the Taoiseach was leading a Government without purpose and devoid of direction.
The Government, he said, was stumbling from one crisis to the next and had lost any authority to govern.
That authority, he added, had derived from their “guardians’’ in Fianna Fáil.
Mr Adams said the Fianna Fáil position was “we want to ensure that this Government survives’’.
He said that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were responsible for “a culture of insiderism, strokes, cronyism, corruption, graft, cute hoorism, brown envelopes, digouts and whatever you’re having yourself’’.
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Taoiseach’s defence of himself in the Dáil debate was unconvincing.
She said Enda Kenny presented himself and his Cabinet as “stability” and everyone else “presumably as chaos”.
She said the Taoiseach had presided over chaos in the health system and housing.
Ms McDonald said that it was the trauma inflicted and visited on Mr McCabe “that has rendered you definitively finished as a Government”.
She said she had no confidence in the Government’s ability to oversee the reform of An Garda Síochána.
Labour leader Brendan Howlin said the responsibility of governing is too important to lie with a Government that has neither the authority nor the capacity to govern.
“At a time of great challenge for our nation, we have a Government that is intrinsically weak.”
Confirming his intention to vote against the Government, Mr Howlin told the Taoiseach that he had had no confidence in the Government since its formation.
“After the events of the last week, I cannot in any conscience support you now,” he said.
Mr Howlin said that, rather than the Government discussing the best way of tackling the crisis, “we have seen senior Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil figures stop just short of calling each other liars.
“And more worryingly, we have seen the Taoiseach and one of his senior Ministers do exactly the same.”
Mr Howlin said that “yesterday, the Taoiseach stood in this chamber, and gave two versions of the same event within a 15-minute period.
“And so, after a week of public disquiet, the debate we have this evening has become all about the Taoiseach.”
Mr Howlin criticised how the Government operated and its use of collective Cabinet responsibility.
He said it was not optional for the Cabinet to decided that some issues are decided collectively, while others are not.
“It is the highest law of this land, and is being flagrantly ignored by the current members of our Government.”
Paul Murphy
Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said he had no confidence in the Government for lots of reasons.
He said that these reasons had crystallised this week when there was a glimpse of “the dark, rotten, sinister underbelly of the Irish State, with the black propaganda that has been alleged to come from the top of An Garda Síochána’’.
Mr Murphy said the Government’s response to the controversy was to engage in evasion, spin and outright deception.
Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae said his father had always said that “the person who never made a mistake never made anything”.
However, he asked the Taoiseach: “How could you make so many mistakes in the aftermath of this issue?”
Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said there was so much dysfunction across all sectors that the Government could not ask the Dáil to affirm confidence in it.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said that, historically, Fine Gael have been too close to An Garda Síochána.
Independents4Change TD Joan Collins said she had no confidence in Fine Gael due to the campaign targeting the TDs who first raised the issue of the illegal quashing by gardaí of penalty points.
She said there had been a campaign to discredit Independent TDs Clare Daly, Mick Wallace and Luke “Ming” Flanagan.
She said she had no confidence in Labour, “who sat on their hands on this for five years” when in Government.High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation[1] to prevent copying of digital audio & video content as it travels across connections. Types of connections include DisplayPort (DP), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), and High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), as well as less popular or now deprecated protocols like Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF) and Unified Display Interface (UDI).
The system is meant to stop HDCP-encrypted content from being played on unauthorized devices or devices which have been |
for NBC who will be working 28 hockey games during this Olympics. That is a heavy load. Pierre is a really nice guy. The funny thing is, like me, he does hockey at the Winter Olympics and water polo at the Summer Olympics. We see each other every two years.Then it was time for the girls to skate...For those of you who question the skill level of these women, just wait! They are incredibly fast and skilled.Coaching break...The women scrimmaged for a while, which made for some fun photos.This is Amanda Kessel who is the sister of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Phil Kessel. He made the men's Olympic hockey team, so they will both be in Sochi together. That is a great story. Oh...and she also happens to be one of the best woman hockey players in the world.More coaching...I love catching those moments when people don't know that I am shooting their photo.OK, it is time for me to sign off and get out to the press center before I miss the midnight bus back to my "hotel room" (where we still do not have Internet). And tomorrow is a big day, because it is the Opening Ceremonies!And...the good news is, unlike other Olympics, where I had to wait to see if I would get one of the much coveted tickets to the opening, I already have mine! (For those who might be wondering...there are certain events at the Olympics which are called "High Impact Events". These are the events where almost all the photographers want to go, but there are not enough shooting locations. This year they are, opening and closing ceremonies, the USA vs. Russia hockey game, the gold medal hockey game, figure skating...Good night or good morning everyone. :)'Donnarumma is not for sale'
By Football Italia staff
Milan President Silvio Berlusconi insists Gianluigi Donnarumma “will be our goalkeeper for the next 20 years.”
The shot-stopper has become a Serie A regular at the tender age of 16, pushing former Real Madrid star Diego Lopez on to the San Siro bench.
This alerted the attention of top clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona.
“He is a really good lad, very solid in his physique, mentality and character. I think he can be a symbol of the future Milan,” President Berlusconi told Mediaset Premium.
“At the age of 16 he is admired by all and will not leave Milan, no matter what offer comes in.
“He will be the goalkeeper of Milan for the next 20 years.”POLICE have charged North Melbourne great Glenn Archer with unlawful assault over an alleged attack on a runner at a junior game on Sunday.
The incident, which led to the 44-year-old jumping the fence, occured at an under 15s game between Banyule and Park Orchards. Archer’s son plays for Park Orchards.
The Shinboner of the century, who is due to appear in Heidelberg Magistrates court on September 1, released an apology via the Kangaroos on Monday morning after he was bailed.
“I would like to apologise unreservedly for my involvement in what transpired at a junior football match in Heidelberg on Sunday,” Archer said.
“Jumping the fence to defend a player was inappropriate and unacceptable.
“The incident that occurred several minutes later with the opposition team’s runner was also unfortunate.
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“I would like to reinforce that under no circumstances should spectators or parents intervene in any on-field matters with players or officials, at any level.
“I regret my initial decision to enter the field of play and acknowledge it was wrong.
“I will fully cooperate with the Yarra Junior Football League if it investigates the matter further.”
Unlawful assault (or common assault) is the least serious of the assault offences and jurisdiction lies with the Magistrates Court.
The maximum penalty is three months imprisonment, but if found guilty Archer could also be fined or ordered to undertake voluntary work in the community.
Archer is a North Melbourne board member and played 311 games for the club from 1992-2007.Recently there was a NYTimes article about a Harvard professor (Charles Nesson) and some of his students that formed a group that shows how poker can be used to teach cognitive skills. The name of their group is the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society. Their idea is a good one. I’ve discussed it in an earlier post about Steven Lubet’s book Lawyer’s Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players. His fun book is a great guide for how poker could be effectively used to teach lawyers how to become better lawyers. But why stop at law? Since poker deals with risk assessment and situational analysis, it could be used in business school. You could become a better negotiator or real estate agent because poker can teach you how to read people. People, such as Nesson, also think poker should be used as an educational tool for middle schoolers learning math. Wow! If they had taught me about poker in middle school and explained things like pot odds, I would have loved math.
Would using poker as an educational tool for middle school kids encourage them to gamble? Perhaps. But intuitively it seems to me that if you really understand the game of poker and probability you will less likely have a gambling addiction. If you understand odds, you will see how stupid games like the lottery and slots are. Perhaps, as Plato taught us over two thousand years ago, reason may have a great amount of control over desire. Hence the more you know about the game of poker the less likely you will lose control to it.Javier Bardem is on his way to an epic deal to star in an epic book-to-film series.
Deadline reports that the actor is on the verge of putting pen to paper on a three movie, multi-TV miniseries deal to portray Roland Deschain, the hero of Steven King's beloved book series "The Dark Tower." Somewhat a hybrid between an old western and "The Lord of the Rings," the series follows Deschain as he travels through a war-torn, near apocalyptic world as he seeks out the mythical Dark Tower.
Deschain is the last in the line of a murdered royal family, a loner with, at first, mysterious intentions. The character, who is trained to be a mythical gunslinger, is a strong fit for Bardem, who has played a hardened shooter before, in "No Country For Old Men."
Then again, that wasn't exactly a heroic role.
Ron Howard is set to direct the film series' first installment, starting in the fall. The series will condense the seven novel epic into film and TV form.
Bardem won an Academy Award for "No Country," and was nominated for Best Actor for his lead role in "Biutiful," in 2010.Governor Andrew Cuomo orders review following detection of ‘alarming levels of radioactivity’ at nuclear power plant 40 miles north of Manhattan
Radioactive material has leaked into the groundwater below a nuclear power plant north of New York City, prompting a state investigation on Saturday and condemnation from governor Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo ordered an investigation into “alarming levels of radioactivity” found at three monitoring wells at the Indian Point energy center in Buchanan, New York, about 40 miles north of Manhattan.
“Our first concern is for the health and safety of the residents close to the facility and ensuring the groundwater leak does not pose a threat,” Cuomo wrote in a letter that directed health and environmental officials to investigate.
In one location radioactivity levels rose nearly 65,000%, from 12,300 picocuries per liter to over 8,000,000 picocuries per liter. The Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant level for tritium in drinking water is 20,000 picocuries per liter, though Entergy, the company that owns the plant, emphasized that only groundwater, and not drinking water, were contaminated.
The governor’s office said the contamination had not moved offsite. Cuomo has encouraged Entergy to shut down Indian Point, but to keep its other plants further upstate open.
He directed health and environmental officials “to determine the extent of the release, its likely duration, cause and potential impacts to the environment and public health”.
“While elevated tritium in the ground onsite is not in accordance with our standards, there is no health or safety consequence to the public,” Entergy said in a statement released late Saturday. “Releases are more than a thousand times below federal permissible limits. The tritium did not affect any source of drinking water onsite or offsite.”
The plant supplies roughly 30% of the electricity consumed by New York City. Indian Point had three emergency shutdowns in December, prompting the governor’s office to launch, and then expand, an inquiry into operations and safety standards at the facility.
There have been many tritium leaks at the plant in recent years, though Saturday’s leak appears to be the most serious so far. Public service commission chair Audrey Zibelman faces a deadline for the results of the pre-existing investigation by President’s Day, 15 February.
“This latest failure at Indian Point is unacceptable,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This is not the first such release of radioactive water at Indian Point,” he said, adding: “this failure continues to demonstrate that Indian Point cannot continue to operate in a manner that is protective of public health and the environment.”
Tritium is a radioactive hydrogen isotope that cannot penetrate the skin; however, it is considered a health risk for illnesses, including cancer.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to request for further comment on the beginning of the leak and its duration.The New Zealand Breakers' tough start to the season has continued with the visitors beaten 88-82 by the Bullets in their NBL basketball clash in Brisbane.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The six-point win snapped a two-game losing streak for Brisbane and condemned the Breakers to their third defeat in four games.
American import Torrey Craig led the way for the hosts with 17 points and six rebounds, while Australian forward Cameron Bairstow chimed in with 14 points and six rebounds in his third game back from a dislocated shoulder.
Brisbane led by as many as 16 points during the contest, but the Breakers stepped up after halftime to create a tense finish in front of 3000 fans at the Brisbane Convention Centre.
Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis, the former long time Breakers mentor, was pleased with the character his team showed after the Breakers fought their way back into the contest during the second half.
"We had struggles in the third quarter where we gave up 26 points against an experienced team full of internationals, but we fought our way through it and rediscovered our poise," Lemanis said.
"The intent and energy in defence was good and we found a way to get a few easy scores with the game on the line, which shows significant progress for us.
"This team is in a building process and for us it's about getting better every day."
The Bullets overcame early jitters to take a 26-17 lead into quarter-time courtesy of a 19-2 run that blitzed the Breakers during a five-minute period.
Brisbane kept grinding away in the second and outscored the Breakers by four, enabling them to cruise towards a 13-point advantage at the main break.
New Zealand made a bright start after halftime, chipping away at the Bullets' healthy lead to bring them within four points midway through the quarter.
The Breakers continued to ride a wave of momentum as the quarter wore on and levelled the scoreboard with two minutes remaining in the third, until the Bullets claimed a slender 64-63 lead before the final stretch.
A response was required by the home side and they delivered via Craig, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter that ultimately proved the catalyst for the Bullets' third win of the season.
-AAPOne of the parameters of the Station’s orbit around the Earth is the beta angle, which determines the direction from which the Sun’s rays will hit us. We don’t usually bother too much about this parameter because it doesn’t affect our day-to-day life, except in certain situations: when the beta angle is very elevated, as it has been these past few days, we spend long periods in sunlight. Daytime becomes relatively long, while the nights are very short. This makes it difficult for us to look out of the Station and see our planet at night, because the Earth is in shadow while we are still in the light. As a consequence, it is pitch black outside. It’s like looking out of the window at night when you have the lights on in the room and there’s not one streetlight lit outside.
Lately, after making the final evening report to Houston and the other Control Centres, I’ve got myself all prepared to take a few photos but found that nothing was visible in the sky. We’ve been travelling immersed in completely black space.
That’s when I thought about using one of the pieces of equipment in the European laboratory Columbus, an instrument that is sometimes a little neglected by us astronauts: the amateur radio set. Now, I must confess to all amateur radio enthusiasts out there that I have never been into amateur radio. As a military pilot, I was trained to use the radio professionally, following the mantra of the 4Cs – Clear, Correct, Concise Comms [Communications], which was repeated at the start of every mission. It was radio contact seen as a means, never an end unto itself. In fact, sometimes when we flew very complex missions, the interference caused by blissfully unaware radio enthusiasts ‘exploring’ our frequencies inevitably led to a great deal of bad tempered frustration!
So you can imagine my doubtful amusement when, a few weeks ago, I sat at the radio for the first time, looking to establish some kind of ‘contact’ between the Station and Earth…
I set the radio to the ‘random’ contacts frequency, and without knowing what to expect, I put on the headphones. Physically, the International Space Station was still many kilometres away from the coastlines of Europe, but our horizon stretches out beneath us for thousands of kilometres and the various European ground stations could already see us. My ears were immediately overwhelmed by a cacophony of unidentifiable sounds and noises, voices, screeching and white noise. Then suddenly, a voice surfaced above the other sounds; it was a young man, in my mind barely more than a boy. He was calling the ISS American radio call sign (NA1SS) and repeating his own call sign. I was taken aback by the emotion that rose in me as I tried to reply to the call, using the Italian call sign (IR0ISS). But my excitement was nothing compared to the sheer astonishment and disbelief I heard in that voice, thousands of kilometres away. Speaking English with a beautiful Portuguese accent, the radio operator on the other side of the signal only managed to say a few words – “I don’t know what to say… This is a dream come true for me!” – before our conversation was interrupted and buried by swarms of other calls.
For around 15 minutes as we passed over western, central and eastern Europe, I tried to reply to dozens of people who were sending their messages into the ether with the hope that, thousands of kilometres away, the Space Station antennae would pick up their signal and that I’d be able to decipher what they were saying. From different countries, through different radio sets, but all with the same desire, these people – up until moments ago complete strangers – started to take shape in my mind. They became members of one family, scattered over thousands of islands and in contact with each other through nothing but these ‘messages in a bottle’, sent out with no certainty at all but with the faint hope that somebody somewhere would pick them up. Messages sent out with stoical patience, without even knowing who in that infinitely vast ocean of ether would be able to listen to their call. Men, women, young and old, experts and complete beginners – they have all wrapped me in a warm blanket of friendship and gratitude, oblivious to the fact that I’m the one who should be thanking them for opening up the doors to an experience that began with that young man in Portugal, and that crossing space and time, reaches the heart of each and every amateur radio operator even before it reaches their ears.1. Being late. Look, you've thought about this. There are at least three people in your party responsible for getting you to the venue. And it's not as though you have anything else to do that day. You'll be fine.
2. Tripping over on your way down the aisle. In your heels and dress you're basically a nervy meringue on stilts, so it might happen. But even if it does, you'll still be married at the end of it. And if someone films it, you could get £250 off You've Been Framed.
3. Forgetting your betrothed's name. Rest assured that no one, least of all the person you're marrying, will let you get away with legally binding yourself to your ex or your own cat just because you slipped up through nerves.
4. Forgetting your own name. See above.
5. Someone objecting to the marriage during the ceremony. When you announce your intention to marry, members of the public will have their chance to object if there are legal grounds. If there aren't, and someone just wants to piss you off on the day, they will probably be invited by the person performing the ceremony to sit the hell down and shut the hell up. So relax.
6. Your flowers. Whether or not they're the exact shade of champagne that you ordered, it doesn't matter. They'll look nice in the photos, and they'll be dead tomorrow. Enjoy them while you can.
7. Being perfect in the photos. It is a photographer's job to take, on average, around five squillion shots per wedding. Chances are, you won't have your bum out in at least ONE of these pictures.
8. The centrepieces. Who cares if they're dead centre? What does it matter if you're one short? In a few short hours they'll all be a) set on fire by bored teen guests and drunk uncles, b) eaten by small children or c) kicked to the floor so your grandmother can dance on the table. Centrepieces schmenterpieces.
9. Your bum. It's fine. No one is looking at it. Everyone is looking at how happy and beautiful you are, and wondering whether you'll say the wrong name during your vows.
10. Only kidding.
11. Whether you have all your stuff. Look, you can't lug a backpack down the aisle. Leave that sort of thing to the bridesmaids.
12. Your bridesmaids hating their dresses. In a perfect world, you're not an overbearing ogre of a bride who's dressed her entourage in peach and chocolate, and they don't secretly despise you for it. But even if that is the case, after today they get to NEVER WEAR THEIR DRESSES AGAIN.News in Science
'Popeye' solar cells on the way
Spinach power The power of spinach is being used by researchers to help build cheaper and more efficient solar cells.
A team from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee report their findings online this week in the journal Advanced Materials.
The researchers found that coating specially manipulated silicon with a plant protein that converts light into electrochemical energy produced more electrical current than has been reported by previous solar cells of this kind.
Researchers are interested in such "biohybrid cells" because of their potential to be manufactured affordably, says research team member, chemical engineer Professor Kane Jennings.
That's because their primary components, typically photosynthetic proteins from green plants, "are widely abundant and renewable in nature," he explains
Jennings and colleagues used a protein complex called photosystem-1 (PS1), which they extracted from spinach leaves. "PS1 is incredibly efficient in converting the light that it captures," Jennings says.
Scientists have known for decades that PS1 continues to function when it is extracted from plants, and that it converts sunlight into electrical energy with nearly 100 per cent efficiency.
But so far the amount of power that biohybrid cells have produced per square centimetre has been substantially below that of commercial photovoltaic cells.
Now, the Vanderbilt team has taken a leap forward by tailoring a silicon substrate to fit the electrical properties of the PS1 molecule. The trick was to implant electrically charged atoms in the silicon, a process known as "doping."
"The use of p-doped silicon causes the electrons to flow from silicon into the PS1 film and prevents the opposite flow of electrons," explains Jennings. "This opposite flow is a real problem on metal surfaces because our proteins are not all perfectly aligned at this stage of development, as they are in nature."
Some way to go
Jennings and colleagues report that their setup produced up to 875 microamps of current per square centimetre. The silicon modified with PS1 also retained about 80 per cent of photovoltage of the unmodified p-doped silicon, 0.28 volts compared with 0.35 volts.
Although this is an improvement on existing biohybrid cells, it leaves some way to go before they could compete with existing photovoltaic technologies, they say.
"These relatively new PS1-based wet cells are not ready to compete with mature dry cell technologies, including silicon-based photovoltaics, in terms of performance or overall efficiencies at this time," Jennings says.
However in the long term, the potential is great. PS1 can be extracted from almost any green plant, and the Vanderbilt team has already demonstrated success with kudzu, which is a fast growing, nuisance vine in the south-eastern US.
"We envision high performance solar cells that can be prepared affordably using the renewable natural resources of a region," says Jennings. "Such cells may some day have a profound impact on the economic development of solar energy strategies in third world countries where energy poverty is rampant."A man who plummeted from a plane and landed on a street in East Sheen last year has finally been identified.
José Matada, 30, fell 2,000ft from the undercarriage of a Heathrow-bound flight in September and landed in Portman Avenue, East Sheen.
Detectives originally thought Mr Matada was Angolan but, following analysis of a Sim card found in his jeans, they were able to extract telephone numbers stored on it.
After contacting the numbers, detectives received information that Mr Matada was in fact from Mozambique.
It was thought Mr Matada was from Angola because Angolan currency was found on him and enquiries established that a flight from Luanda, Angola, was overhead prior to the body being found.
Detectives are speaking to authorities in Mozambique to track down his family.
Police were called at just before 8am on Sunday, September 9, to Portman Avenue, following reports of a dead body.
London Ambulance Service attended and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
At the time resident Annie Williams, who lives in the house nearest to where the body fell, said she heard a loud noise when she was opening her curtains.
She said: “I heard a monstrous bang. I thought someone had been hit by a car. There were two fellows going to church and they said there’s a dead body in the street. Not your usual Sunday in Sheen.”
The 47-year-old said there were remains of the body on her car and doorstep, which were later cleaned by a council worker.
She said: “We were asked to stay inside because there was splatter on the doorstep.”
A post-mortem examination was held at Kingston Hospital Mortuary on September 11 last year and gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.
An inquest has opened and adjourned at West London Coroner’s Court.New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is leading an effort to change the national flag. As a vexillological hobbyist, I couldn’t be more excited. New Zealand has one of the most disappointing national flags — even if you don’t confuse it with Australia’s.
I visited New Zealand when I was 16, just before the Lord of the Rings Trilogy hit theaters. It was my first trip off of the North American continent and if I’m being honest, I was more excited for the second leg of the trip to Australia. However, as day broke on my first day there, I was instantly mesmerized.
In the hotel room during a rare break, a group of us flipped on the hotel TV and caught a sight previously unseen by our jetlagged American eyes: A bunch of rugby players doing a Maori war dance, called the Haka, before a match.
The team was the All-Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team and perhaps the most famous on Earth. Every New Zealand national team wears black and white and is symbolized by the silver fern. Which brings us back to one of the biggest problems with New Zealand’s flag.
The current flag of New Zealand Credit: Wikipedia
The British Union Jack is my favorite flag design. As a designer, who as a child qualified for the Iowa state Geography Bee twice, I’ve always been enamored by flag design when it’s done right, but too often it is not. I’m tired of seals, letters and using other flags in your flag as this leads to over complication. The British get it right.
However, the Union Jack doesn’t belong on the flag of other independent nations. I understand the connection to the British commonwealth, but other commonwealth nations have their own flag. Canada, Uganda and South Africa come to mind.
A gif of all 40 flag entries Credit: Kierran Petersen
Even the Isle of Man has its own flag without a Union Jack and it isn’t even an independent country. So it baffles me that New Zealanders (and their Southern cousins, Australians) haven’t created their own flag, considering their strong legacy, sporting and otherwise, in non-British colors. To me, it’s like a 35-year-old who still lets his mum pick out his clothes.
So, I was thrilled when I learned New Zealand is set to vote on a new flag. Prime Minister Key crowdsourced a bunch of submissions and the government selected 40 top choices. The public will get to vote for its favorite, but in my mind there is only one choice: The silver fern on black. It also happens to be the PM’s favorite, too.
The proposed silver fern flag by Kyle Lockwood Credit: govt.nz
I like it for its simplicity, strong identity and uniqueness. And, in an odd way, it reminds me of Canada’s flag, which is also a product of a similar process in the 1960s where our northern neighbor dropped its British ensign and replaced it with the well-designed and popular maple leaf flag that is well known today. Canadian identity is found in the maple leaf, just as New Zealand’s is found in the silver fern. This flag would make it official.
I’m aware that others feel it resembles the flag of ISIS, but we can’t let the terrorists win. And the flags are distinct enough from one another. At least more distinct than the current Australian and New Zealand flags.
But if you’re too concerned about the link between ISIS and the silver fern, here are a few of the stronger designs from the list that respect vexillological guidelines while still maintaining a strong NZ identity:
This is based on another common use of the fern, this time black and white. Designed by Alofi Kanter Credit: govt.nz
If you are looking for an alternative to ferns, I feel Raranga designed by Pax Zwanikken from Nelson is the strongest design of the abstract bunch. Credit: govt.nz
This is the best update of the current flag out there. The Union Jack variation is gorgeous and thus acceptable to use. Designed by Mike Davison. Credit: govt.nz
Austraila, New Zealand has just put you on the clock.
Here are a few of the suggestions that didn't make the cut. I think it's pretty clear why. Check out more from ABC Australia.
Credit: Courtesy of New Zealand
This last one seemed to resonate in the newsroom, so we decided to have a little fun:(CNN) Travelers visiting Puerto Vallarta and other vacation spots on Mexico's Pacific coast evacuated or sought shelter Friday before Hurricane Patricia -- the strongest hurricane ever recorded -- made landfall.
About 15,000 foreign and domestic tourists were moved to shelters in Jalisco state, said Jose Maria Tapia, director general of the National Disaster Prevention Center. The storm made landfall about 7:15 p.m., Mexico's National Water Commission said in a tweet.
One of the American tourists to hunker down in Puerto Vallarta was Brad Powles, who was vacationing with his partner of six years at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit.
They received a stark warning from hotel management about what to expect during the storm: "Once in the shelter you are not anymore considered a guest.... (S)ervices will be very basic," the hotel's note reads in part.
Guests prepare for the hurricane at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit hotel.
He went to the hotel shelter on the first floor and tweeted some of his experiences, saying the doors were locked and barred, which was unnerving but necessary. Later the hotel staff served dinner. He was inside the shelter when news came that the storm hit land south of Puerto Vallarta.
"Morale has improved in the shelter and not just because of dinner. Word is that #Patricia hit further south than expected...," he tweeted.
Morale has improved in the shelter and not just because of dinner. Word is that #Patricia hit further south than expected... — Brad Powles (@brad_powles) October 24, 2015
Earlier he noted how the hotel prepared for the hurricane, tweeting "And the hotel has thrown all the beach chairs into the pools to prevent them from blowing into us. #Patricia"
And the hotel has thrown all the beach chairs into the pools to prevent them from blowing into us. #Patricia pic.twitter.com/0BNzGLgIFQ — Brad Powles (@brad_powles) October 23, 2015
Powles said he was nervous but is trying to stay upbeat and keep his parents back home from worrying. "Thank god for Wi-Fi," he said.
Other hotel guests were evacuated from Puerto Vallarta to inland locations.
"We were instructed to only bring one small bag," she told CNN. "The rest of our belongings we were told to leave inside our room in the closed bathroom area."
American Amera Bessa told CNN the storm caught her by surprise.
She was going out for dinner Thursday night when she learned the storm had become a Category 5 Hurricane, she said. On Friday morning, she and other guests rushed to the market for supplies.
Later Friday, hotel managers summoned all the guests to the lobby and said they'd be evacuated to a nearby building considered safe because it was made of concrete, she said. Pool chairs were brought inside for people to sleep on and pillows and blankets were distributed, she said.
Some sections of the building were air-conditioned but other parts were very uncomfortable. "It was very claustrophobic because it was all boarded up," she said.
Jonathan Lake told CNN that he planned to ride out the storm in Puerto Vallarta, partly to watch his property and also to assist in the cleanup. The normally busy streets were empty, he said.
"It's like a ghost town," he said.
On Thursday, the Four Seasons Punta Mita transported guests to Guadalajara.
Hotel officials were preparing an underground shelter for staff and guests who are staying because they couldn't get a flight out, had nowhere to seek refuge or faced traffic jams that made it too difficult to find safety.
Around midday Friday, "we will start moving remaining guests and staff into designated shelter," said Thomas Citterio, director of marketing at the Punta Mita.
At the Bay View Grand Condo, guest Mark Sullivan snapped a photo of his view of boarded windows. He was evacuating to Guadalajara.
#hurricane #patricia #bvg #vallarta A photo posted by Mark Sullivan (@kobetroy1) on Oct 22, 2015 at 8:12pm PDT
At the Comfort Inn in Puerto Vallarta, 200 guests are hunkering down in a designated safe room.
Hotel officials have boarded up windows and are communicating with authorities should they need to evacuate, said Samuel Ruic, the front desk manager.
Hotels have reached out to upcoming guests to postpone travel plans.
All flights to and from Puerto Vallarta's airport were suspended ahead of the storm, Federal Police tweeted.
Some visitors were lucky enough to get on the last flights out.
Twitter user @MyEverLights was pleased to get a seat. "Flight is here! Only flight today. Feeling very lucky to be on it. Praying for everyone still here #Patricia," the post reads.
Flight is here! Only flight today. Feeling very lucky to be on it. Praying for everyone still here #Patricia pic.twitter.com/hv6ITHPhhY — MyEverLights (@MyEverLights) October 23, 2015
U.S. airlines are waiving change fees for flights in and out of the region over the next several days. Alaska Airlines canceled its 10 Friday flights to and from Puerto Vallarta.The Detroit Lions announced Thursday that they’ve signed OT Cyrus Kouandjio to a contract and placed LS Jimmy Landes and OT Arturo Uzdavinis.
The Lions previously hosted Kouandijo for a visit, so he was clearly on their radar as a potential addition.
Kouandijo is coming off of a hip injury and was involved in a strange incident in which he was found by police “not fully clothed” in a field after climbing over an electric fence.
Kouandjio, 23, is a former second-round pick of the Bills back in 2014. He was in the final year of his four-year, $4.808 million contract that included $2.825 million guaranteed and was set to make a base salary of $1,025,748 for the 2017 season when the Bills waived him two weeks ago.
In 2016, Kouandjio appeared in 12 games for the Bills.
We had him featured in our Top 50 Available Free Agents list.America’s debt burden will nearly double over the next 30 years if current policies are maintained, the Congressional Budget Office concluded in a bleak report on the long-term budget outlook released Thursday.
The CBO warned that its forecast, if realized, poses “substantial risks for the nation.”
The government’s publicly-held debt currently totals 77 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The CBO found that number would soar to 150 percent of GDP by 2047.
The debt-to-GDP ratio is commonly used by economists to gauge whether a country’s debt burden is sustainable. The theory is that bigger economies should be able to shoulder more debt, so comparing a country’s accumulated debt to the size of its economy should be more illustrative than simply examining the size of that debt in a vacuum.
Explaining the national debt
There is debate among economists about how much debt is too much. Some, mostly conservatives, believe debt that totals 77 percent of GDP is already too much. Nearly all economists, however, acknowledge that a 150 percent debt-to-GDP ratio would be dangerous and unsustainable.
The explanation for the CBO’s finding is no mystery: the government spends more money than it takes in, and that gap is projected to widen, not close, as time goes on. In 2017, the annual deficit is expected to be approximately 2.9 percent of GDP. The CBO report found that, by 2047, the annual deficit will be 9.8 percent of GDP.
The swelling deficits will be driven primarily by increased spending in three areas, according to the CBO: Social Security, health care entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and interest on the debt.
“Much of the spending growth for Social Security and Medicare results from the aging of the population,” the CBO explained. “As members of the baby-boom generation age and as life expectancy continues to increase, the percentage of the population age 65 or older will grow sharply, boosting the number of beneficiaries of those programs.”
Still, the fastest growing sector of spending won’t be entitlement programs, according to the report: it will be the interest the government has to pay on its debt. The CBO flagged two explanations for that: “The first and more important is that interest rates are expected to rise from their current low levels, making any given amount of debt more costly to finance. The second reason is the projected increase in deficits: The larger they are, the more the government will need to borrow.”
Former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg and former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, the co-chairmen of the Campaign to Fix the Debt, highlighted the impact of those increased interest payments in a statement on Thursday.
Paul Ryan weighs in on raising the debt ceiling
“This year, we will spend as much on interest as on the Departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs combined, and in 30 years we will spend more on interest than on Medicare,” Gregg and Rendell wrote. “Meanwhile, an aging population and rising health costs means that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will grow significantly while revenue fails to keep up. This formula means higher debt, lower household incomes, endangered trust funds, and a future where policymakers have little wiggle room to invest in important priorities or respond to a crisis.”
It’s important to note that the CBO’s report is only a forecast based on current policies being maintained – it’s a snapshot of today, extrapolated 30 years into the future. That means the outlook could get better – or worse – if policymakers in Washington enact policies that alter the nation’s fiscal trajectory.
One such policy proposal that’s due to be rolled out in the coming weeks: tax reform. While the administration has not yet offered a concrete legislative package, and lawmakers are still tinkering with their own plans in committee, the tax reform proposal President Trump offered during the campaign provides at least some indication of where policymakers, especially Republicans, are headed on the issue.
Mr. Trump proposed slashing personal income tax rates and collapsing the current seven income brackets into just three. He also proposed repealing the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax, lowering taxes on investment income, and reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent.
Fiscal analyses of those reform proposals found they would add significantly to the federal debt. The left-leaning Tax Policy Center found that candidate Trump’s plan would reduce federal revenues by $6.2 trillion over 10 years, while the conservative Tax Foundation projected the revenue loss to be somewhere between $4.4 trillion and $5.9 trillion. (For reference, the total national debt currently stands just under $20 trillion.)At the end of 2014, I wrote about the trends I noticed in UI design in apps in China. It was a surprising hit, receiving hundreds of thousands unique views the following week, and multiple translations into |
500 (59 percent of all breaches) had an unknown or unaccounted number of compromised data records.
In India, the malicious outsider attack on Zomato exposing 17 million records globally become the sixth biggest data breach in first half of 2017. Also, the continuous attacks on Aadhaar data was another significant data breach that put focus on the financial access and identity theft breaches occurring in India.
“IT consultant CGI and Oxford Economics recently issued a study, using data from the Breach Level Index and found that two-thirds of firms breached had their share price negatively impacted. Out of the 65 companies evaluated the breach cost shareholders over $52.40 billion,” said Jason Hart, VP and CTO, Data Protection at Gemalto.
“We can expect that number to grow significantly, especially as government regulations in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere enact laws to protect the privacy and data of their constituents by associating a monetary value to improperly securing data. Security is no longer a reactive measure but an expectation from companies and consumers.”
The Breach Level Index is a global database that tracks data breaches and measures their severity based on multiple dimensions, including the number of records compromised, the type of data, the source of the breach, how the data was used, and whether or not the data was encrypted. By assigning a severity score to each breach, the Breach Level Index provides a comparative list of breaches, distinguishing data breaches that are not serious versus those that are truly impactful.
According to the Breach Level Index, more than 9 billion data records have been exposed since 2013 when the index began benchmarking publicly disclosed data breaches. During the first six months of 2017, more than 10 million records were compromised or exposed every day, or 122 records every second, including medical, credit card and/or financial data or personally identifiable information.
This is particularly concerning, since less than 1 percent of the stolen, lost or compromised data used encryption to render the information useless, a 4 percent drop compared to the last six months of 2016.
Primary sources of data breaches
Malicious outsiders made up the largest percentage of data breaches (74 percent), an increase of 23 percent. However, this source accounted for only 13 percent of all stolen, compromised or lost records. While malicious insider attacks only made up 8 percent of all breaches, the amount of records compromised was 20 million up from 500,000 an increase of over 4,114 percent from the previous six months.
Leading types of data breaches
For the first six months of 2017, identity theft was the leading type of data breach in terms of incident, accounting for 74 percent of all data breaches, up 49 percent from the previous semester. The number of records compromised in identity theft breaches increased by 255 percent.
The most significant shift was the nuisance category of data breaches representing 81 percent of all lost, stolen or compromised records. However, in terms of the number of incidents, nuisance type attacks were only slightly over 1 percent of all data breaches. The number of compromised records from account access attacks declined by 46 percent, after a significant spike in the 2016 BLI full year report.
Industries affected
For most of the industries, the Breach Level Index tracks had more than a 100 percent increase in the number of compromised, stolen or lost records. Education witnessed one of the largest increases in breaches up by 103 percent with an increase of over 4,000 percent in the number of records. This is the result of a malicious insider attack compromising millions of records from one of China’s largest comprehensive private educational companies.
Healthcare had a relatively similar amount of breaches compared to the last six months of 2016, but stolen, lost or compromised records increased 423 percent. The UK's National Health Service was one of the top five breaches in the first half with over 26 million compromised records.
Financial services, government and entertainment were also industries that experienced a significant jump in the number of breached records, with entertainment breach incidents increasing 220 percent in the first six months of 2017.
Geographic distribution
North America still makes up the majority of all breaches and the number of compromised records, both above 86 percent. The number of breaches in North America increased by 23 percent with the number of records compromised skyrocketing by 201 percent.
Traditionally, North America has always had the largest number of publicly disclosed breaches and associated record numbers, although this is poised to change in 2018 when global data privacy regulations like the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Australia’s Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act are enforced.
Europe only had 49 reported data breaches (5 percent of all breaches), which is a 35 percent decline from the previous six months.A report from Forbes spread around the internet the last couple of days, which said that The Batman script would receive a major rewrite, or even be started over from scratch. Now we’re hearing a different side to that story…
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I reached out to Justin Kroll, the Variety reporter who broke the news about Ben Affleck not directing The Batman. He told me that a new script for The Batman was turned in this month (presumably the one that Chris Terrio rewrote), and that everyone at Warner Bros., including President and Chief Content Officer Toby Emmerich and Ben Affleck are “very happy” with it!
No, several sources already saying new script came in this month and everyone including Emmerich and Ben very happy with it — Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) February 9, 2017
Specifics on The Batman are still up in the air. It doesn’t have a release date, and it may not start shooting this summer as previously planned. They still need a director as well. But we finally have a script that Ben Affleck is happy with. That was something that he constantly talked about in interviews over the last few months. Hopefully with that in place, more good news starts rolling in soon.Human tear protein profiles were monitored by surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry ProteinChip technology (SELDI-TOF ProteinChip) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Tears were collected from 21 patients scheduled for surgery to remove an ocular surface neoplasm prior to surgery (day 0) and on days 1, 3, and 30 postoperatively. Using this proteomic approach, we verified that three human alpha-defensins (HNP-1, HNP-2, and HNP-3) were significantly up-regulated in their expression after surgery and that their levels decreased to approximately normal by day 30 by which time healing was complete. Further confirmation of the identity of the alpha-defensins in human tears was made by LC purification, trypsin digestion, and ESI-MS/MS analysis of their tryptic digests. The concentrations of HNP-1 and HNP-2 were determined and shown to be markedly increased after ocular surface surgery. The results of the study suggest that human alpha-defensins HNP-1, HNP-2, and HNP-3 are up-regulated after surgery, and may in addition to their antimicrobial properties have an important role in wound healing.How to communicate between components in React
Chris Witko Blocked Unblock Follow Following Feb 15, 2015
Testing React I was thinking how to resolve problem with emit events between components.
One of my examples was to create two components:
Header Content
In Header component I have simple button with method refreshContent to simulate event in the Content component view after button click in Header component.
So let’s start with Header component.
Ok, as you can see, this React Component renders view with a button. On click event we emit event by this.emitContentUpdate().
Let’s write simple Content component to accept our event.
As you can see, out Content component has extra method onRefreshContent (the same name as emitted event name refreshContent). Now every time we will emit this.emitRefreshContent() we will fire onRefreshContent method. Easy.
So the best on the end. Let’s write simple event emitter to support this idea.
Works like a charm. Let me know what do you think about it.B.C. is the front line of a developing skirmish between federal Finance Department officials and Canadian lawyers over rules designed to fight money laundering.
In a Supreme Court of Canada ruling in 2015, lawyers won an exemption from reporting requirements that apply to other professionals, such as bankers and real estate agents. The ruling was based on concerns about lawyer-client privilege. B.C. lawyers argued they protect confidentiality while counteracting money laundering risks by policing themselves.
But a growing chorus of international critics say Canada’s lawyer loophole is unique among developed countries, and leaves a dangerous gap in the federal government’s money-laundering defences.
“The law societies claim to have rules in place to prevent money laundering but they are weak, non-transparent and almost never enforced,” said Adam Ross, the author of a recent Transparency International report, which pointed to lawyers and money laundering risks in Vancouver real estate.
“Unless the law societies demand more of their members and start enforcing those rules, billions of dollars will continue to be washed through lawyers’ trusts accounts without any consequence,” he said in an interview. “So far, we’ve seen that self-policing doesn’t work.”
Lawyers must make annual reports of trust account activity to show they comply with B.C. Law Society rules, spokesman David Jordan said.
Trust accounts can be audited if the Society spots indicators of non-compliance in these reports, and trust accounts are also subject to random audits, he said. The society also has rules against large cash transactions, and has cited six lawyers since 2004 for handling cash transactions of over $7,500, according to Jordan.
Sources in Ottawa say the Finance Department is working on legal amendments that would bring Canadian lawyers into the national anti-money laundering system.
The department won’t disclose details. Changes would likely demand more from lawyers in the reporting of potentially suspicious transactions, but it is not clear how amendments could work around the issue of client confidentiality.
“There must be a solution where lawyers are held to higher standards of due diligence and anti-money laundering compliance without compromising attorney-client privilege,” Ross said.
Meanwhile, the B.C. Law Society is hearing what is believed to be the first case alleging that a member allowed a legal trust to be abused through suspicious transactions from offshore.
The Law Society alleges West Vancouver lawyer Donald Gurney allowed $25,845,489 in offshore funds to pass through his trust account between May and November 2013, without providing substantial legal services. It’s alleged Gurney did not ask where the money was coming from, and accepted it “without making reasonable inquiries about the circumstances, including the subject matter and objectives of the retainer,” Jordan said.
“When they fail in that obligation (to protect legal accounts against abuse) there must be robust professional discipline with a view to ensuring public confidence in the profession and its ability to regulate itself,” the Society’s counsel told the hearing panel.
Gurney’s lawyer, however, argued there was no evidence of nefarious transactions in the case, and that B.C. lawyers have no responsibility to investigate the sources of funds placed in their accounts beyond what theirs client tell them. The outcome of the case could clarify the boundaries of B.C. lawyers’ responsibilities to the public and likely will influence the Finance Department’s efforts to bring lawyers into the suspicious transaction reporting system.
Another anti-money-laundering expert, former RCMP unit leader Kim Marsh, said he believes many B.C. lawyers are “wilfully blind” to the origins of offshore cash flooding through legal trusts and into real estate.
“I think a lot of trust accounts in B.C. are used as flow-through accounts,” Marsh said.
Marsh said offshore investors use flow-through accounts as “a conduit to move the money into another location or investment; and what better conduit than a lawyer’s trust account? It’s a big red flag in offshore banking when money just goes in and out of an account.”
Details alleged in court filings for another case appear to highlight some of the issues that the Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based intergovernmental group, asked Canada to address in a 2016 report. Its report pointed to concerns with offshore investment in real estate and the services provided by Canadian lawyers, such as placing wire transfers in trusts and creating investment vehicles that can shield true ownership of property.
The case, proceeding through separate but related B.C. Supreme Court civil actions, involves prominent Richmond real estate and immigration lawyer Hong Guo.
Documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court allege that about four years ago, Guo’s Chinese investor clients used her legal trust to wire tens of millions from offshore into Guo’s accounts. Next, various B.C. shell companies either incorporated or owned by Guo were used to invest the funds in various land and resource deals, according to legal filings.
In the largest deal, Chinese investors bought three properties on Richmond’s Minoru Boulevard in 2013 for a condo development. According to allegations in legal filings, the condo development stalled for financial reasons. The investors had difficulty getting enough money into B.C., legal filings say, and they struggled to find lenders in B.C. because “the whole transaction looked suspicious.” In connection to the financing difficulties, Hong Guo “admitted to sending false disclosure information to the prospective lenders in the Minoru Deal,” legal filings allege.
When the development failed to proceed, some investors wanted to sell the Richmond properties quickly and get their money back, legal filings say, but others wanted to hold the land. These investors are now fighting each other in B.C. courts to prove who invested funds for the deal.
Guo and her business associate Allen Sun are also locked in several court battles over these deals.
In one court action, Allen Sun questioned who really owns the $20 million wired into Guo’s legal trust to invest in the deal. One of Guo’s Chinese clients, a man named Zhongping Xu, claims that the $20 million belongs to him. But records filed in court by other investors say most of the $20 million came not from Zhongping Xu, but from a Chinese man named Li Zhen, and two Hong Kong registered companies known as Sparkle Long and Double Wealth International.
Allen Sun’s lawyer questioned Zhongping Xu in court about the source of funds.
“It says all of these balances were received from Li Zhen … who is Li Zhen?” Sun’s lawyer asked Xu, according to examination transcripts, while showing him Guo’s trust account records.
“My friend,” Xu answered. “And what was his involvement in … any of these companies? Was that your money that was being funnelled through Li Zhen?”
“I don’t want to answer because I don’t want to talk about my money,” Xu responded. “It doesn’t matter where it is from. The source is from Hong Kong, that’s my business.”
“Was it transferred to Ms. Guo’s account from China?” Sun’s lawyer pressed, according to transcripts. “How did you get the $20 million you say that you have invested in this deal, from China to Vancouver?”
“I will not provide you with the documents in China,” Xu answered.
Legal filings from Allen Sun assert that “the money coming in for these deals was from a completely unknown source offshore,” and “there are hundreds of thousands of dollars which flowed into and out of Ms. Guo’s trust account to unidentified parties including $350,000 to Mr. Xu personally.”
In March 2016, in a B.C. Supreme Court order granting Allen Sun’s lawyer an opportunity to re-examine Zhongping Xu, Master Douglas Baker stated that: “It is my observation that when matters got close to the bone, so to speak, when significant issues (were asked) like ‘where did you get the $20 million, how did you get it to Canada,’ he does become, I think, the nice word would be ‘circumlocutory.’”
Also in the Richmond land deal case, Guo’s client Qing Yan has sued Zhongping Xu and Hong Guo.
Affidavits filed by Yan in the case say that in January 2016, before Yan sued Xu, the two investors discussed meeting in Macau or Hong Kong to resolve their differences in the Richmond land deal, and that scrutiny of regulatory authorities was a consideration.
“Mr Yan … using a third party transferee (you don’t have to show your face) so that actual payment will be in cash … the signing can actually take place in Hong Kong,” Zhongping Xu texted to Qing Yan, affidavits filed in B.C. Supreme Court say. “It’s better our future discussions take place either face to face or via WeChat! … If someone out of unfriendly intention complains to the regulatory authority, then it will lead to intervention, delay or termination!”
There is no indication that the B.C. Law Society is investigating Guo’s involvement in the Richmond land deal case.
In interviews with Postmedia, Guo insisted strongly that she and her clients have done nothing wrong in the contested Richmond land deal.
“Who is Li Zhen? I don’t know, I really don’t know what you are asking,” Guo said. “I’m just in the middle to help the two parties. I’m not benefiting. I don’t have any benefit from this deal, even a penny.”
scooper@postmedia.comYay! Finally finishedHere is what I came up with for my own version of Scooby Doo Apocalypse. If this was a real comic I’d say this would be probably the 2nd issue so it doesn’t start from the beginning but it gives you an idea of where the story can go.It’s very similar to the DC version but I stuck with the classic design, keeping the new costumes. Instead of the plot having nanites being released into the world and making monsters, this story is a bit deeper: playing on people’s worst fears and causing them to lose their sanity. Therefore, the world falls into chaos. As a result, humans do metaphorically become monsters but in a more psychopathic/homicidal maniac sort of way. When I have additional time to make more pages you will see how it plays out. Also if you have any comments/ideas in terms of what you’d like to see in the plot/character development/etc., I’m open to it (you can DM me) and I will credit you for any thoughts you’d like to share if I decide to use them in any future pages.Anywho, hope you guys like. You can also check out more of my stuff on:Also, if you like what you see, please support me on my patreon at: www.patreon.com/bizarremoonsNEW DELHI — Ratul Puri, the 35-year-old executive director of Moser Baer India, looks like Adrian Brody's kid brother and talks like he swallowed the last four volumes of the Harvard Business Review. But he's no puffed up heir to the throne of daddy's business.
Since Puri returned to India from college in the United States in 1994, he's helped transform Moser Baer from a rinky-dink maker of floppy disks into a $400 million high-tech company that straddles business as diverse as the optical media, home entertainment, consumer electronics and solar energy sectors.
Today, Moser Baer is among the world's top five makers of blank CDs and DVDs, and virtually owns the Indian market for storage media. In 2007, after the company discovered a method of making pre-recorded DVDs at about half the price of existing technologies, Puri spearheaded a move into home entertainment that has already revolutionized the Indian market — where the company has acquired more than 10,000 titles and slashed the retail price of DVD movies to about $1 from $10-$15 before it entered the sector. And in 2008 it began unveiling a range of DVD players, LCD TVs and other consumer electronics products that independent observers have said offer the same features and quality of leading international brands for a tenth of the cost.
But the company's most exciting move is its venture into making thin-film solar energy panels, where its expertise in shaving down costs has the potential to spark a revolution in this power-starved country. “India has a massive opportunity in solar. Five, ten, fifteen years down the road it can be amongst the world's largest markets,” Puri told GlobalPost in a recent interview.
That enthusiasm might seem unrealistic from an Indian company that until a couple of years ago was known exclusively for stamping out blank DVDs, especially now that lower oil prices and financial turmoil have stilled some of the clamor for clean energy. But Puri claims that his enormous CD and DVD volumes actually give him more experience in coating thin-film silicon — the essential technology that Moser Baer's solar cells will employ — than virtually any other company in the world. “We plan to have 600-odd megawatts of capacity by 2010,” he said, “which will get us to the magic $1 a watt [that it will take to compete with conventional power].”
Moser Baer plans investments of nearly $3.2 billion in research, development and manufacturing of solar power products — the "thin film modules" and other silicon bits and pieces that make solar power work.
The key to success, Puri says, will be the company's expertise in lowering manufacturing costs. One of the first Indian manufacturers to successfully compete internationally, Moser Baer entered high-tech manufacturing at a time when the general consensus was that Indian manufacturing was a basket case.
In one of the dustiest places on the planet, the company built a massive “clean room” for disk manufacture that required an air conditioning unit that takes up the entire second floor of the factory, and installed their own diesel-fueled power generation facility, since even a brief electricity outage would spoil the melted silicon. And that was at a time when nobody believed blank CDs could be made cheaply enough to replace floppies. “There isn't one big factor [to cutting costs], it's a lot of little factors,” Puri said. “Ten years ago, it would have been impossible to believe that you could have a DVD that you could sell for 10 cents a disk and make money, but today it's real. So similar to that in the solar space.”
Already, touching $1 a watt would put the Indian firm in some pretty elite company. Only a handful of firms claim to have reached that price point so far, including U.S.-based First Solar and Nanosolar, which has received financial backing from Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Nanosolar uses — attention science fans — copper indium gallium diselenide to build its solar cells, while First Solar uses cadmium telluride-based cells. For its part, Moser Baer uses amorphous silicon. All three technologies have their proponents.
But making DVDs has convinced Puri that he can lower the costs of producing amorphous silicon cells again and again. “We're designing new anti-reflective coatings which then impact the light, we've driven the thickness of the glass down, we've tried to design a better system of components around the basic panel to take costs out, we've innovated a lot on the process recipes, which allows much higher throughput for the facilities,” he said. “It's a lot of little things that contribute to that road map to a sub $1 a watt price point.”
If the company gets there by 2010, that could help India leapfrog to clean energy the way it bypassed terrestrial telephone networks and went straight to cellular, which would be good news for the rest of the world. Despite the much-heralded nuclear deal with the United States, even 20 years down the road, nuclear energy will supply only a tiny fraction of India's power needs. “What does that mean for India, or more importantly, what does it mean for the rest of the world? Where will India get its energy from? It will get it from coal,” Puri said. And that means as many as 300 coal-fired power plants spewing a giant brown cloud over Asia.
But if solar gets here first, that could be different. “Maybe instead of 300 coal plants, it will only have to build 150. That might be an acceptable path.”
Other GlobalPost stories from India:
Bhopal disaster, 25 years later
Bollywood's big night at the Oscars
Monkey see, monkey don'tOne day after combating a deflated distance marker, the Tour de France may have to take on an even more devious foe Saturday: Llamas.
Photo: Joel Sagada/Facebook
That picture was taken on the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees, one of the hardest and most famous climbs of the Tour de France. According to the man who took the photo, the llamas were purchased by a proprietor of a nearby campsite and let loose to graze the hillsides in the summer. On the particular day they were photographed, he wrote, they were likely lying down on the road to warm up from the cold mist.
Saturday morning, Tour de France riders will try to surmount the Col du Tourmalet as part of a ridiculously hard stage. They may have more than steep gradients to worry about.
* * *
How the Tour de France has changed over the years
Be sure to subscribe to SB Nation's YouTube channel for highlight videos, features, analysis and moreSridevi Kalavakolanu, a Wal-Mart director of ethical sourcing, told attendees the company wouldn’t share the cost, according to Ineke Zeldenrust, international coordinator for the Clean Clothes Campaign, who attended the gathering. Kalavakolanu and her counterpart at Gap reiterated their position in a report folded into the meeting minutes, obtained by Bloomberg News. “Specifically to the issue of any corrections on electrical and fire safety, we are talking about 4,500 factories, and in most cases very extensive and costly modifications would need to be undertaken to some factories,” they said in the document. “It is not financially feasible for the brands to make such investments.”
Fifty percent of the Bangladesh’s garment factories don’t meet legally required work safety standards and those that have improved working conditions have done so under pressure from Western apparel makers, said Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, a non- governmental organization founded by two former garment child workers to promote safer factories. Bangladesh’s labor law requires safety measures such as fire extinguishers and easily accessible exits at factories.
In an April 2011, meeting about safety in garment factories in Bangladesh, executives for Walmart and the Gap discussed the possibility of paying suppliers enough more to enable upgrades on things like fire safety. To give one completely random example of something that killed more than 100 workers recently. But Walmart and the Gap said no, safety for Bangladeshi garment workers was too expensive So what "director of ethical sourcing" means in this context is apparently "director of insisting that Walmart has ethics while rejecting any actual having of ethics." And while Walmart and the Gap said "it is not financially feasible" to have clothes manufactured in factories that are not death traps, the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger disagreed, and signed the agreement. That kind of pressure is what's needed—as long as Walmart is willing to buy clothes manufactured under terrible conditions, conditions will stay terrible:This is Walmart's (and the Gap's, and many other familiar retailers') commitment to giving you the lowest damn price while keeping executive pay and profits high: They'll kill for it. They will knowingly endanger the lives of thousands of workers because paying enough for those workers' direct employers to install fire extinguishers and exits is just not consistent with their real corporate values. And while things are better for their workers in America, it's not because they value American lives more. It's just because, as few rights and little power as workers have in the United States, it's more than they have in Bangladesh.Translation of The Complete Manual of Suicide’s preface
The Complete Manual of Suicide (完全自殺マニュアル Kanzen Jisatsu Manyuaru, lit. Complete Suicide Manual) is a Japanese book written by Wataru Tsurumi. It was first published on July 4, 1993 and sold more than one million copies. This 198 page book provides explicit descriptions and analysis on a wide range of suicide methods such as overdose, hanging, jumping, and carbon monoxide poisoning. It is not a suicide manual for the terminally ill. There is no preference shown for painless or dignified ways of ending one’s life. The book provides matter-of-fact assessment of each method in terms of the pain it causes, effort of preparation required, the appearance of the body and lethality.
Several years ago, I found an okay translation of the book’s preface and just dug up a document I’d copied and pasted it to. I, geefitch, did not translate this myself, but I did clean it up as much as possible to make it more understandable. Some bits are still a bit hazy, but you get the gist. I neither condemn nor condone suicide by posting this, rather The Complete Manual of Suicide is one of my many morbid interests and I find the preface quite disturbing. That’s saying a lot. This book has been found on bodies in the famous Aokigahara Forest and the preface itself provides a very dark insight into a certain mindset of youth and young adults at a very particular time in Japan’s history - a time which saw the aftermath of the economy’s bubble collapse (refered to as “The Lost Decade), the ripples of which stretched far and wide across the country - among the other, usual factors (discussed in the text to come.) Culturally, I feel this is some striking and unique stuff.
So yeah, just wanted to throw in a little perspective in there. I really needn’t give a trigger warning here but if you’re feeling depressed at the moment, I’d definitely give it a miss. Anyway, enjoy.
The Complete Manual of Suicide
Foreword
This book describes the methods of committing suicide in detail.
It was not written by people who have attempted to commit suicide many times, and it is not written to explain the reasons behind committing suicide.
Although the book can be treated as a record of events, the whole book follows the main objective of showing anyone how to commit suicide.
Long ago, the topic “why do young people commit suicide?” had been discussed by various parties. In the 70s, the conclusions were something like “nihilism”, “age of sorrow”. Nevertheless, the questions, “why can’t I commit suicide?”, “why must I stay alive?” were never really resolved.
There’s a need for a book, which can help one to commit suicide, to take actual actions, but not just having the idea in mind. Books with such aims were once published ten years ago - “The Ways to Commit Suicide” is an example. However, the book was not well organized and is boring. We only need to know the ways to commit suicide, not any other unrelated things.
In America, a scholar invented a machine, which allows “mercy killing” to be put into practice. And this book will be the only “suicide machine” in Japan, making use of words.
Speaking of this, I want to start introducing drug overdose. But to help you understand the question “Why do we need to commit suicide now?” better, and for other commercial reasons… I have to talk about some other things first.
A student rebellion took place 20 years ago. I was waiting for my time to show off my ability. Everyone thought that someone great would emerge. The Apollo landed on the moon. The oil crisis. The Soviet Union’s invasion of other countries. I thought my actions would affect the whole world. But it just caused a little vibration - only a wall collapsed. Students faced each another and smiled. “That’s great!” The rebellion is going to end…
At the end of the 80s, there was a trend of believing in the end of the world, and talking about dangerous topics, the famous bands performed songs about Chernobyl, the jokes coming out of kids’ mouths all had the taste of death, teenage girls prepared for the world war by seeking a mate. And we cheered for beliefs like “the emergence of the mighty”, “tomorrow may be the end of the world.”
The end of the world didn’t show up, the atomic bombs were left intact, the dream of having a world-wide nuclear war vanished. The revolutionists of the 80s were greatly depressed.
At last, everyone realized that there would be no time to show off their own ability, the 22nd century must arrive. (Of course, the 21st century is approaching, there won’t be any world war.) There will never be an end of the world. We stretched our arms into outer space, but it couldn’t bring us enough satisfaction. If we want more excitement, if we really want the world to come to its end, we have to do “something”.
A Long Vocation
It’s useless to say “it’s dull and boring.” We are all unlucky. We were born on this stage of past events. We will wake at 7am, either going to work or going to school afterwards. We will repeat the pointless speeches. At school, we keep reciting English vocab, histories, the reign titles; at work, we keep saying senseless things while we keep on working over different senseless projects, for a few weeks, a few months or a few years.
New inventions will be introduced at a slow pace. The slow-paced politician will keep on accepting bribes. The TV programs keeps on bringing excitement to its audience at a slow pace. After we switch off the TV, it will be just another ordinary day.
Yukio Mishima once wrote the lines, “ordinary life is even more horrible than a war.” in his autobiography “Confession d’un masque”. We tolerated the nervousness caused by the terrifying ordinary life, in return for the ridiculous “calm and bright future.” We have to be careful throughout our life, trying in vain to avoid any mistakes.
There’s no happy ending like the ones in the comedies. Happiness keeps on emerging repeatedly at a slow pace. Yes, the key is “repeatedly” and “at a slow pace”. Substantial events keep on emerging repeatedly at a slow pace. This is the first element leading to suicide.
Another brick in the wall
A bridge maze suicide event took place in Japan in 1978.
Two sisters living in Toyoma, Japan were found dead, hanging on a tree. In a diary which belonged to one of the two sisters, four straight lines and several sidelines were drawn on one of the pages, forming a maze (a form of game finding the root by following the lines drawn.) Under the diagram, the following were found, “ Japanese ”, “Commit Suicide”, “ROS”, “Three Houses” (Families that would be eligible for Tokugawa shogunate.) These incomprehensible words.
The line being drawn on that particular page led to “Commit Suicide”. Their parents couldn’t understand the motive behind their daughters’ decision to commit suicide, therefore the conclusion that the girls died for the maze was formed.
It was thought that ROS meant “Rolling Stones”, as the page also carried phrases like “ Japanese ”, “I hate Asian.” Nevertheless, no one can understand the true meaning of the words on that page.
A judge once said “One’s life is more important than the planet earth.” This is a pitiful misunderstanding of the fact. Just like what the two girls had realized, life is as fragile and as unimportant as can be, just like “ Japanese ” and ROS.
At the end of the 50s, scholars of the US said that everyone seems to lack strength. At the end of the 70s, rock bands sang “We are a brick in the wall.” and became very famous. Even in the 90s, this situation has not changed in Japan.
Just like the old days, we are still a brick in the wall. The proof is, assume one of us dies; there must be a replacement for the deceased very soon. Everyone can be replaced by somebody else. Therefore, no politician warrants assassination. That is just one brick less in the wall, the wall will not collapse.
Everyone lacks strength, it doesn’t matter whether we exist or not. Life is unimportant. This is the second element leading to suicide.
Clockwork Orange
We, people who lack strength, keep doing the same things repeatedly. We’ve forgotten the feeling of being alive. We can’t tell if we are living or dead. Do you feel that you are “alive” now? At this stage, only a thin line separates living and dead.
Therefore the sayings, “life is valuable, you should not commit suicide”, “if you stay alive, everything will have a turning point”, “your friends and relatives will feel sad for your death, so you have to stay alive” can all be put aside; these are not convincing anymore. The convincing words which can stop one from committing suicide vanish; the signal for committing suicide emerges.
Yes, you can commit suicide. If you feel discomfort, resentment or even pain in your daily life at school or at work, you can take one step across that thin line into death. No one can stop you. Just like the previous paragraphs, nothing will change even if you stay alive and keep on facing these challenges. Although we don’t have extraordinary powers, we can still tell what will happen to ourselves or to the society in the future.
“Future! Future!” It’s useless even as it’s convincing. Your life will essentially be growing up and receiving your education in your hometown. You’ll attend supplementary classes in the hope of getting a good result in the exams. You’ll enter a high school or university and fool around for a few years before you start your career in a local company. If you are a man, you will get married between the ages of 25 to 30 and have your first child the following year. You will face several changes in your occupation, and at most be promoted as a manager. You will retire at 60 years old, and spend the rest of you life enjoying your habits. Finally, you face death. This is what you will get. And depressingly, this is the ideal life in many people’s minds.
If this is the case, living an ordinary life is meaningless. You live as if you are the chicks in the farms, destined to be consumed in future. “You are given the life to live. You are not living your own life.” Therefore, putting a full stop to it at a suitable time isn’t a matter of feeling despondent, thinking that it won’t happen twice or fear that the decision will trigger off massive chain effects.
Committing suicide is a positive act.
Angel Dust
I have a friend. He has a drug called “angel dust”. People feel dazed after taking it and would be able to jump off a high-rise building without feeling anything. He has put the drug into a metal follicle and has attached it to a necklace, bringing it along with him wherever he goes.
He says ”I can take the drug and commit suicide whenever I need to.” My friend has no fixed job. He lives in idleness and is very happy about it.
I hope this book can |
husband, it's obvious that the fan just wanted to emphasize that she wanted to see Eunji a lot, no reason for Eunji to respond so negatively..12. [+9, -3] If this fan account had been posted on regular community sites, she would not be getting any praise, she would be getting hate ㅋㅋ Where is all this supposed "praise" coming from? Feminazi sites? Even the journalist who wrote this article is a woman ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋFormer Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman is President Donald Trump's top pick to be the next FBI director.
During a joint press conference on Thursday, Trump was asked if Lieberman was the front-runner in the race to head the bureau, and he responded, "he is."
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Lieberman is one of four candidates for the job that will be meeting with President Trump on Wednesday afternoon.
The other three were the current acting director, Andrew McCabe, former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating and Richard McFeeley, a former executive assistant director in the FBI.
Lieberman served 24 years as a Connecticut senator before retiring in 2013 after his fourth term.
He was the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee, running with Al Gore in 2000. The pair lost the election to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in a result that needed to be decided by the Supreme Court.
Lieberman, who also served as Connecticut's Attorney General and spent 10 years as a state senator.Pomona four-star lineman Jake Moretti, the state’s top football recruit in the class of 2017, said he will attend the University of Colorado, changing his commitment from Ohio State. Moretti announced his decision via Twitter on Thursday night.
Moretti, who has missed his senior season because of a torn ACL suffered in a summer camp at Ohio State, initially committed to the Buckeyes in July 2015.
With his switch to Colorado, he will join other locals in what is turning into a bumper Buffs recruiting class that includes ThunderRidge lineman Heston Paige, Cherry Creek linebacker Jonathan Van Diest and former Cherry Creek tight end Dante Sparaco, who is now at IMG Academy in Florida).
CU is 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Pac-12 heading into Saturday’s showdown against Washington State at Folsom Field in Boulder. If the Buffs beat the Cougars and then Utah, also at Folsom Field, to close the regular season, the Buffs will secure the Pac-12 South title and a berth in the conference championship game.
Moretti on Thursday afternoon told The Denver Post in a text message that he planned a forthcoming announcement regarding his decision.
Getting Moretti would be a huge pickup for head coach Mike MacIntyre, recruiting coordinator Darrin Chiaverini and the rapidly ascending Buffs. He played both offense and defense at Pomona but is projected as an offensive lineman in college.
And while Moretti’s decommitment is a big loss for Ohio State, the Buckeyes have the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class for 2017, according to 247Sports, and have signed top-10 recruiting classes since coach Urban Meyer took over the Big Ten program in 2011.Story highlights As with movies, this TV season has a heavy reliance on comics
Fox is premiering the Batman prequel "Gotham"
The CW is revealing its take on "The Flash"
NBC has the series "Constantine" based on the "Hellblazer" comics
Maybe it's the cobwebs, the skulls and the creepy books, but somehow one gets the feeling that this is no ordinary library.
In fact, it's the inner sanctum of John Constantine, a tortured exorcist condemned to hell. More accurately, it's the set of the upcoming NBC series "Constantine," and it's based on the cult favorite "Hellblazer" comics (from DC Comics, which shares a parent company with CNN).
But "Constantine" isn't alone: a number of upcoming new shows pull their inspiration from comics. Just as superheroes have become a cash cow for movie studios, the comic book is now the choice source material for TV.
There's "The Walking Dead," which premiered in 2010 and is now one of the most popular series on the small screen, and then there's "Gotham," Fox's Batman prequel that debuts to high anticipation Monday.
The show follows the immediate aftermath of the death of young Bruce Wayne's parents, which parallels the story of Detective Gordon (Ben McKenzie) as he struggles to fight Gotham City's underworld while maintaining his ethical beliefs.
And the place is already populated with up-and-coming supervillains, including Oswald Cobblepot (the Penguin) and Selina Kyle (Catwoman).
While "Gotham" may seem tailor-made for the hardcore Batman fan, 15-year-old actress Camren Bicondova, who fills the role of the future Catwoman, is confident all audiences will understand the show.
No matter "if you're a 'fanboy' or a newcomer, it's entertaining," she said. The fans will appreciate the fresh perspective, she added, while "newcomers get to see a whole new kind of show."
Fast track to TV success?
While Fox has the future Batman, The CW has "The Flash," which is set to premiere on October 7.
Most people are at least somewhat aware of the "Scarlet Speedster," a.k.a. Barry Allen, who'll be played in this series by Grant Gustin. The previous small screen Flash, John Wesley Shipp, plays the hero's father this time around.
With that awareness comes high expectations for the new title, but members of the cast say they're ready to live up to the challenge.
"Everyone who is part of this production is very aware of the love for Flash," said Candice Patton, who plays Barry's love interest, Iris, noting that the producers are first and foremost fans of the character. "Our series feels and looks like the comic book in a lot of ways. The design is so incredible."
As with any adaptation, for a feature film or network series, a huge hurdle can be the way the source material is interpreted and adapted on screen.
With "The Flash," they've stuck close to the comic, but with its CW cousin "Arrow," another comics-based series from which "The Flash" was spun off, there's a more unique approach. So far, with the series having enjoyed two successful seasons, the risk has worked.
The trick to getting it right, says "Arrow" executive producer Marc Guggenheim, is having a deep love of the character.
"Comic books are an operatic medium," Guggenheim explained. "That's harder to get right or produce. Unless you love comics and that world, I don't know how anyone else would do the job. So it starts with love of the character and the source material."
Jeph Loeb, Marvel's head of television, agreed that the secret to success with comic book heroes is a focus on people.
"You're invested in Peter Parker and care about what happens to Peter, so you start from there," he said. "['Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s'] Agent Coulson gave his life, literally, for an agency he believed in, only to find out that agency was raft with corruption. Combine that with the extraordinary, and you have something special."
A bonafide phenomenon
With CBS' announcement Friday that it was picking up a "Supergirl" TV series, every major network now has a show based on comic books. (Meanwhile, cable and others continue the trend, from FX's "The Strain" and TNT's possible future series "Titans" to Netflix's "Daredevil" and Sony Playstation's "Powers.") If "Arrow" and "The Walking Dead" could be considered preludes to a trend, that trend is officially in full swing.
But as with much in pop culture, the superhero adoration is cyclical, mainly because it's a timeless story, said "Arrow" actress Emily Bett Rickards.
"It's always interesting to see a hero's struggle and hide behind an identity," Rickards said.
Back at Constantine's inner sanctum, Constantine himself, Matt Ryan, has his own theory as to why comic characters resonate.
"It comes down to hope and heroes and people really wanting to lose themselves in a form of escapism," he said. "We all want to be able to do something that we can't."
Yet aside from the natural romance of heroic storylines, there's also an economic variable.
"[Comic books] already have that built-in fanbase, (so) they're easily adaptable," observed Josh McDermitt, a "Walking Dead" fan-turned-actor on the show. "They have stories that are already established. I don't blame all those shows for jumping on the train -- the fan base is already there and they're rabid."
Essentially, networks are launching series that have been "field tested" first, said "Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas, who's now executive producer of the upcoming comics-based zombie series, the CW's "iZombie."
"[Comic book shows] gives studios and networks a comfort level to see something succeed in another medium and see where a story might go. It's a business built on risk," he said. "Anything that mitigates that risk they're eager to jump on."
Obviously, crafting a TV series from a popular comic doesn't mean an automatic sure bet. That built-in audience will go right out the window -- or to another channel -- if creators fail to deliver a product that lives up to fans' stiff standards.
Thomas, for one, can admit to some "trepidation" of how readers of the "iZombie" DC Comics series will react to his screen version.
"My mom found a letter not too long ago that I wrote to Stan Lee about something I found wrong with Spider-Man," he said. "At 13, I was that kid berating somebody about getting the comic book wrong. Flash forward 35 years later, and it's all karma."Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, told a committee of MPs that the current rolling stock, mostly dating from the 1970s, only has five to ten years of service life left.
After that, he said, the prospect of replacing it would be a “major decision”, adding: “The figures are quite staggering.”
Sir Alan’s comments before the Commons public accounts committee are the first tacit admission that the royal train may be going the same way as the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was retired in 1997.
The royal train, which first came into service in 1842, currently consists of nine carriages which comprise sleeping accommodation, offices and a dining car.
It is pulled by locomotives painted in the royal livery of claret with a red stripe, though the engines are used to pull other trains when not needed for the royal train.
The royal train costs up to £1 million per year, making it twice as expensive as air travel on average, though its fixtures and fittings are more akin to a Travelodge than a palace.
Last year, for example, a one-way trip between Windsor and York made by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh cost £20,221. As a consequence, the Queen has increasingly travelled on public trains in recent years to save money.
Margaret Hodge, chairman of the public accounts committee, asked Sir Alan if the use of the royal train was under review.
He said: “We would continue with it as long as the current rolling stock is working, and we would estimate it has five to ten years left. It would be a major decision to renew it. The figures are quite staggering.”472 SHARES Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit
Uncorporeal are unveiling what it terms as it’s “Holographic Photography Technology” which the team claim will allow anyone with a smartphone to create 360 VR viewable scenes with 3D parallax from a few dozen photos.
Static photogrammetry, the process of capturing and recreating a three dimensional spaces from photography, has seen significant progress since the advent of the latest wave of VR technology. The prospect of virtually visiting a photo-realistic recreation of a location without ever leaving your home is enticing on many levels, and that’s without considering the educational potential of such technologies. But right now, photogrammetry can be expensive to pull off, requiring not only expertise but the capture of 100s of photos in some cases.
Uncorporeal are claiming they’ve come up with a solution for ‘normal’ end users that allows them to take 20-30 photographs with standard cameras ranging from the pro-sumer level to the average smartphone, and from that build a spherically projected, 3D rendered scene which can convey depth and parallax to a user wearing a positionally tracked VR headset and, potentially in 360 degrees (depending on how many images you capture of course). So whilst not quite “holographic”, certainly a technically impressive claim.
“Our team is thrilled with this technology because we’ve never experienced anything that quite makes you feel like you’re actually inside of a photo,” said Sebastian Marino, CEO and co-founder of Uncorporeal Systems. “By creating a three-dimensional environment, at real-world scale, we’re able to give the viewer a sense of presence that is fundamentally missing from 360 degree panoramic experiences. Compared to traditional photogrammetry, our method requires an order of magnitude fewer images, making the process available to everyone and even quite fun.”
Uncorporeal have just released a new demo for the HTC Vive on Steam which attempts to convey what can be achieved using their capture and processing pipeline. The demo features a collection of scenes captured by the Uncorporeal team for you explore.
However, this is just the ‘viewer’ portion of the pipeline. Uncorporeal’s key selling point here is being able lower the bar of entry for photogrammetry, allowing the capturing scenes and memories to revisit immersively by every day folk. Clearly that’s something not demonstrated here and we’re looking forward to seeing that in action because if they can pull it off, it could be quite something.Late last year, Customs also released a graphic 18-page cartoon strip, warning asylum seekers on its website of the dangers of travelling overseas, showing one Afghan man being attacked by mosquitoes in a detention camp. A snapshot of the advertisement on the Department of Immigration website. It warns asylum seekers in the Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto that people will not be given entry into Australia if they go via boat without a visa. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the ''targeted campaign'', which also says ''Don't waste your money – people smugglers are lying'', had gone live this week. ''This will complement the offshore communications campaign about the government's strong border protection policies which comprises the overwhelming allocation of resources in which messaging is delivered directly through transit and source countries,'' a spokesman for the minister said.
The spokesman said the campaigns would not be aired or shown on mainstream media, unlike the advertisements that were shown late last year by the Labor government across national media platforms. The government's cartoon strip on the Customs website. The Customs cartoon strip was originally developed and distributed offshore under the previous government, a spokesman for Mr Morrison said. ''It has been part of offshore anti-people smuggling communications campaigns. It has also been distributed in the period since the federal election. ''It has been on the Customs website since last year.''
But refugee groups and human rights advocates have slammed the low-key campaigns. ''This document is in incredibly poor taste,'' Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said. ''The fact that it came from the Australian government is a disappointing indictment on our once generous nation, which helped to draft the Refugee Convention. ''When did the lucky country, the country of the fair go, become the country that threatens to break people's spirits, including children, by locking them up on remote Pacific islands?" Human rights advocate Jarrod McKenna described the advertisements as ''horrific''.
''Instead of saying "no way" we must provide "safe ways" for people to seek asylum without risking their lives or being imprisoned for trying. Compassion must make a way,'' he said. The Australian Director of Human Rights Watch, Elaine Pearson, said the campaign was unlikely to work and should have given more practical information about how and where people should safely claim asylum. ''The 'No Way' campaign seems to be more of a rant geared to a domestic audience for political reasons to reinforce the government's hardline approach to deterring migration,'' Ms Pearson said. Follow us on TwitterThe Primary Difference Between Polyamory and Monogamy
By Mystic Life
The reason most traditional relationships end is due to one (or more) of what I’ll refer to as “The Three D’s”: Drifting, Dysfunction and Desire.
Drifting occurs when two people evolve in different directions, and no longer feel a common bond that they once shared. Of course, a certain degree of variation in interests and values is typical, but when members of a relationship have significantly “drifted apart” they often decide to end their relationship since it no longer feels compatible.
Dysfunction occurs typically in the forms of emotional, verbal or physical abuse. Although it can be hard for some people to admit that their relationship has become so unhealthy, the relationship must heal, end, or result in perpetual misery. When a dysfunctional relationship ends, few outside observers feel that there is a true “loss” so much as the opportunity for a new beginning.
Desire, the third “D”, is also a common cause for the end of many traditional relationships. Monogamous relationships end when someone gets caught (or admits) having an affair. In some cases, honest people choose to admit they have feelings for someone else before acting upon their attraction…but the outcome is the same. Another way in which desire ends relationships is when someone suppresses their resentment for the fact that having a partner “prevents” them from being with someone else, which can lead to subconscious sabotaging of the relationship in order to attain freedom. Additionally, someone who suppresses the positive energy that comes from having other attractions can experience a “deadness” they may not even understand, which can be a catalyst for the demise of their relationship.
As you can see, out of these three ways in which romance dies, desire is the most complex and varied dynamic. The reason that desire for another person is generally seen as “bad” is because it triggers a sociobiological response of jealousy, which is seen by virtually every mainstream culture on Earth as legitimately unacceptable. When a partner’s feelings threaten your sense of security, and your society says you should leave them for it…that will be what most people tend to choose. This is where polyamory comes in.
The primary way in which polyamory represents a paradigm shift in how we think about love is that although polys can understand drifting and dysfunction leading to the end of a relationship, desire for others no longer needs to be a deal breaker. By eliminating your partner being with someone else as a reason for no longer loving him or her, you will create a more sustainable relationship.
So if it leads to more solid relationships, why don’t more people choose polyamory? Because letting go of the impulse to control another’s feelings (so that you experience more security) is generally not viewed as a viable option. We are socialized to believe that it is more justified to attempt to shame another person into a state where they suppress their feelings, which often leads to cheating. Many monogamous relationships involve some form of cheating in an attempt to experience freedom and diversity, while not allowing one’s partner the same options. Of course, this attempted “solution” to jealousy results in a lack of integrity, and (in my opinion, and experience) results in bad karma by taking away a partner’s ability to choose whether or not they would stay in a relationship if they knew the truth.
This has resulted in a world where many monogamous people are much more well known by their friends than their partner. Their friends often get to hear about all of their feelings, including attraction to other people, while their partner gets a filtered, non-threatening version of who they are. This is not to say that there are no human beings who honestly feel romantically attracted to only one person. It is to say that there are millions, if not billions, of people who experience a tremendous amount of inner conflict regarding monogamy.
On the poly path, we receive what we are able to give. By contrast, if you could have as many partners as you wanted, and your partners could only be with you…your ego would be most pleased. If we could kiss, cuddle and make love with whomever we cared for while not feeling threatened by our lovers having feelings for anyone else, it might make us feel safe, but it would smother our personal growth. Therefore, the only way to experience the freedom that allows our relationships to not be based in suppression and resentment, is to learn to let go of control. There are many people on the spiritual and/or personal growth path who allow monogamy to be the one facet of their life in which they believe they should still be allowed “attachment.” It doesn’t work. Attachment to anything or anyone still leads to suffering. There are no loopholes.
Scarcity thinking is at the core of jealousy. When we fear that our partner loving another will lead to not enough love for us, there are two ways that we can replace our impulse to tantrum with self growth:
(1.) We can work on deepening our self love. Unless we get to a place where we truly, lovingly embrace who we are, our sense of self will always be at the mercy of the choices of others. Many people have gone their whole life without self love. Its importance is not just a cliché. Self love is crucial, and requires core psychological work which can lead to liberation. If you haven’t attained self love, polyamory will only multiply your suffering by increasing your attachments.
(2.) In addition to deepening love for yourself, you can open your heart to new partners. If your current partner has feelings for another, one trick that your ego might play is the idea that “s/he is the only one for me, and nobody else could ever be so compatible, so since s/he’s not going to be as available, my life will be forever horrible.” If we convince ourselves that there are too few polyamorous people out there, or that we can only have one soulmate, we will create unnecessary suffering when our partner falls in love with another person. However, it is helpful to keep in mind that life never gives us more than we can handle. Therefore, if you feel that the only way to cope with your partner loving another is to run away, attempt to surrender to what is unfolding, and open your heart.
It may seem easier to leave a partner who loves another…but is it really? Anger, judgment, and societally reinforced self-righteousness provide little comfort if you are throwing away a connection that satisfies you on many levels. If you and your partner have not drifted apart, and your relationship is not dysfunctional, polyamory offers a philosophy of love that doesn’t require desire for another to necessitate parting ways.By Jim Spellman, CNN
Denver (CNN) - Kristen Kelly was raised Roman Catholic, attended Catholic elementary school and considered herself a good Catholic, but when she was 21-years-old that changed.
“A coworker asked me if I believe in Jesus Christ,” she says.
Despite spending her entire life in the Roman Catholic Church she couldn’t answer the question.
“I never really got exposed to Christ," she says. "It was more about Mary and the Church and a condemnation of everything I was doing wrong.”
She looked at her coworker and saw someone who appeared to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and decided that was what she wanted. She said this prayer:
“Jesus I accept that you are my lord and savior, and I ask you to come into my life.”
CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories
And from that moment Kelly, now 41 and living in Florida, considered herself born-again, and an ex-Catholic.
“I like to call us recovering Catholics,” she says with a laugh.
According to a 2008 study by the Pew Forum on Religious Life and Public Life, 31% of Americans were raised Catholic, but only 24% now describe themselves as Catholic. Read the study (PDF).
That means about 1 in 10 Americans is an ex-Catholic. If they were a denomination they would be bigger than Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans and Presbyterians.
The total U.S. Catholic population has remained at about 24%, as immigrants have filled the pews the ex-Catholics have left behind.
Video: Why do some Catholic outsiders remain inside the flock?
Kathleen Cummings, associate director at the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at Notre Dame, says that some people leave the Catholic Church after a defining event like the priest abuse scandals or because of a disagreement with the Church over social issues, but most leave because they feel their needs are not being met.
“They are not experiencing something that fulfills them spiritually,” Cummings says.
Church supporters are urging wayward Catholics to return to the fold. For example, Catholics Come Home, a nonprofit lay organization formed in 1997, has been putting out the welcome mat via the media.
The group has an interactive website www.Catholicscomehome.org and airs what it calls “evangomercials” on radio and television. The group says that since 2008 more than 350,000 people have “come home” to the Catholic Church through their campaign.
Tom Peterson, president of Catholics Come Home, says some worshipers who've returned to the Catholic Church report leaving because they had disagreements with church officials or had divorced and feared they wouldn’t be welcome. But, he says, the majority never really gave up on the Church.
“They just drifted away and life got too busy," Peterson says. "Most say they didn’t dislike the Church, nor were they opposed to the Church teachings.
“An overwhelming majority of returnees tell our diocesan partners that they came home to the Catholic Church, 'because you invited me,'" he says.
But it may not be so simple to lure back ex-Catholics like Matt Rowe, a 35-year-old married father of two living in Denver. Rowe attended 16 years of Catholic School in Illinois and attended a Catholic university.
But by the end of college, Rowe was adrift. He found himself disagreeing with the Church on everything from the role of women to the concept of original sin and what he saw as the Catholic Church’s dependence on guilt as a motivating factor.
Rowe gave up on religion for most of his 20s but never stopped believing in God. When he got married and had kids, he started feeling a void in his life.
“I wanted my kids to grow up in a religion, but not Catholicism,” he says.
After “church-hopping” for a few years, Rowe ended up at Pathways Wash Park, a multidenominational Christian church in Denver.
After years of feeling disconnected in the Catholic Church where he says sermons rarely connected to his life, he has finally found the connection he has been looking for at Pathways.
“I wanted spirituality. I wanted God. I wanted all those points to go back to what I’m dealing with today,” Rowe says.
Fred Viarrial, 59, grew up as an altar boy at St. Leo’s in Denver. Six days a week he donned his cassock and worked the 6 a.m. Mass.
“Books or bells. You are ringing the bells or moving the books for the priests,” Viarrial says.
But as he grew up he began questioning elements of Catholicism. One day, when Viarrial was somewhere between age 10 and 12, he had something especially embarrassing to confess, so he trekked over to a Spanish language parish where he was unknown.
“The priest pulled me out and spanked me on the spot,” Viarrial says with a laugh. “That got me to question this whole thing of confession.”
When he was just 14 the precocious teenager went so far as to schedule an appointment with Denver ‘s then-Archbishop James Casey to discuss his doubts.
“I took a two-page list of questions starting with the Hail Mary. I wanted to find them in the Bible, their origin … where is that in the Bible?”
Viarrial says the archbishop humored him but ultimately did not answer his questions.
He still believed in God, but was losing faith in the Church.
Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter
By his 20s he was searching for a new church and ended up at Arvada Covenant Church, an evangelical congregation in a Denver suburb.
At Arvada Covenant he says the focus is on a personal relationship with Jesus and that his questions about his faith and the Bible are not met with derision, but with a search for answers through Bible study.
He has found a home at Arvada Covenant, but says he holds no grudge against the Catholic Church and still feels echoes of his Catholic upbringing in his faith today.
“It’s like a spiritual tattoo that you receive as a kid," Viarrial says. "Those roots don’t ever disappear, you just better try to understand them.”There's a great line in "Cool Hand Luke" to the tune of "No man can eat 50 eggs." Well Paul Newman's Luke proves the man wrong in what may have been the pinnacle of competitive eating...until now, because this past weekend at Bally’s Casino in Tunica, Miss., the inaugural World Twinkie-Eating Championship took place.
For six minutes, 12 competitors tackled the celebrated cream-filled sponge cake in a spectacle that is like nothing I've seen before.
It's not exactly a pretty sight, and seeing the competitors chase Twinkie after Twinkie with water to create a soppy spongy mess was not something that makes me want to run out and enjoy a Hostess treat.
Still, it's like wiggling a loose tooth. You...just...can't...stop...watching.
In the end, Joey Chestnut, the seven-time winner of the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating championship in Coney Island, came out victorious.
121 people.
121.
That's almost twice as many hot dogs as Chestnut downed (69) this past summer.
But now for some scary math. The Twinkie weighs in at 1.35 oz. 121 of those is 164.3 oz.
Or 10.2 pounds of Twinkie.
In the words of Ghostbusters' Winston Zeddamore: "That's a big Twinkie."
For those health-conscious folk out there wondering if he might be exceeding his caloric intake for the day, the answer at 150 calories per Twinkie would be yes. 18,150 calories should hold Chestnut over for more than a week, even more assuming he'd fall into a Twinkie-induced coma.
So congratulations to Chestnut who pulled out the Major League Eating-sanctioned event's win over rival Matt "The Megatoad" Stonie, who ate 111 Twinkies. Third-place went to Miki Sudo, the only female in the competition, who scarfed down 71.
For the record...that's a record, and one of many Chestnut holds in competitive eating including 69 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
Click here to view more food consumption records.The Paulson Plan
The Rise Of The American Oligarch Class
By Robert Wenzel
29/09/08 " ICH'-- - The word oligarchy dates back at least to the time of Aristotle and comes from the Greek words for "few" (ὀλίγον olígon) and "rule" (ἄρχω arkho). An oligarchy is generally considered any form of government where a small elite segment of society, be they from royalty, wealth, family or military, rule. The most current day popular meaning associates an oligarch with an extremely wealthy person who acquires his wealth, or increases it significantly, by incorporating the use of government influence. Oligarchs are not the only ones who become rich, but their success and secretive influence over governments put them into a separate class.
A recent example of a major grab of power and wealth in this type of oligarch fashion comes from the period of the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the confusion during the collapse, and the rise of Boris Yeltsin as president of Russia, the oligarchs made their move. With relatives or close associates as government officials, sometimes even government officials themselves, they achieved vast wealth by acquiring state assets very cheaply during the so-called "privatization" process controlled by the Yeltsin government.
The current $700 billion Paulson bailout plan has brought to the forefront a new class of what must be called American Oligarchs and oligarch wannabes. Some may have originally earned their wealth by supplying consumers with desired goods, but at some point they crossed over to the dark side to use government as a vehicle to take from the poor and the middle class to give to themselves. Others, never produced an honest product and have been career long parasites on the working classes.
It is instructive that outside of this small group of oligarchs and wannabe oligarchs, few appear to have been in favor of the Paulson "bailout". (Note: The use of the word "bailout" to describe the Paulson Plan is a misnomer, see my column: THE BIG LIE: The Supposed Paulson 'Bailout' Plan).
A letter circulated and signed by many academic economists was sent to Congressional leaders objecting to the plan. The Austrian economists, who are the only ones who understand the business cycle, as would be expected also objected to the plan (See Rockwell: Stop the Bailout and Murphy: The Government Is Not Promoting Stability ).
Even some bankers have objected:
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's proposed $700 billion bank rescue aims to help ``poorly run'' companies and the primary beneficiaries would be Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, said BB&T Corp. Chief Executive Officer John Allison in a critique of the plan.
Treasury ``is totally dominated by Wall Street investment bankers'' and ``cannot be relied on to objectively assess'' the impact of government policy on the financial industry, Allison wrote in a Sept. 23 letter to Congress...
Allison, 60, said Congress should ``hear from well-run financial institutions'' as lawmakers consider the plan, which seeks to ease the credit crunch by buying troubled mortgage- related assets. Under Allison, Winston-Salem, North Carolina- based BB&T avoided the subprime mortgage market, whose collapse led to the credit crisis. BB&T has risen 26 percent this year, the best showing in the 24-company KBW Bank Index.
From the right, Newt Gingrich has called the plan "stupid." From the left, Paul Krugman opposed the plan, calling it "Cash for trash."
Most noteworthy is the fact that the notoriously pro-Bush FOX television network carried this AP report:
There is scant public support for President Bush's $700 billion federal rescue plan for the U.S. financial industry and little expectation it would solve the crisis that has roiled the markets and hobbled some of the country's largest investment firms, according to a poll released Friday.
Just 30 percent of Americans say they support Bush's package, according to an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll released as White House and congressional leaders struggled to rescue the plan after House Republicans rebelled against it. Despite the president's pleas that the package is urgently needed to prevent an economic meltdown, 45 percent say they oppose Bush's proposal while 25 percent said they are undecided.
Yet, despite the extremely limited support for the plan, the Oligarchs prevailed and Paulson's Plan will become law. Indeed, the Oligarchs were out in full force to support the legislation. As I have pointed out before, Paulson with his Goldman Sachs connections must be considered an oligarch, but there are others.
Billionaire David Rubenstein, co-founder of the politically connected Carlyle Group, has come out in favor of Paulson's Plan. Rubenstein told CNBC that he hopes Congress will move quickly to approve the rescue of the U.S. financial system.
Carlyle Group almost has too many ways to benifit from Paulson's Plan to count. They ran a mortgage securities firm that went under. Those securities will be coming up for sale under a reorganization, just in time for purchase by the Treasury.
The Federal Reserve has changed regulations which will allow them to buy larger stakes in bank stocks. And Rubenstein wants to buy some of the paper the Treasury acquires. "Private equity can help by buying these assets," he told CNBC. "Private equity can be among the most significant buyers of assets."
Billionaire Warren Buffett is in favor of the plan, and he just bought, through Berkshire Hathaway, a $5 billion stake in Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs just received approval from the Fed to become a bank holding company, so that they can buy up troubled banks (And then sell the troubled mortgages of the banks to the Treasury?). Buffett called Paulson's plan "absolutely necessary'' and said that "I am betting on the Congress doing the right thing for the American public and passing this bill,''
Billionaire Wilbur Ross, through a firm controlled by Ross, bid $435 million last September to buy the service unit of American Home Mortgage, which collects payments from homeowners. He is in favor of Paulson's Plan and penned a column published at the New York Post to say so, "...we need this passed, and passed quickly...,"wrote Ross.
There are likely other oligarchs who maintain a low profile and keep their names out of the headlines, and there are oligarch wannabes like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani has put out a press release advising that his firm has formed a "task force" to "guide financial institutions, private investment funds, institutional investors and other market participants through the legislative, regulatory and enforcement challenges posed by the" Paulson Plan.
Clearly, the new oligarchs have arrived in America. It will mean a lower standard of living for the rest of us as it is clear by the Paulson Plan that they are not afraid to think big when grabbing money from the populous at large. Further, they have the political skill and influence to get the legislation passed that will benefit themselves even when there is virtually non-existent popular support. Be scared, very scared. The new American Oligarchs now rule financial America and there is no such thing as enough with them. They will be back for another big bite from our wallets and income streams, all too soon.
Update: Word has reached me (HTrpm) that snuck into Paulson's plan are changes that will make it easier for the Fed to inflate the money supply. So is the play for the Oligarchs to grab the banks, the assets and the mortgages and then inflate the money supply boosting the value of all these assets by trillions, while the rest of us simply get to deal with the price inflation as higher prices at the grocery store, the gas pump and everywhere else?
Robert Wenzel is an economic consultant and Editor & Publisher of EconomicPolicyJournal.com. He can be |
roll of the dice.
"In common parlance, it is a gambling game because are placing bets," says Rohrer. "But it's not an illegal gambling game. That's the important distinction." The stakes can be rather low for the curious; all you need to do is ante up two dollars, and you're in.
But others play for much higher stakes. When a dot com millionaire started playing Cordial Minuet, Rohrer says the man got bored at gambling for peanuts, and started proposing more and more expensive games to make things more interesting. "He kept losing, on purpose at first, to lure the bigger players of the game into higher and higher stakes," says Rohrer.
But even after the millionaire started playing to win again, he ended up losing anyway. Eventually he started a game with a thousand dollar stake, the highest yet, and soon another player had cleaned him out to the tune of $6,000. Oddly, says Rohrer, the winner never claimed his money. "Every once in a while he'll propose a $6,666 game to see if anyone will call him on it." To date, no one has.
Although the game has occasionally been referred to as "satanic," Rohrer insists that there is no link to the Lord of Darkness. "It's not satanic!" he says, frustrated. "I researched the occult, black magic, and demonic rituals, but Satan wasn't part of any of that. 'Satanic' is this blanket cultural label that gets applied to anything occult and weird by the Christian majority."
He admits that the imagery might scare some people off, especially when paired with a request for financial information. "But it's a game that looks really sketchy on purpose; it's meant to feel like you're stumbling your way into this underground society as you're stumbling through this website," says Rohrer. Half the fun is winding your way into the weirdness, and trying to decipher the symbols and promises of riches that circumscribe the mathematical poker ritual.
I've already given the game my credit card number, and Rohrer reassures me that it's safe. Before releasing the game, he offered a $3,000 bounty on a hacking website to see if anyone could get in, but no one claimed the money. He also notes that credit card numbers aren't stored on his server; after they're approved by his credit card processor via a secure connection, they disappear. Although he's been working on Cordial Minuet for a year, only two months were spent on making the game itself, and the rest on making sure its infrastructure was secure.
Despite the legal and security complications, making a game that involved real money was the heart of the experience Rohrer wanted people to have with Cordial Minuet. "I like games that reach out into the real world in one way or another," he says. "When I played poker, I found that the experience was so much more emotionally rich and evocative when I was playing for real money. These points have meaning outside the game. You can withdraw them and use them to buy food... Some people talk about how they feel so emotional even when they lose just a penny, how much money is magnified in this game in terms of its importance."
But the greatest excitement in the game is currently not for cash but for the secret amulets, which will be assigned to winners with the help of mysterious cabal. Each winner will receive a real gold, silver or bronze medallion, inscribed with a different symbol. While the community around the game has already deciphered what the symbols signify—or more specifically, which demon they represent—no one knows what lies on the reverse side of each amulet. That's a secret that only the winners will be able to discover, and what they do with that information is is up to them.
Will they share it with the larger community and try to solve the puzzle together, or hoard the information for themselves? "If you have part of a secret, what do you do with it?" asks Rohrer. "Do you share it with everybody else who has a part it? Or do you try and hold it back and get their secret first?" If a winner refuses to crowdsource their knowledge, they will essentially create a lost amulet—and a missing piece of the puzzle that might prevent any of them from unlocking that "door to endless riches."
Making the amulets from scratch was no simple feat for Rohrer; he constructed them using a technique called lost wax casting, which involves carving the object out of wax, embedding it in plaster, burning out the wax in a kiln, heating the precious metals in a centrifuge before adding them to the hold, plunging it into water, and then scrubbing them smooth with polishing wheels. "They almost have mirror shines on them," he says proudly.
Still, they haven't gotten quite the reception he was hoping for. The demonic treasure hunt was inspired by a successful contest he held for his last game called Steal Real Money. "It got picked up and covered from coast to coast all week long on every website, even mainstream websites," says Rohrer. "But this contest where I'm actually giving away real gold? Nobody's writing about it. The people who are into the game are really really into the idea of these amulets and are playing like crazy trying to win them. But it didn't do much to attract anyone who's not into the game already." He sighs.
Despite the small size of the Cordial Minuet community, Rohrer loves that the people who are into the game are really into the game, researching and dissecting every clue with the ardor of a Game of Thrones fan. They've noticed, for example, that while there are twelve amulets, one of them is numbered thirteen instead of eleven, and that this particular amulet happens to have thirteen notches on it. What does it mean?
In the meantime, Rohrer is heading to Las Vegas to try and work his way into the world of high stakes professional poker, where he hopes to connect with people who might be interested in playing the game for much larger sums of money and make it more profitable.
"I'm always trying to do something new and crazy and different, but most of the time there's a very small percentage of people who appreciate those weird, different things," he says.I'm not going to lie to you, folks: Things are looking pretty grim for everyone's favorite ponies. I mean, sure, they're having a good time on the cover for their next issue, celebrating the milestone 50th issue with a big party, complete with cake, presents, candy apples, and even some festive hats. Inside, however, things aren't quite so festive.
Instead, the cast of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is dealing with a much less pleasant situation. In the final chapter of Ted Anderson and Andy Price's "Accord," Canterlot's government has collapsed and Princess Celestia, pharonic god-queen of all horses, has been driven into exile, all due to the sinister machinations of Accord, a monster who wants to tear down freedom and restore a twisted "order" to Equestria. So, you know, fun times for the kids! Check out a preview below!
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If you're a little bit lost by all of the references to alternate universes, don't fret. Just take it as given that over the past four years, the Ponies have dealt with some pretty traditional comic book ideas, and now they're all coming back to bite them. What's more disturbing is all the different ways that these horses are using human chairs.
Here's the official solicitation:Decentralized Storage Platform Sia Comes Out of Beta
The decentralized storage platform Sia has announced it has released its 1.0 version with a graphical user interface (GUI) and an instant wallet. The project has been anticipated since late 2015 since the developing team launched the project, which is similar to concepts such as Filecoin and Storj.
Also read: Buyer Beware! The Definitive OneCoin Ponzi Exposé
Sia: Storage the Decentralized Way
The “Enterprise-Grade Collaborative Cloud for Data Storage” otherwise known as Sia (sia.tech) has announced the unveiling of its 1.0 release. It claims the platform will create a trustless environment that is more secure than traditional file storage systems. Created by developers, David Vorick, and Luke Champine, the project is maintained by Nebulous inc.
The protocol stores data throughout a sophisticated pattern of nodes using smart contract technology. User files are protected with a system call “Twofish,” which according to the white paper, “enables the formation of storage contracts between peers.”
The company states:
With the version 1 release, we are committing to preserving siad API compatibility. This means that third-party developers can begin making apps that integrate with the current Sia daemon and expect that as future versions of the daemon are released, their users can upgrade without worrying about breaking the plugins or alternate apps that they are dependent on. There are also a number of important security updates, including fixing a DoS vector, making siad more safe for miners out-of-the-box, fixing a security vulnerability in the host that would allow the renter to drain host funds for free. Some of these security issues are significant, so we strongly recommend that everyone update to v1.0 as fast as possible. We are going to be spending the next week observing the ecosystem, getting community feedback, and figuring out what our most important priorities should be. Some of the things that will potentially appear on our roadmap includes more guides, more business development, improved wallet interactions (instant unlocking, better seed loading, deep seed scanning), siafunds on exchanges, more physical-world meetups, and of course general improvements to the Sia technology.
The team is looking forward to working with the community and beyond to build a better Sia and a more decentralized world.
The automated peer-to-peer blockchain-based collaborative enables users to rent file storage space from each other rather than a centralized provider. Sia has initially been implemented as an Altcoin, but the developers are firm supporters of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The team says the protocol resembles Bitcoin in many ways except the departure lies in a transaction variance. With Bitcoin, a scripting system is used but with Sia, the developers implemented an M–of–N multi-signature scheme for transactions. Currently, there are 15.63 billion Siacoins in the network with 20,937 active file contracts at the present time.
It adds that the platform could also be used for a decentralized application environments working with third-party app development and the Sia client. Alongside this, its protocol has a basic reputation system, uptime incentives, client protections and host protections. The code is also available for view via Github.
The team believes the distribution of nodes makes their system far superior, and the project is censorship resistant and fault-tolerant. Cloud storage via using the Sia application is based on a tier of set terabytes per month. The core developers of Sia, David Vorick, and Luke Champine believe “Sia will provide a fertile platform for decentralized cloud storage in trustless environments.”
What do you think about the Sia decentralized file storage platform? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Sia Websites, and PixabayA researcher has published a tool to help administrators delve into GitHub commits to find high-entropy secret keys.
The tool, dubbed TruffleHog, is able to locate high-entropy keys with Github potentially saving admins from exposing their networks and sensitive data.
TruffleHog developer Dylan Ayrey, who warned of the Pastejack attack last year, says the tool will locate any high entropy string longer than 20 characters.
"[TruffleHog] searches through git repositories for high entropy strings, digging deep into commit history and branches," Ayrey says.
"This is effective at finding secrets accidentally committed that contain high entropy.
"If at any point a high entropy string >20 characters is detected, it will print to the screen."
TruffleHog in action.
He says it searches the entire commit history of branches, checking each diff in commits, and evaluating the Shannon entropy for both the base64 character set and the hexadecimal character set for every blob of text larger than 20 characters and comprised of those character sets in each diff.
Reddit users praising the tool have claimed Amazon already searches GitHub for AWS keys and shutters the respective service when any are found.
TruffleHog relies only on GitPython. ®Key members of both parties said Wednesday that they are close to agreeing on the main elements of a bill to overhaul the nation's financial regulations, raising the prospect that the Senate could begin formal discussion of the landmark legislation early next week.
"I'm more optimistic than I've ever been," said Sen. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), the lead Republican negotiator. "I think we can put a bill together pretty soon." His counterpart in months of talks, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the banking committee, agreed that they were on the cusp of a consensus.
If no last-minute hurdles arise, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) plans to hold a test vote Monday, aides said. If he gets 60 or more votes, he could move ahead with formal debate on the bill, which among other things would create an agency to protect consumers against abuses in mortgages and other loans, set up a council of regulators to watch for risks to the financial system, and give the government power to wind down large, troubled financial firms.
The likely emergence of a bipartisan consensus is a notable departure from the fractious debate over health-care legislation, which passed last month without a single Republican vote. This time, some Republicans say they hope to ultimately support the financial bill, which arose out of an economic crisis that has left millions of Americans angry and bereft of their jobs, homes and savings.
With both parties eager to claim that they are tackling financial excesses, Republicans have been focusing their objections on specific tenets of the legislation rather than on its overall thrust, allowing for more compromise.
The effort to build bipartisan support received a small but perhaps critical boost Wednesday as the Senate agriculture committee approved a measure that would establish oversight of the vast market for financial derivatives, with Republican Sen. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa) joining the Democratic majority. Grassley's yes vote was noteworthy, particularly after his lead role in failed negotiations over the health-care bill last summer.
The derivatives measure, proposed by the committee chairman, Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), could dramatically reshape several critical markets and deprive financial firms of a major source of revenue. The proposal will be added to the broader overhaul bill sponsored by Dodd.
"This is no time for small fixes or tweaking around the edges," Lincoln told her colleagues, adding that "to contemplate inaction is unacceptable."
While Grassley expressed disappointment that the measure did not garner more Republican support, he said in a statement that he voted for it "because I think transparency is the right policy." He added that Lincoln's draft "isn't perfect" and that his vote does not mean he will support the overall bill.
Reins on derivatives
Lincoln's legislation bans big Wall Street banks from trading derivatives, contracts that allow financial traders to make side bets on the direction of stocks, commodities and other assets. Derivatives trading, which aggravated the financial crisis, has roots in the trading of certain farm commodities, which is why the agriculture committees in the Senate and House have some jurisdiction over it. Treasury Department officials and some Democrats on the Senate banking committee, which is also interested in derivatives, do not support the ban.
Lincoln's measure could prove more favorable to food manufacturers and other commercial firms than to banks, even though her staff made some late adjustments, at the request of Treasury officials, to limit derivative trading by nonfinancial companies. The bill that emerged out of the banking committee is tougher on these companies. Lawmakers must resolve the differences between the proposals.
After Grassley's vote, some lawmakers said passage of a sweeping regulatory bill is more likely than ever.The US Senate tax bill: The financial oligarchy on the rampage
2 December 2017
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Friday afternoon that he had the necessary 50 votes to pass the tax cut for the wealthy and giant corporations through the Senate. Voting on a series of amendments by Democrats, nearly all rejected on 52-48 party-line votes, culminated in final passage of the measure early Saturday morning by a 51-49 margin.
The undemocratic process by which the tax cut bill has been pushed through the House and Senate testifies to its reactionary and socially criminal character. There have been no public hearings, no witness testimony, no submissions from economists or tax experts about the impact of the massive changes proposed in the federal tax code.
As late as 4:15 p.m. Friday, as debate continued on amendments to the bill, the actual text of the legislation was not available to senators preparing to vote on it, let alone the American people. Handwritten pages were being pasted into the bill after they had been reviewed and approved by corporate lobbyists. Entire chapters accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue were being rewritten behind closed doors to satisfy the demands of the last few Republican holdouts.
For Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted against Obamacare repeal, the price of her vote was incorporating into the tax bill an unrelated provision opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration. For Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana, the price was another $60 billion in tax breaks for “S-corporations,” the mid-sized, multi-million-dollar enterprises that were treated less advantageously in the original bill than giant corporations. The families of both senators own such companies. Senator Susan Collins of Maine extracted a promise from Trump to support increased financial subsidies for big insurance companies participating in Obamacare.
Democratic senators made demagogic statements during the floor debate, denouncing the legislation as a handout to the wealthy and big business. The pretense of concern for the impact on working people is completely bogus, but the outrage on the part of the Democrats is real: they are angry that they have been cut out of the lucrative deal-making. The White House and the Senate Republican leadership decided to push the tax cut through under a procedure known as “reconciliation,” which requires only 50 votes and avoids the threat of a filibuster, depriving the Democrats of any input on the legislation. All previous tax cut bills have been bipartisan affairs, in which the two capitalist parties worked together to deliver the goods to their favored corporate interests.
The Democrats are not seeking to rally popular opposition to a brazen tax giveaway to the super-rich. Rather, they are appealing to the Republicans to let them participate in the grubby legislative horse-trading. At least 15 Democrats appeared at a press conference Tuesday to send a message to the Republican majority: “Why settle for just 50 votes on tax reform when you could get as many as 70?” Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of the group, said. “If you’ve heard the rhetoric that Democrats don’t want tax reform, that’s false. We want tax reform. The country needs meaningful tax reform.”
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer was not in the group, but he has repeatedly indicated his support for the main goals of the tax bill, which are to slash the corporate income tax rate, now 35 percent, and to allow giant companies holding trillions in cash overseas to “repatriate” the funds and pay only a nominal tax. He closed out the Senate debate with unctuous praise for Republicans, “many of whom I admire,” and an appeal for them to reconsider and reach a bipartisan deal with the Democrats.
The White House and the congressional Republicans are seeking to conceal the brazen class character of the tax bill with an unprecedented barrage of lies. Trump appeared at a campaign-style rally in Missouri where he claimed that the tax bill would hurt billionaires like himself, while helping people of more humble means: “Our focus is on helping the folks who work in the mailrooms and machine shops of America, the plumbers and the carpenters, the cops and the teachers, the truck drivers and the pipe fitters.”
Both the New York Times and the Washington Post published analyses Friday of the impact of the tax cuts on Trump, based on his 2005 tax return, the only one available, showing that under the Trump-backed bill the billionaire president would save $31 million of the $38 million he paid in taxes that year, as well as (in the House version) escaping an estimated $1.1 billion in estate taxes.
The class character of the tax cut legislation must be understood historically. During the heyday of American capitalism, when the ruling elite could afford to extend modest concessions to working people, the income tax rate on the wealthiest families rose as high as 90 percent. Even if this rate could be evaded through tax avoidance schemes, it set a marker that those with the highest incomes were expected to pay significant amounts to underwrite federal social spending.
Over the past 40 years, as a central part of the social counterrevolution waged by the US ruling elite, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the top income tax rate has dropped sharply: from 90 percent to 70 percent in the 1970s, then from 70 percent to 28 percent under Reagan in the 1980s.
Huge tax cuts for the wealthy combined with a savage attack on working class wages to drive up economic inequality to staggering levels. Today, three American billionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of the population. Real wages have stagnated or declined since 1972.
The current tax bill marks a certain culmination in this process. American capitalism is in deepening crisis. The soaring stock market is not a sign of health, but the fever chart of a system on the brink of collapse. There is a genuine element of desperation in the frenzy in Washington to engineer one more transfusion of financial resources taken from working people and pumped into the sclerotic veins of the Wall Street addicts.
The money-grabbing is so reckless that the tax bill does not provide even a fig leaf of “fairness.” In 2027, for example, according to figures provided by the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office (both Republican-controlled), the bill raises the taxes of people making $40,000 to $50,000 a year by $5.3 billion and cuts the taxes of those making $1 million a year or more by $5.8 billion.
The methods employed by the ruling elite to resolve its crisis at the expense of the working class will provoke increasing popular resistance. Under the pay-as-you-go rules enacted as part of a series of bipartisan budget deals between the Obama administration and the Republican Congress, the $1.5 trillion tax cut over ten years must be offset by yearly cuts of $150 billion in spending, unless Congress approves a waiver by a super-majority vote.
This means that the new year will begin with demands from the White House and Congress that the budget deficit—which they have made much worse by cutting taxes on the rich—be financed through across-the-board cuts in domestic programs, particularly the largest programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Wall Street, the biggest beneficiary of the tax cut bonanza, will lead the charge for austerity measures. Goldman Sachs has already sounded the alarm, sending a note to clients Thursday warning that the US national debt was on track to hit unsustainable levels and was already at its highest point, as a percentage of GDP, since 1950.
In its increasingly naked drive to monopolize all the wealth of society, the ruling class is fueling a growing mood of anger and opposition, with revolutionary implications. The coming struggles of the working class will require a complete political break with the two parties of big business, the Democrats and Republicans, and the building of a mass independent political movement based on a socialist program to put an end to the profit system.
Patrick Martin
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Baron Cohen, not Cohen. This person's surname is, not
Erran Boaz Baron Cohen (born 1967) is an English composer and trumpet player known for collaborations with his younger brother, Sacha Baron Cohen.
Life and career [ edit ]
Baron Cohen is a founding member of the world music group Zohar who are signed to Miles Copeland's Ark 21 label. He also scored the original music for his brother's films Borat, Brüno, The Dictator, and Grimsby, as well as his TV series Da Ali G Show[1] and Who Is America?
After scoring the Borat movie, Baron Cohen was asked by the Turan Alem Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra to compose a classical piece containing Kazakh influences.[1] Baron Cohen currently sings and plays keyboards and trumpet for the pop band Ridiculous together with Jon Moss, Sebastian Wocker and Peter Noone.
Filmography [ edit ]Ken Mink, 73, is a Roane State 'Senior' Basketball Player (Photos)
, at the age of 73, will be 50 years older than his teammates when they begin the 2008-2009 basketball season on November 3rd in Harriman, Tennessee. Roane State Community College is 50 miles from Knoxville and is giving septuagenarian Mink an opportunity to play as a member of their junior college team.
The 6 foot, 190 pounder will be listed on the weekly roster as a Senior - which seems fitting to be sure. He played high school basketball until 1956 when he was kicked off the team for a shaving cream prank. He went on to play college ball at Lees Junior College in Kentucky.
Mink has stayed in shape over the years by engaging in golf, skiing, hang gliding, hiking and his beloved basketball. He has played on three senior teams and landed in three state tournaments. In other words, the guy's got game. He was so certain of that fact that he started a letter writing campaign to find a school that would give him an opportunity to play collegiate ball.
Roane's coach Randy Nesbit decided to give him a shot. Turns out the old fella won't play more than five or six minutes per outing because he isn't totally keyed in on the complicated offensive and defensive strategies. The season opener is November 3. Rumor has it that a representative of Guiness Book of Records will be on hand to record Ken's debut.
Check out another photo below.When the Orioles players met in September to vote on how they would divvy up whatever playoff money they would receive from the 2014 postseason, they made a point to remember late public relations director Monica Barlow.
In fact, they made two points.
Although the specific breakdown isn’t released to the public, one source who had direct knowledge of how the playoff shares were divided said the Orioles players chose two different ways to remember Barlow, who died in February at age 36 after a protracted battle with lung cancer.
The players assigned one cash award to Barlow’s estate and made a separate donation to the LUNGevity Foundation, which provides lung cancer research, educational programs and support for lung cancer patients. Barlow was heavily involved with the charity.
Although the source would not reveal the exact amount of the two awards, they were characterized as “very significant donations.” Overall, the players voted to present 36 cash awards; typically most are given to support staff members who helped all season.
But the source said the players were in agreement that they wanted to use some of the money in a way that Barlow would appreciate. “It was an opportunity to do some good, and the guys seized it.”
The Orioles, who lost in four games to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series, received a total of $7.44 million from the total playoff pot of $62 million, which is derived from a portion of gate revenue from postseason games.
The team voted full shares to 52 players -- which came to $125,288.04 bonus for each. They also awarded 6.25 partial shares in addition to the 36 cash awards.
There was one report on Twitter earlier this week that suggested slugger Chris Davis, who was suspended in September for testing positive for amphetamines and missed the playoffs, may not have received a full share. That’s false, the source said.
Not only did Davis, who played 127 games for the Orioles in 2014, receive a full share, but the source said doing otherwise was never even discussed when the decisions were being made.
dan.connolly@baltsun.com
twitter.com/danconnollysunDelusional fans of last year’s Rams, presumably before they saw Jared Goff in action. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
This season, I’m unveiling a new team-building strategy for fantasy managers, applicable in leagues of any size. I’ve run thousands of simulations, so I’m feeling pretty good about it. With my cutting-edge ZeroRams™ system, you will enter the draft room several steps ahead of the competition. The underlying math is very complicated, but the basic guiding principle is this: Rams are bad and you don’t want them.
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OK, perhaps that approach is too simple. But in standard redraft leagues, if you avoid this team on draft day, you will not be filled with regret at the end of the year. Just quickly scroll down to the bottom of the post and check this team’s 2016 rankings in terms of yardage and scoring. Not good.
This year’s offense should be more inventive and far less predictable under new head coach Sean McVay and coordinator Matt LaFleuer, but the Rams have a long road ahead to reach mediocrity. Over the past three seasons, McVay served as the OC in Washington, working with Kirk Cousins; LaFleur spent the past two years as Matt Ryan’s position coach in Atlanta. Both coaches have excellent histories, clearly, and both are under 40. If you’re a Rams fan, I’m sure you’re happy to simply move beyond the Jeff Fisher theater of pain.
The critical short-term challenge facing McVay and LaFleur is to transform last year’s No. 1 overall pick into something that resembles a franchise QB.
When Jared Goff is slinging the ball…
…avert your eyes.
Last season, it wasn’t exactly a quarterbacking clinic in L.A. There’s no shame in struggling as a first-year NFL passer, but Goff’s numbers were dreadful over his seven starts: 155.6 Y/G, 5.31 Y/A, 54.6 completion percentage, 5 TDs, 7 INTs, 5 fumbles, 26 sacks.
Story continues
Here’s the full list of rookie quarterbacks over the past 25 years who attempted 200 passes and averaged less than 5.4 Y/A:
Blaine Gabbert, 2011 – 5.36
Joey Harrington, 2002 – 5.35
Jared Goff, 2016 – 5.31
Ryan Leaf, 1998 – 5.26
Jimmy Clausen, 2010 – 5.21
Kyle Orton, 2005 – 5.08
Bruce Gradkowski, 2006 – 5.06
Donovan McNabb, 1999 – 4.39
McNabb aside, that is not great company. For comparison’s sake, Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston and Dak Prescott averaged better than 7.5 Y/A as rookies.
Goff worked behind a miserable O-line last season, of course, and he was throwing to a thoroughly unimpressive group of receivers. It’s not as if he was set up for immediate success. But he was also responsible for plenty of misfires and misreads — regrettable throws like this thing right here. It should go without saying that Goff is not ownable in standard fantasy leagues; one of your primary goals in a two-QB format should be to avoid him.
Kenny Britt led the Rams in every meaningful receiving category last year, but he left for Cleveland via free agency. Tavon Austin remains, but he’s coming off a season in which he averaged only 8.8 yards per catch. He had surgery on his left wrist during the offseason, but should be good to go when camp opens. Austin’s single-season high in receiving yardage is just 509, and he hasn’t averaged more than 10 yards per reception since his rookie season. He has only one career 100-yard receiving effort. No need to draft him, except in the largest leagues.
The Rams won the Robert Woods sweepstakes in the offseason, so, um … woo. Woods seems miscast as a No. 1 receiver, but he’ll presumably fill that role in L.A. He’s a reliable enough route-runner who can take a hit, but he doesn’t have exceptional size, speed or athleticism by NFL standards. He’s fine — not a special talent, but fine. He’s likely to see 100-plus poor-quality targets in 2017; Britt was targeted 111 times last year.
Second-year receiver Mike Thomas showed us very little as a rookie, unless you count this…
Mike Thomas is WIDE OPEN for the #LARams. And he drops it. #LAvsSEA pic.twitter.com/2wT0CNl2r9 — Chat Sports (@ChatSports) December 16, 2016
…and Pharoh Cooper did next to nothin’ (14-106-0). L.A. drafted a pair of receivers this year, Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds, who could have been interesting fantasy sleepers had they landed elsewhere. Kupp was a dominant four-year player at Eastern Washington, establishing career FCS records for receptions (428), receiving yards (6464) and touchdowns (73). Before you write him off as a small school wonder, note that he consistently did his best work against Pac-12 opponents. He should have the slot role immediately for L.A. Reynolds is an intriguing prospect with good size (6-foot-3), deep speed and leaping ability, but he’s more of a developmental project than Kupp.
We’re likely to see plenty of two-tight end looks from the Rams, and the team just used a second-round pick on South Alabama’s Gerald Everett, a prospect of interest. Everett has the hoops-to-gridiron backstory that fantasy owners like to see, but he’s strictly for the dynasty crowd. It’s difficult to imagine L.A.’s receiving corps supporting even one consistent fantasy option, and that lone receiver certainly won’t be a rookie tight end. Let’s move on.
Todd Gurley, stonewalled again. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
What the heck happened to Todd Gurley? He used to be good, no?
This, of course, is the big question surrounding this team for fantasy purposes in 2017. Gurley’s second-year collapse was truly remarkable. He was an occasionally thrilling and always competent runner in 2015, rushing for 10 TDs and 1106 yards at 4.8 YPC. Gurley delivered quality games in the most difficult division matchups. He was everything we expected to see from a first-round running back.
Last year, however, Gurley hardly generated a highlight. He gained just 3.2 YPC and rushed for 55.3 yards per game. Only two of his 278 carries went for 20-plus yards. The season before, he had five carries of 40 or more yards. His reception total jumped from 21 to 43, which helped in a small way in PPR formats, but he found the end-zone just six times on 321 touches. It was ugly. Wretched line play was a factor, as was Gurley’s own impatience. And we can’t ignore the fact that opposing defenses essentially begged the Rams to throw the ball.
This year, L.A.’s offensive line should improve following the additions of veteran LT Andrew Whitworth and center John Sullivan. The coaching and play-calling upgrades should pay dividends as well. These things can only help Gurly. Still, this team has so many young players digesting playbooks, and the overall talent level of the offense remains relatively low. If Gurley can simply split the difference between his stellar 2015 performance and last year’s debacle, fantasy owners should be satisfied. His current draft price is a bit too rich for me (ADP 21.4, RB10). Lance Dunbar was added to the backfield mix, and he’s an obvious threat to Gurley’s third-down touches.
When the Rams are defending…
This unit was not the problem last season. L.A.’s defense ranked top-10 in terms of total yards allowed (337.0 YPG), yards per pass attempt (6.7) and yards per carry (3.9). Linebackers Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron are excellent IDP options, and two-time All-Pro DT Aaron Donald is a terror, a dominant disruptive force. Blitz-happy Wade Phillips is now the DC, which doesn’t hurt this D’s fantasy outlook.
So the Rams should be tolerable in at least one phase. Here’s hoping the offense can take a step or two forward under new coaching.
2016 Offensive Stats & Ranks
Points per game – 14.0 (32)
Pass YPG – 184.4 (31)
Rush YPG – 78.3 (31)
Yards per play – 4.4 (32)
Plays per game – 60.0 (31)
—
Previous Juggernaut Index entries: 32) NY Jets, 31) San Francisco, 30) Cleveland, 29) LA Rams• Children to be protected by automatic filtering of adult material • Possession of violent porn to be outlawed • Illegal image searches to be blocked
Every household in Britain connected to the internet will be obliged to declare whether they want to maintain access to online pornography, David Cameron will announce on Monday.
In the most dramatic step by the government to crack down on the "corroding" influence of pornography on childhood, the prime minister will say that all internet users will be contacted by their service providers and given an "unavoidable choice" on whether to use filters.
The changes will be introduced by the end of next year. As a first step, customers who set up new broadband accounts or switch providers would have to actively disable the filters by the end of this year.
The moves will be announced by the prime minister in a speech to the NSPCC in which he will unveil a series of measures to reduce access to pornography with a particular focus on images of child sexual abuse. He will say:
• The possession of "extreme pornography", which includes scenes of simulated rape, is to be outlawed.
• The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is to draw up a blacklist of "abhorrent" internet search terms to identify and prevent paedophiles searching for illegal material.
• All police forces will work with a single secure database of illegal images of children to help "close the net on paedophiles".
In a separate move, Twitter is to introduce a tagging system to prevent such images being posted on its service. There are now millions of pictures posted among the 2bn tweets every five days. The intention is to introduce the system, |
and go to our pirate stations?’ ” the crew member recalls. “And he goes, ‘Oh, no, no, no — you’ve got to do the lifeboats drill.’ This is how screwed up he is. These are drills we need to do once a year. Two boats with pirates and he doesn’t give a s- -t. That’s the kind of guy he is.”
At first, Phillips maintains this is a lie. “No,” he says. “The mate called up and said, ‘Do you want to stop the drill?’ They [the boats] were seven miles away. There was nothing we could do. We didn’t know the exact situation.”
But is it true that he ordered the entire drill completed anyway?
“Correct,” Phillips says.
“Yeah, seven miles. What’s the dif?” the crew member says. “I saw them, and they were closer than that.”
The Maersk eventually made a narrow escape, and Phillips ordered it back to its original route.
One of the crew mutinied — he refused to do it, instead going below deck, sleeping with his boots on and his flashlight by his side, waiting for the inevitable.
At 3 a.m., the pirates radioed the boat to stop; Phillips had left the stern light on and the bridge open. At 7 a.m., came the third and final attack: Four armed Somali pirates stormed the Maersk.
The crew was on their own. “Phillips didn’t say what he wanted to do,” says the crew member. “His plan [was], when the pirates come aboard, we throw our hands in the air and say, ‘Oh, the pirates are here!’ The chief engineer said, ‘We’re going downstairs and locking ourselves in.’ One of the mates said, ‘Let’s go down. We’re on our own.’ ”
They hid in the engine room, in 130 degree heat, for 12 hours. Phillips and three other crew members were held at gunpoint, yet Phillips tells The Post things weren’t that dire. “The ship,” he says, “was never actually taken.”
DEATH WISH
Chief Engineer Mike Perry, who has a small presence in the film, was perhaps the most heroic. He led most of the crew downstairs and locked them in; he disabled all systems; he attacked the chief pirate, seizing him and using him as a bargaining chip for Phillips.
Most of this is accurately depicted in the movie — until, Perry has said, the moment of exchange, when the Maersk crew tries to swap the pirate for Phillips.
“We vowed we were going to take it to our graves, that we weren’t going to say anything,” Perry told CNN in 2010. “Then we hear this p.r. stuff about him giving himself up... and the whole crew’s like, ‘What?’ ”
“If you’re gonna shoot somebody, shoot me!” Hanks pleads in the film.
It didn’t go down like that, say several crew members: The pirates just reneged on the deal, grabbing their guy and making off with Phillips in a Maersk lifeboat.
While the remaining crew waited for the Navy to reach them, they sat and wondered: What just happened?
Four days later, Phillips was rescued by SEAL Team Six. He was hailed as an American hero. He met with President Obama in the Oval Office and wrote a memoir.
For some of the crew, it was too much. In their version, Phillips was the victim of a botched exchange. In 2009, he told ABC News he was taken after promising to show the pirates how to operate their escape boat. His book was packaged as the story of a man who gave himself up for his crew, which Phillips later said was a false narrative spread by the media. Today he tells The Post, “I was already a hostage,” but remains vague on the exchange.
Perry and third engineer John Cronan went to CNN, speaking of Phillips’ recklessness, claiming he endangered all their lives.
Perry said he and other crew believed Phillips had a perverse desire to be taken hostage. “That’s what many of us officers were saying to ourselves,” he said.
The crew member, who is not part of the suit, agrees Phillips had a death wish: “Yeah,” he says. “Because he went through that area, and the company is sending him e-mails, and I know he saw that chart [of prior attacks] 50 times.”
“It is galling for them to see Captain Phillips set up as a hero,” Waters said. “It is just horrendous, and they’re angry.”
In the run-up to Friday’s release of “Captain Phillips,” Hanks has appeared on the cover of Parade magazine with Phillips and the headline “The Making of an American Hero.” The film won the opening-night slot at the New York Film Festival on Sept. 28 and opened the London Film Festival last Wednesday. It has won raves, all of which note the film is based on real events. The two men have walked the red carpet together.
Not all of the crew cooperated with the movie, and those who did were paid as little as $5,000 for their life rights by Sony and made to sign nondisclosure agreements — meaning they can never speak publicly about what really happened on that ship.
It’s the film’s version of events — and Hanks’ version of Phillips — that will be immortalized.
“They told us they would change some stuff,” says the crew member, laughing. By the end of Friday, opening day, he had seen the film. “It’s a good movie,” he says dryly. “Real entertaining.”One of the first calls Jeremiah’s Place received was from a mom who escaped domestic violence but couldn’t keep her kids at the shelter while working. She didn’t want to take them to their established daycare for fear that the violent partner would come for them, says Eileen Sharbaugh, co-founder and director of volunteer services for Jeremiah’s Place.
While providing short-term daycare for the children, Jeremiah’s Place also helped find a long-term solution. “We connected the mom who had escaped domestic violence with a transitional housing organization and identified alternative childcare options for her son,” says Sharbaugh.
That’s the mission of the “crisis nursery” that’s there for children and families during times of crisis, such as a death or illness in a family, bouts with mental illness, homelessness, domestic violence, divorce—any time when there is no other option for safe, short-term childcare.
On Tuesday, January 26th, Jeremiah’s Place was provided much-needed financial support when it was given the quarterly “Impact Award” by 100 Women Who Care Pittsburgh. The group, founded in June 2015, meets every three months to hear pitches from local non-profit organizations who pitch on the spot if their names are chosen from paper slips in a glass bowl.
At the meetings, each member donates $100, and the money is pooled into one donation for that quarter’s Impact Award. This meeting grossed $8,200 with more money possible from those who couldn’t make it (but can still donate online).
This “collective giving” model allows smaller donations to add up to bigger impact. Sharbaugh says she couldn’t overstate the importance of the award to her organization.
“The recognition was huge,” says Sharbaugh, who made an eloquent and convincing pitch. “The idea that people were able to hear and respond to the message of bringing this type of service to Pittsburgh and the importance of it was so meaningful.”
Jeremiah’s Place, located in the Kingsley Center in East Liberty, is available to serve children ages birth through six with free care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is staffed at all times with trauma-informed caregivers and social workers. It’s the Pittsburgh area’s first crisis nursery, and since opening in April 2014 they’ve helped more than 300 children from 200 families, many of whom have needed to return more than once.
While short-term crisis care is the primary function of Jeremiah’s Place, providing a safe, nurturing, stable environment for children, their services reach well beyond. The staff provides service coordination to help families resolve and move past their crises by referring them to more than 50 outside agencies. These agencies help families find reliable childcare, gain permanent housing, get employment assistance, and find help for mental and physical health issues.
Courtesy Jeremiah’s Place
Families come to her from a variety of difficult circumstances, Sharbaugh says. “A pregnant mother called us when she went into labor. She was new to the region and her husband had just been deployed to Afghanistan. She had no one to watch her 19-month-old,” she says. “We worked with the grandmother of two young boys who were in her custody. She was in ailing health and the boys had significant, but unsupported mental health issues and intellectual disabilities. We were able to connect her with numerous organizations that allowed her to care for her health and support the boys both in school and at home with much-needed services.”
Sharbaugh says Jeremiah’s Place, and the families they serve, are fortunate to be in a region where so much help is available. “Pittsburgh has a lot of great resources and getting families connected to those other providers helps to bring stability to their situation.” The stability strengthens families and helps them stay intact, she says, adding that this, in turn, can transform communities.
Sharbaugh is hoping for more financial support this month from a combination movie screening/concert fundraiser on Saturday, February 20th at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont. Same Circus, Different Town is a “rockumentary” about Pittsburgh’s own Damaged Pies, an alternative band founded in 1987 that has played venues ranging from New York’s legendary CBGB, L.A.’s Whiskey a Go Go, Liverpool’s Cavern, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The screening starts at noon and will be followed by a performance by Heidi Jacobs and the Damaged Pies themselves. The afternoon will also include an art show and auction, and all proceeds from the event benefit Jeremiah’s Place.
Tickets for the Same Circus, Different Town fundraiser are $6 in advance, $8 at the door. For advance tickets or to ask about volunteering or donating, email Eileen Sharbaugh at [email protected]It was a typical phone call between two boys playing and their mother, who was on vacation in France. It was brief — the boys wanted to get back to playing with their cousins, not spend time on the phone chatting.
The brevity of that 1997 call troubles Prince William and Prince Harry to this day — for their mother, Princess Diana, would die in a car crash that night.
"Harry and I were in a desperate rush to say goodbye, you know'see you later'... If I'd known now obviously what was going to happen I wouldn't have been so blase about it and everything else," William says in a new documentary. "But that phone call sticks in my mind, quite heavily."
Harry tells the filmmakers the final chat is something he will regret until the end of his days.
"Looking back on it now, it's incredibly hard. I'll have to sort of deal with that for the rest of my life," Harry said. "Not knowing that was the last time I was going to speak to my mum. How differently that conversation would have panned out if I'd had even the slightest inkling her life was going to be taken that night."
The ITV documentary "Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy" is airing Monday on British TV. Excerpts from the film, and new family photographs, were released Sunday.
The show is one of a series of tributes to Diana expected as the 20th anniversary of her death on August 31, 1997, approaches.
It is only in the last year that William and Harry have spoken openly in public about their feelings about the sudden loss of their mother. William — second-in-line for the British throne after his father Prince Charles — was only 15 at the time. Harry was only 12.
The documentary chronicles Diana's charitable works, including her historic outreach to AIDS victims and her campaign to ban land mines.
William and Harry also stress their mother's fun-loving side, which they say the public generally didn't see.
"Our mother was a total kid through and through. When everybody says to me'so she was fun, give us an example,' all I can hear is her laugh in my head," says Harry.
William tells a story that reveals the privileged life they led as children — one day, Diana surprised him by having three of the world's top models waiting for him when he got home from school.
"She organized when I came home from school to have Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell waiting at the top of the stairs. I was probably a 12 or 13-year-old boy who had posters of them on his wall," William said. "I went bright red and didn't know quite what to say. And sort of fumbled and I think pretty much fell down the stairs on the way up."
William says he frequently tells his children — Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2 — about Diana so she can be a presence in her grandchildren's lives.
"She'd be a lovely grandmother. She'd absolutely love it, she'd love the children to bits," he said.Get the biggest Liverpool FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Selfie sticks have been banned from Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium and the ECHO Arena amid fears they could be used as weapons.
Liverpool FC’s ticket office have said the selfie-aids could be used as a weapon and were banned for safety reasons.
The sticks have exploded in popularity since Christmas, with thousands of Brits grabbing any chance to take a Facebook-friendly selfie at their favourite events.
ECHO Arena officials fear the devices could affect the "enjoyment" of other patrons.
A spokesperson for the Arena said: "For reasons of customer safety and the convenience and enjoyment of other audience members, ‘selfie sticks’ and/or similar devices are not permitted into the venue."
The sticks have already been banned at a number of top UK attractions, including Chelsea's Stamford Bridge and the O2 Arena.
Manchester Arena have not banned the devices, but say that if they cause problems the owner would be asked to “pop it away”.
Wembley Stadium have not placed an all-out ban on the devices, but are reviewing it on a ‘match-by-match basis’.
They will be banned from the Capital One Cup Final on March 1.The Israeli foreign ministry summoned Tom Phillips, the British ambassador to Tel Aviv, to protest at her treatment and give warning that diplomatic ties had been badly damaged.
Mrs Livni cancelled a trip to London over the weekend shortly before a court in Westminster granted a warrant for her arrest over alleged war crimes committed by the Israeli government during its offensive in Gaza a year ago.
The warrant is thought to have been issued after an application by pro-Palestinian lawyers but was later rescinded when it emerged that Mrs Livni, who is now leader of the Israeli opposition, had cancelled her trip to Britain.
Although a major diplomatic incident was averted, the affair has left Britain deeply embarrassed. The Foreign Office was forced to issue an apologetic statement that insisted Israeli officials were still welcome in the United Kingdom.
Refusing to be mollified, Israel said Britain faced being marginalised in the peace process unless it took immediate steps to strip courts of their powers to arrest Israeli dignitaries.
"The absence of firm and immediate action aimed to correct this abuse harms relations between Britain and Israel," the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.
"If Israeli leaders cannot visit Britain in proper, dignified fashion, this will, quite naturally, seriously compromise Britain's ability to play the active role in the Middle East peace process that it desires."
Yuli Edelstein, a cabinet minister, added: "By a very small change of legislation, the issue could be at least controlled, if not totally wiped off the map. I think that it's high time that the British parliament does something about it."
A statement from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office quoted the prime minister as rejecting the notion that leaders "who defended our civilians bravely and morally against a despicable and brutal enemy could be branded war criminals. We firmly reject this absurdity."
Britain regularly attracts visits from both Israeli and Palestinian leaders who see London as an important diplomatic hub.
But according to Israeli officials, the government has repeatedly failed to live up to commitments made by both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to curb the power of the courts either through legislation or regulation.
In recent years, activists have increasingly used British courts to pursue visiting Israeli officials they claim carried out war crimes in the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon.
In 2005, Doron Almog, a retired Israeli general, returned to Israel without leaving his plane after hearing an arrest warrant had been issued in his name. This September a court rejected a bid to seek an arrest warrant for Ehud Barak, the Israeli foreign minister, who had been invited to attend the Labour party conference.
"We don't have similar problems with other European countries," said a senior Israeli government official. "There is no doubt that extremist groups with very partisan agendas have successfully manipulated the British legal system.
"Every week in London, you have people visiting from countries undemocratic in the extreme and with atrocious human rights records, yet this happens to the leader of the Israeli opposition? That is a perversion of the British sense of fair play."
Muslim cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi has been allowed to visit Britain in the past despite describing Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel as "martyrs". After one trip in 2004, the Crown Prosecution Service said there was not enough evidence to justify prosecuting him.
The latest row comes just days after Israel protested about a government advisory to UK supermarkets suggesting that they differentiate between West Bank imports according to whether they were produced by Jewish settlers or by Palestinians.
A government official denied that the series of confrontations amounted to a crisis, although he conceded that "it is a very tense period in diplomatic relations."
The Israeli foreign ministry said it was not planning to advise politicians to cancel trips to Britain, although government officials said Mrs Livni's arrest warrant could make many think twice about visiting Britain.
"We are facing a problem here and the problem is that it is very easy to harass and embarrass officials who try to visit Britain," one said. "We can't have Israeli officials systematically targeted and embarrassed."The Porsche 3512 was a motor racing engine designed by Porsche for use in Formula One in the early 1990s.
Porsche had left Formula One at the end of 1987 after four years supplying TAG-badged turbo engines to the McLaren team, but decided to return two years later with a view to creating a V12 engine for the newly introduced 3.5-litre normally-aspirated regulations (hence this engine's designation of 3512). After a partnership with the small Onyx team was suggested, in early 1990 the company signed a four-year deal with Footwork Arrows, to commence in 1991.[1]
The 3512 was designed by Porsche veteran Hans Mezger, and had an 80-degree V-angle and a power take-off from the centre of the engine. The latter had been a feature of the flat-12 Type 912 engine (also designed by Mezger) in the Porsche 917 sports car of the early 1970s, but was unusual for Formula One.[2]
Problems beset the 3512 almost immediately, as it was completed later than scheduled,[1] and its layout meant that it was large and heavy. When ancillaries like the clutch and flywheel were installed, the engine weighed 418 lb - compared to the V12s of Honda and Ferrari at 352 lb and 308 lb respectively.[2] All this meant that it could not be properly installed in Footwork's car for the 1991 season, the FA12,[3] and so the team had to redesign this car while starting the season with a modified version of their 1989/1990 car, designated the A11C.[4]
Further difficulties were encountered when the engine started to be used: power output was said to be only around 670 hp (500 kW) at around 13,000 rpm, while the novel method of drawing power from the centre of the engine led to oil pressure problems.[2]
When the season got underway at the Phoenix street circuit in the United States, Alex Caffi failed to qualify his A11C, while teammate Michele Alboreto qualified 25th but retired from the race at half-distance with a gearbox failure. At the faster Interlagos circuit for the next round in Brazil, both drivers failed to make the grid. The redesigned FA12 was introduced at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, another fast circuit, but Alboreto destroyed his car during practice and was forced to use the A11C, and again both drivers failed to qualify. Then at Monaco, Caffi suffered a crash of his own and once again failed to make the grid, while Alboreto again qualified 25th before his 3512 failed at half-distance.
By this stage, Footwork had already given up hope in the Porsche engine, and had decided to go back to the Ford Cosworth DFR V8 that had been used in 1989 and 1990. However, the team had to make do with the 3512 for the North American rounds in Canada and Mexico, for which Stefan Johansson took the place of Caffi, who had sustained injuries in a road accident.[5] Both drivers managed to qualify at Montreal, Alboreto 21st and Johansson 25th, but retired with throttle and engine problems. Then in Mexico, after four of the team's seven engines for the weekend had failed on the Friday,[1] Johansson failed to qualify, while Alboreto qualified 26th and last, only for his 3512 to fail again before half-distance.
Footwork finally reverted to the DFR in time for the French Grand Prix, installed in a modification of the FA12, designated the FA12C.[6] Porsche formally terminated its deal with the team shortly before the Japanese Grand Prix in October,[7][8] and has not appeared in Formula One since.
A V10 replacement for the 3512 was in development at the time of Porsche's withdrawal from Formula One. This engine would not be completed until several years later, when it was modified for use in the stillborn Porsche LMP project in 2000. The engine eventually became mass-produced when a further variant was chosen as the powerplant of the Porsche Carrera GT supercar.
References [ edit ]This isn’t a book review, so much as a shameless plug for my own book. I haven’t finished reading this month’s book yet – real life interfered with plans – so I’m referring to The Clutter Book: When You Can’t Let Go instead.
I’ve noticed that people are wowed by “Before and After” photos of cluttered spaces and often look at them as evidence of great work. What does the picture show, though, except that the clutter is gone? Has it been moved out of the frame or into a different space in the house?
I worked with a client yesterday on a severely congested garage and although we didn’t get rid of anything except some empty boxes, we made a huge difference in the space flow. How? By moving things into places that made sense.
It’s nowhere near ready for a magazine photo shoot. There’s still no room to park a car (they’re storing an apartment’s worth of things for a child for a short time), but the space is much more manageable and they can access what they need. That’s a great before-and-after, in my opinion – same stuff, better outcome.
Once we were able to reach the things that needed decisions made about them, the client could discard things that no one wants and remove things that didn’t belong in the garage.
Don’t look for before and after photos in The Clutter Book, because you won’t find any. The best photos are of the hard work that you do to get your spaces in order.
AdvertisementsThis is a very important post I have been preparing long ago, collecting arguments and opinions. It concerns the very name of the new desert faction to be presented in the new v0.8 beta. It has been titled as Gipsy till the current moment, and this comes from the old Mister Kalu's developments.
In fact, we all must admit that Gipsy (Gypsy) is a word which has nothing to do with the eclectic Arab-style concept we have been developing. I have often met people's misunderstanding when they saw this faction name, and this was disturbing to say the least.
In fact, all we can find after googling the word Gypsy is:
The most fantasy-fitting concept I was able to find is still quite different from what we develop:
However, I found the solution for this problem while preparing Russian translations for the future versions of the project. In Russian there is no other meaning for Gypsy except the upper presented concept. However, there is another word which IMO fits the developed faction much and much more.
This word is "Dervish". The popular definition of Dervish is the Middle Eastern kind of a monk who roamed across the desert and took various actions from street begging to sermon. It is, of course, tightly connected with Islam and Islamic countries culture, but some, if not all Dervishes were not supporting common religious preferences because they tended to have their own point of view on things thanks to their wisdom earned in travels.
In fact, the concept we have been developing all the time can fit this defintion with some restrictions. The new desert faction is a faction of journeyman mages with neutral principles and, sometimes, lust for gold, knowledge and power. These mages are mysterious, unpredictable and powerful in their own way, so that I suppose we have the right to invent some kind of "Enrothian Dervishes" which are the desert-themed variation of Wizards with a slight more evil background. In fact, the word Dervish itself is more sufficient for describing another kind of spellcaster, and fits much better near the Warlock, the Wizard and the Sorceress.
One of new creatures for the Gipsy (Dervish) castle is the Pilgrim (or Acolyte). It is supposed to be a shooting creature for the 2nd level, and it is a direct reference to Might and Magic VI.Support for Malcolm Turnbull among older Australians is on the decline as the popularity of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation grows, polling shows.
Analysis of Newspolls between February and April for the Australian shows the Coalition holding 40% primary vote support among the 50-plus age group – down from almost 50% last July.
One Nation’s strongest gains come from the 50-plus age bracket, climbing from 1.8% primary support at last year’s election to 11%, the figures published on Monday show.
Meeting Pauline Hanson's voters: silent screamers find their voice Read more
The poll, which surveyed 6,943 voters, shows Labor has failed to take advantage of the swings against the government. Support for Bill Shorten in the 50-plus group rose from 30.6 to 34% since the election but has not shifted among the other age groups.
Support for the Coalition among voters aged from 35 to 49 declined but not as significantly as in the older age group, falling from 38.5% to 34%. And a record fall in support for the government was seen among voters aged from 18 to 34, falling from 32.4% to 30%.
The largest shift away from the Coalition was seen in Queensland and Western Australia, where the Coalition has 47% of voter support compared with Labor’s 53% on a two-party-preferred basis.
In Queensland support for One Nation increased from 5.5% at the last election to 16%. Nationally, support for One Nation doubled to 10% since late last year, equal to the primary vote maintained by the Greens.
The net satisfaction rating, which records the difference between those who are satisfied and those who are dissatisfied with performance, fell from from -21 points to -26 points for Turnbull over the period from August to April. Shorten’s net satisfaction rating fell from -15 points to -24 in the same period, with much of that dissatisfaction coming from men.Spanish protesters flooded onto the streets of Madrid to rail against the centuries-old spectacle in which matadors often slaughter bulls in front of public audiences, including children. Thousands protested against the practice on Saturday - denouncing the national tradition as "a national shame". The astonishing numbers on the streets were the clearest sign yet that the movement to end the blood sport was gaining momentum. Many of those at the rally believe the record-breaking march has put the final nail in the coffin of the violent spectator pastime.
GETTY; IG Thousands of Spaniards took to the streets of Madrid to protest bullfighting
A routine bull fight, which take place at nearly 2,000 Spanish summer festivals, can end with the cruel and drawn-out death of the poor animal. On other occasions, the bull, often riled up beforehand, can be badly injured and left bleeding. Chelo Martin Pozo, a 39-year-old from Seville who travelled for the rally, said: "Bulls feel and they suffer. "Bullfights are a national shame, a barbaric cruelty and if they represent me, then I am not Spanish. "Many Spaniards were outraged that such torture is legal here." Activists at the rally held signs with slogans such as 'Bullfighting, the school of cruelty' and 'Bullfighting, a national shame'. The protest was organised by the Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA), a Spanish political party that runs on a platform of animal rights. A spokesman for the PACMA confirmed that the event was the largest anti-bullfighting protest in history but did not provide exact figures of those in attendance.
GETTY Madrid's leftist mayor has withdrawn subsidies for bullfighting schools
According to a World Animal Protection poll earlier this year, 19 per cent of adults in Spain supported bullfighting while 58 per cent opposed it. Mari Paz Rojo, an activist at the rally, said: "It makes me sad that some people want to have fun at the expense of another living being. There are other ways to pass the time. "We don't want Spaniards to be identified with bullfighting, this is not our national fiesta." Madrid resident Azucena Perez added: "I think our laws should prohibit the torture of animals as a form of entertainment."
The backlash against the practice has been brought to the streets of Spain's capital following a series of shocking ordeals suffered by both the animals and the humans in the bull ring. A famous bullfighter, 29-year-old Victor Barrio, died in July after being gored, becoming the first matador to die in the ring in the country for more than 30 years. Last month, a graphic video which showed a baby bull being killed by amateur bullfighters went viral, reaching more than 20 million views in less than 24 hours. Nearly twenty Spanish cities and towns have cut municipal funding for bullfights or passed legislation condemning or banning it in the past five years. The Catalonia region banned bullfighting altogether in 2011.
REUTERS Only 19% of adults in Spain supported bullfighting, while 58% opposed itThe Root of Inequality: The Free Market or the State?
In early September, Reuters reported on a new Federal Reserve survey showing widening wealth and income gaps in the United States. “All of the income growth,” Reuters reports, “was concentrated among the top earners … with the top 3 percent accounting for 30.5 percent of all income.”
The Fed survey will no doubt disconcert those on both the left and the right who mistakenly regard the United States as “the land of the free,” home of opportunity where anyone can get ahead with a little hard work. Indeed, the data seem to show a reality very different from that rosy misconception, a reality in which connections between elites in the business and political worlds ensure that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.
Presented with such a bleak vision of American economic and class structures, those genuinely unsettled by growing wealth inequality are often quick to blame “the free market,” cutthroat competition that puts profits above people. But what a free market actually is and whether we have one today are themselves separate questions which we must address in order to analyze American inequality. The American left may be surprised to learn that the radical socialist tradition includes a whole species of anti-state, free market libertarians.
By conceding that markets and competition in themselves are part of the social problem to be solved, the left needlessly disadvantages itself, capitulating to the misbelief that the capitalist ruling class has simply won the day fair and square. After all, if in the here and now we really do have a genuine free market, to what can we really object?
Most anti-capitalists thus share a foundational myth with the worst apologists for existing capitalism and its many inequalities. Both groups maintain that the economies of today are essentially free markets. Market anarchists like Ezra Heywood and Benjamin Tucker did not believe this untruth — that labor could not hope to compete with capital where the two met on fair and level playing field.
Rather, they argued that the most common and inequitable features of capitalism were in fact the poisonous fruits of profound affronts to generally accepted free market principles. Remove the state’s aids to big business, the manifold privileges handicapping working people, and true voluntary exchange and cooperation would dissolve capitalism as we know it.
As Ezra Heywood wrote in The Great Strike, “The ‘survival of the fittest’ is beneficently inevitable; the capitalist is powerless against labor, unless the State … steps in, and helps him catch and fleece his victims. The old plea of despotism, that liberty is unsafe, reappears now in the mistaken notion that competition is hostile to labor.”
Heywood offered a lesson for the contemporary American left: That capitalism is a system of land theft, legal and regulatory bars to competition, intellectual property monopolies and huge handouts to big business in the forms of subsidies and government contracts. What, then, is all this talk about “the free market?”
Market anarchism is a form of decentralism, a libertarian socialism that sees voluntary exchange and cooperation as solutions to the widespread inequality we struggle with today. Politicians and CEOs rather like the system we have in the United States; they depend on it, and it depends on them. The rest of us, quite unlike political and economic elites, don’t mind working for a living, aren’t asking for special legal privileges, and just want to be left free to undertake our own projects and pursue our own goals. That kind of free market offers an exit from present day inequalities, not an encouragement to them.
Translations for this article:July 29, 2015 — Ron Chusid
“If it’s undecided when I become president, I will answer your question.” –Hillary Clinton
One reason why Hillary Clinton is dropping in the polls and Bernie Sanders is climbing is that voters prefer a more open and honest candidate such as Sanders. Hillary Clinton has practiced triangulation to avoid taking a stand on controversial issues throughout her career, and we saw it again this week on the Keystone XL Pipeline and Planned Parenthood.
While at times Clinton appeared to support the pipeline in the past, since this has become a risky position in Democratic primaries she has avoided answering questions on the subject. We got a classic Hillaryism with her latest response to the question: “If it’s undecided when I become president, I will answer your question.”
Chris Cillizza tore Clinton apart for this line:
When you are running for president — whether or not you served in the current administration — you are going to be asked to take positions on issues that the current president is dealing with. As long as we hold elections that begin two years (or more) before the current president is set to leave office, that’s going to be a thing candidates need to contend with. If Clinton’s position is that she can’t take a public stance on any issue that has some sort of pending business before this White House, then she’s not going to be able to take a position on, well, anything. And she’s already shown that on some issues, she is willing to take a position. Clinton came out in favor of the Iran deal, for example, despite the fact that its fate remains up in the air in Congress. Second, the whole point of a campaign is for voters to get to know the candidates and understand what their respective presidencies might look like. People and reporters and the candidates you are running against ask you questions. You answer them — most of the time. It’s what we do. It’s how voters can feel as though they are making an informed decision come Election Day. Imagine if Jeb Bush, when asked about the immigration problem in the country, said only: “Look, it’s a complex issue. I am not going to say anything about it until I am in the White House.” There would be massive outrage — and rightly so. Bush would be accused of obfuscating for purely political reasons. Which, of course, would be what he was doing.
Beyond the question of the Keystone XL Pipeline, Clinton has received criticism from environmentalists for her support for off-shore drilling and fracking. It is also doubtful that she would take effective action on climate change considering the amount of money she receives from the petroleum industry.
Clinton also tried to triangulate on the Planned Parenthood videos, leading to headlines such as Hillary Clinton Calls Planned Parenthood Videos ‘Disturbing’
Hillary Clinton has staunchly defended Planned Parenthood in the wake of recently released videos that an anti-abortion group claims to show employees with the organization discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue. But, in a new interview, she calls the graphic videos “disturbing” and says there should be a national investigation into that practice. “I have seen pictures from them and obviously find them disturbing,” the Democratic presidential candidate told the New Hampshire Union Leader on Tuesday in regards to the videos, which were released by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress. “Planned Parenthood is answering questions and will continue to answer questions.”
She did also defend Planned Parenthood in general, but undermined them in fighting off the right wing attacks with statements such as this. As I discussed previously, right wing organizations with a history of distorting the facts are used the tapes to present a false claim that Planned Parenthood is selling fetal tissue. In reality, the tapes show that they were negotiating over fees for collection, preservation, and transport of fetal tissue which was donated for biomedical research. This is both legal and conventional. It is no different than when I do a pap smear and Medicare or private insurance companies pay me for collecting and arranging transport of the specimen to a lab. This does not mean that I am “selling” cervical cells and Planned Parenthood is not “selling” fetal tissue. With Republicans using this false attack to threaten to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, Clinton should be defending them on this point, not calling it “disturbing” and calling for a national investigation into a practice which |
15 minutes that it would take me to get back in the zone. I also noticed that once I got interrupted I’d start procrastinating before trying to get back in it: getting up to make coffee, checking my email, and similar. Sometimes it’d take me half a hour before being productive again, so that means that a phone call would cost me a lot of time and (therefore) money.
By paying attention, I noticed that I would get at least 1 phone call/hour, and the only time where I’d be left alone would be during/after lunch, at night, and during weekends.
Is this why programmers love to work at night or on Sunday? Just because people don’t bother them and they can work in peace? I think so.
Getting rid of the poison
If I got interrupted once/hour, and that would take 1/2 hour out of my productivity, I figured that that was no way to work, but more something like wasting my time to be available to people that loved interrupting me. Sure–some interruptions were clients, and you need to pick up the call if you want work, but if that means not having time to actually do the work, or having to work during weekend, does that make much sense? Not to me.
First, I got rid of what I consider annoying, useless interruptions. This includes app’s horrible default notifications, such as “I just updated myself, you’re fine!”—OK, I don’t care in the first place, if I don’t have to do anything while are you even bothering me with that?—and the like. I set Mail to not check for email automatically, so that I could control when to download emails: I decided I’d check it only once in a while instead of as soon as a message arrived, so that I could reply to everybody at the same time, avoiding interrupting my work and taking a smaller—and most importantly consecutive—chunk of time out of my day.
I started by deliberately scheduling working time. During working time, I would work, and nothing else, with no interruptions. I would turn my cell phone and all other devices that could be evilly be used to contact me, such as Skype, Messages, and the like. That includes the door bell (sorry door-to-door reps), and if I could I would even disconnect from the internet.
A wired in programmer is a happy programmer
That worked like a charm.
By being able to get in the zone for 1-2 hours at a time (or whatever needed), I about quadrupled my productivity: this means that I would work 1/4th of the time, and get the same amount of stuff done.
Since none of the matters that people would usually call me about were ever urgent, and I still checked my email once every couple of hours, the world didn’t end. I never lost any life-or-death communication, and annoyed any client either, as when I called back I’d explained that I was hard at work at their project, and that’s the reason why I wasn’t available.
Of course, now I don’t even have a cell phone—that’s right, it’s possible—so I totally went to the dark side, and that’s not really necessary, but I think that saying “no” to interruptions means that you care more about you and your work (and therefore your clients) than barely your clients and talking to them.
And that makes and keeps everyone happy.NEW ORLEANS — Former Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for bribery, money laundering and other corruption that spanned his two terms as mayor — including the chaotic years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan handed down the sentence Wednesday morning.
Nagin was convicted Feb. 12 of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from businessmen who wanted work from the city or Nagin’s support for various projects. The bribes came in the form of money, free vacations and truckloads of free granite for his family business. Nagin was alleged to have received roughly a half million dollars.
The 58-year-old Democrat had denied any wrongdoing after his 2013 indictment and during his February trial. Moments before sentencing, a subdued Nagin made a brief statement, thanking the judge for her professionalism. He made no apologies. “I trust that God’s going to work all this out,” he said.
Nagin is scheduled to report to the federal prison in Oakdale, La., in September.Photo remix available thanks to the courtesy of Moyan Brenn. CC BY 2.0
One of our recent project had the requirement so that admins are able to generate short top level urls (like /cool ) for every page in our system. Basically a url shortening service inside our app. This might be especially usefull in your app if those urls are meant to appear in printed materials (like /productName or /awesomePromotion ). Let’s see what choices we have in our Rails routing.
Top level routing for multiple resources
If your requirements are less strict, you might be in a better position to use a simpler solution. Let’s say that your current routing rules are like:
resources :authors resources :posts #author GET /authors/:id(.:format) authors#show # post GET /posts/:id(.:format) posts#show
We assume that :id might be either resource id or its slug and you handle that in your controller (using friendly_id gem or whatever other solution you use).
And you would like to add route like:
match '/:slug'
that would either route to AuthorsController or PostController depending on what the slug points to. Our client wants Pretty Urls:
/rails-team /rails-4-0-2-have-been-released
Well, you can solve this problem with constraints.
class AuthorUrlConstrainer def matches? ( request ) id = request. path. gsub ( "/", "" ) Author. find_by_slug ( id ) end end constraints ( AuthorUrlConstrainer. new ) do match '/:id', to: "authors#show", as:'short_author' end
class PostUrlConstrainer def matches? ( request ) id = request. path. gsub ( "/", "" ) Post. find_by_slug ( id ) end end constraints ( PostUrlConstrainer. new ) do match '/:id', to: "posts#show", as:'short_post' end
This will work fine but there are few downsides to such solution and you need to remember about couple of things.
First, you must make sure that slugs are unique across all your resources that you use this for. In our project this is the responsibility of services which first try to reserve the slug across the whole application, and assign it to the resource if it succeeded. But you can also implement it with a hook in your ActiveRecord class. It’s up to you whether you choose more coupled or decoupled solution.
The second problem is that adding more resources leads to more DB queries. In your example the second resource (posts) triggers a query for authors first (because the first constraint is checked first) and only if it does not match, we try to find the post. N-th resource will trigger N db queries before we match it. That is obviously not good.
Render or redirect
One of the thing that you are going to decide is whether visiting such short url should lead to rendering the page or redirection.
What we saw in previous chapter gives us rendering. So the browser is going to display the visited url such as /MartinFowler. In such case there might be multiple URLs pointing to the same resource in your application and for best SEO you probably should standarize which url is the canonical: /authors/MartinFowler or /MartinFowler/? Eventually you might also consider dropping the longer URL entirely in your app to have a consistent routing.
You won’t have such dillemmas if you go with redirecting so that /MartinFowler simply redirects to /authors/MartinFowler. It is not hard with Rails routing. Just change
constraints ( AuthorUrlConstrainer. new ) do match '/:id', to: "authors#show", as:'short_author' end
into
constraints ( AuthorUrlConstrainer. new ) do match ( '/:id', as:'short_author', to: redirect do | params, request | Rails. application. routes_url_helpers. author_path ( params [ :id ]) end ) end
Top level routing for everything
But we started with the requirement that every page can have its short version if admins generate it. In such case we store the slug and the path that it was generated based on in Short::Url class. It has the slug and target attributes.
class Vanity :: Url < ActiveRecord :: Base validates_format_of :slug, with: /\A[0-9a-z\-\_]+\z/i validates_uniqueness_of :slug, case_sensitive: false def action [ :render, :redirect ]. sample end end url = Short :: Url. new url. slug = "fowler" url. target = "/authors/MartinFowler" url. save!
Now our routing can use that information.
class ShortDispatcher def initialize ( router ) @router = router end def call ( env ) id = env [ "action_dispatch.request.path_parameters" ][ :id ] slug = Short :: Url. find_by_slug ( id ) strategy ( slug ). call ( @router, env ) end private def strategy ( url ) { redirect: Redirect, render: Render }. fetch ( url. action ). new ( url ) end class Redirect def initialize ( url ) @url = url end def call ( router, env ) to = @url. target router. redirect { | p, req | to }. call ( env ) end end class Render def initialize ( url ) @url = url end def call ( router, env ) routing = Rails. application. routes. recognize_path ( @url. target ) controller = ( routing. delete ( :controller ) + "_controller" ). classify. constantize action = routing. delete ( :action ) env [ "action_dispatch.request.path_parameters" ] = routing controller. action ( action ). call ( env ) end end end match '/:id', to: ShortDispatcher. new ( self )
You can simplify this code greatly (and throw away most of it) if you go with either render or redirect and don’t mix those two approaches. I just wanted to show that you can use any of them.
Let’s focus on the Render strategy for this moment. What happens here. Assuming some visited /fowler in the browser, we found the right Short::Url in the dispatcher, now in our Render#call we need to do some work that usually Rails does for us.
First we need to recognize what the long, target url ( /authors/MartinFowler ) points to.
routing = Rails. application. routes. recognize_path ( @url. target ) # => {:action=>"show", :controller=>"authors", :id=>"1"}
Based on that knowledge we can obtain the controller class.
controller = ( routing. delete ( :controller ) + "_controller" ). classify. constantize # => AuthorsController
And we know what controller action should be processed.
action = routing. delete ( :action ) # => "show"
No we can trick rails into thinking that the actual parameters coming from recognized url were different
env [ "action_dispatch.request.path_parameters" ] = routing # => {:id => "MartinFowler"}
If we generated the slug url based on nested resources path, we would have here two hash keys with ids, instead of just one.
And at the and we create new instance of rack compatible application based on the #show() method of our controller. And we put everything in motion with #call() and pass it env (the Hash with Rack environment).
controller. action ( action ). call ( env ) # AuthorsController.action("show").call(env)
That’s it. You delegated the job back to the rails controller that you already have had implemented. Great job! Now our admins can generate those short urls like crazy for the printed materials.
Is it any good?
Interestingly, after prooving that this is possible, I am not sure whether we should be actually doing it 😉. What’s your opinion? Would you rather render or redirect? Should we be solving this on application level (render) or HTTP level (redirect)?
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Did you like this article? You might find our Rails books interesting as well.If you were a strapping gent looking to improve your virility in the early 20th century, one such option would be the radium suppository. Nothing says "lothario" quite like shoving a radioactive pellet up your rectum.
Radium remedies went far beyond your run-of-the-mill rectal aphrodisiacs — the element found its way into all sorts of consumer goods that went into all manner of orifices. At Ptak Science Books, John Ptak recounts the halcyon days of these quack remedies:
Many of these companies employed the real stuff, affecting thousands of people, radium-based cure-alls being ingested, injected, applied and bathed-in. For example, there were numerous companies distributing 'radium water" (such as "Radithor" by William J.A. Bailey's company), radium suppositories ("in a cocoa butter base"), toothpaste ("Doramad", distributed by Doramad Radioaktive Zohncreme during WWII, to Germans), cosmetics ("Tho-Radia"), and many different varieties of radium-enriched healing belts (to be worn or slept on). There were plenty of other products that used the "radium" name but didn't actually use the substance itself, further selling the idea of its usefulness on the individual level. There was radium beer, nail clippers, starch, cigars, polish, headache tablets, razor blades, butter and of course, condoms.
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You can read more about these ill-advised radium nostrums over at Ptak, and be sure to check out further examples of radium products at Oak Ridge University Associates and at Dissident Media.As the summer travel peak approaches, Britain’s biggest budget airline is cracking down on late-running passengers, The Independent can reveal.
EasyJet is imposing a new rule which means anyone trying to pass through the security barriers with less than 30 minutes before take-off will be prevented from getting “airside” and sprinting to the gate – and could end up paying £80 to switch to another flight.
The airline has asked Gatwick to reprogramme its security barriers at which travellers have their boarding passes scanned to reject those with less than half an hour remaining before departure. Previously, tardy passengers with no checked baggage were free to go through the security check and hurry to the departure gate in the hope of getting on the flight. Airline parlance for such a traveller is a HAG, short for Have A Go.
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Now, passengers are being explicitly warned of the changes – albeit in small print – on their boarding pass: “Gatwick security control gates are automatically being timed to close 30 minutes before departure.”
Travellers who are refused access will be told to return to the easyJet desk “to rearrange their travel arrangements”.
For several years, easyJet has had a policy of telling customers they had to get to the departure gate 30 minutes before departure but, in practice, passengers were often able to squeeze on to the flight
Shape Created with Sketch. The world's safest low-cost airlines Show all 8 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. The world's safest low-cost airlines 1/8 WestJet, a low cost Canadian carrier, was voted one of the safest low-cost airlines Alasdair McLellan/Creative Commons 2/8 Virgin America was named as a low cost carrier by airlineratings.com Virginamerica.com 3/8 Thomas Cook airlines were ranked highly on the world's best low cost carriers by airlineratings.com 4/8 Boeing 737 Boeing 737 is part of TUI Fly, a German based subsidiary of Thomas Cook Tuifly.com 5/8 Volaris, a low-cost Mexican carrier, has been rated one of the safest airlines to fly Volaris/Carribeanairlinenews 6/8 HK Express was rated highly in the rankings HKExpress 7/8 Aer Lingus was rated as one of the safest low-cost airlines in the world. 8/8 America's low-cost carrier has been rated as super safe. 1/8 WestJet, a low cost Canadian carrier, was voted one of the safest low-cost airlines Alasdair McLellan/Creative Commons 2/8 Virgin America was named as a low cost carrier by airlineratings.com Virginamerica.com 3/8 Thomas Cook airlines were ranked highly on the world's best low cost carriers by airlineratings.com 4/8 Boeing 737 Boeing 737 is part of TUI Fly, a German based subsidiary of Thomas Cook Tuifly.com 5/8 Volaris, a low-cost Mexican carrier, has been rated one of the safest airlines to fly Volaris/Carribeanairlinenews 6/8 HK Express was rated highly in the rankings HKExpress 7/8 Aer Lingus was rated as one of the safest low-cost airlines in the world. 8/8 America's low-cost carrier has been rated as super safe.
The airline sells “missed flight cover” for £7.50 in advance of travel, which provides the option of a full refund or travel on the next available flight for passengers who turn up late at the airport. For anyone who declines this cover, and is held up on the way to the airport, easyJet charges a “rescue fee” of £80 to switch to another flight.
An easyJet spokesman said the move was being brought in to benefit passengers, “So that they do not needlessly clear security at the point where the gate is already closed.” If a flight is known to be late, some leeway will be given. The spokesman said the barrier closure is “dictated by live flight data, based on the actual time of the flight and not the scheduled time.”
British Airways runs a similar policy at Heathrow in Terminals Three and Five, with a 35 minute cut-off.
Bizarrely, the easyJet move presents passengers with a baffling contradiction. On the same boarding pass they are told that they should enter the security area with at least half an hour to spare yet also given a conflicting warning that the gate closes 30 minutes before departure.
They cannot both be right. Even with swift progress through security and a sprint, it takes several minutes to reach the nearest departure gate. So a passenger who is just in time to get through the barrier is likely, according to easyJet, to be turned away from the gate. The airline did not explain this contradiction, though the spokesman said: “Occasionally, gates may not shut precisely at – 30 [minutes before departure] for a number of operational and passenger reasons.”
Gatwick is easyJet’s biggest base, and the company is Gatwick’s biggest airline. Around 15 million easyJet passengers are expected to pass through the Sussex airport this year.
The crackdown coincides with widespread delays and cancellations on the main railway line between London Victoria and Gatwick. The RMT union is in dispute with Southern Railway over working practices. The train operator said: “Southern services continue to be severely affected by a high level of conductor and driver sickness. This is leading to a reduced service on a number of routes.”WASHINGTON — During a 10-hour grilling from senators Tuesday, Judge Neil Gorsuch offered few hints as to his judicial philosophy, frustrating the Judiciary Committee’s Democrats in a polished and calm performance.
Gorsuch — sprinkling his answers to the committee’s questions with “gosh” and “golly” and “goodness” — deftly dodged Democratic senators’ attempts to pin him down on abortion, the scope of the Second Amendment and the Citizens United campaign finance decision. He said it would be “grossly improper” for a judge to offer a preview of how he would rule in future cases.
The 49-year-old Colorado judge also repeatedly insisted he would maintain his independence from President Trump and said no one in the administration had asked him to promise to rule a certain way on cases once he got to the court–neutralizing one of Democrats’ main lines of attack against him.
“I would have walked out the door,” Gorsuch said when asked if Trump had asked him to help overturn Roe v. Wade, the case that ruled that women have the right to get an abortion. “It’s not what judges do.”
But Democrats homed in on Gorsuch’s reticence to discuss Roe further, noting Trump’s vow during the 2016 presidential campaign to appoint a nominee who would overturn it.
Again and again, Gorsuch kept his cards close to his chest as Democrats on the committee attempted to discern his personal beliefs on the issues of the day. Sen. Dick Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Gorsuch if he agreed with the Supreme Court decisions that made it illegal for the government to ban married couples, and later unmarried people, from using contraception.
Neil Gorsuch arrives before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) More
“Those are precedents of the United States Supreme Court,” Gorsuch replied. “They’ve been settled 50 years, in the case of Griswold.”
Blumenthal chastised him for not giving a simple yes or no, pointing out that Bush appointees Samuel Alito and John Roberts both said they agreed with the results of the contraception cases during their Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
“I just want to say I hope that when we resume questioning that perhaps you can give me somewhat more direct and unequivocal answers,” Blumenthal said.
When pressed by senators, Gorsuch referred to Supreme Court cases such as Roe v. Wade, Citizens United and the decision striking down a city’s handgun ban as “precedents of the United States Supreme Court.” Gorsuch said precedent deserves deference from judges. He went slightly further when asked about the 2015 decision on same-sex marriage, calling marriage equality “settled law.” He also refused to say whether he believed the Constitution prevented the government from banning people of a certain religion from entering the country, saying he thought it was a veiled attempt to get him to weigh in on Trump’s travel ban.
Neil Gorsuch testifies during the second day of his confirmation hearing. (Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters) More
Continue readingBrownies remind me of being a little kid. I hate milk, so I have no nostalgic memories of enjoying a plate of brownies and a cold glass of milk. That sounds like a good way to ruin a plate of brownies. Even so, the crackly tops and chocolate-y interiors and fighting the good fight for a corner piece (this was before those all-corner brownie pans were around) reminds me of bake sales or classroom birthday parties.
These brownies have nothing to do with those brownies. These brownies grew up, got a job, and became productive members of society. Apparently, I’m expected to do the same at this point in my life. Fortunately, I believe that making brownies for friends does, in fact, make me a productive member of society.
There is no baking chocolate in my grocery store, but I found some unsweetened cocoa powder at Castroni, an international foods store. So began the search for a brownie recipe calling for cocoa powder in place of actual chocolate. I found a recipe over at Smitten Kitchen, but Deb’s pictures didn’t look like the brownies that I’m used to. I made it anyways, because the lady is never wrong, and wowww, I’m going to be making these again.
They are super dense, almost like fudge, but less sweet than any brownie I’ve ever had. In my mind, I have chocolate separated into two categories: sweet and bitter, so because I knew these wouldn’t be that sweet, I figured they would be a little bitter. Not the case. They are just…chocolate. There’s no other word for it.
To ease the transition from childhood to adulthood, I threw a couple of m&ms on top – baby steps, right? As you can see, the brownies have a wonderful dark chocolate color, so the m&ms give a nice splash of brightness, plus an added bit of sweetness to those of us who might still be jonesing for the brownies of yore. White chocolate chips might also make a good addition these, if you really can’t leave well enough alone. Better yet, throw in some liquor, make these really grown-up.
Now for the usual dose of Rome, this the view from Ponte Garibaldi, bridging the gap between the centro storico and the neighborhood of Trastevere. In the background is the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. More pictures of St. Peters to come soon!
I submitted this recipe to the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Scharffen Berger!
Cocoa Brownies recipe (adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet)
9 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Lindt)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
m&m candies for decorating
Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease an 8×8” baking pan and set aside.
Combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a medium-sized saucepan. (Note: the original recipe called for heating these in a double-boiler arrangement, but because I had no heatproof bowl, I just heated these ingredients directly over low heat in a saucepan.) Stir until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot. Remove from heat and set aside.
Stir in the vanilla, then add the eggs to the mixture one by one, stirring vigorously upon each addition. Once batter looks smooth and well-blended, add flour and stir until fully incorporated. Transfer batter to baking pan. Top with m&ms.
Bake for 25 – 35 minutes, or until an inserted tester comes out clean. Allow to cool (or freeze) fully before cutting.
AdvertisementsFacebook announced that Facebook For Every Phone, a native app that works on feature phones, has been downloaded 100 million times.
Facebook For Every Phone is an essential part of the company’s global strategy because more feature phones than smartphones are used in developing markets like India, Indonesia and the Philippines. In fact, for many consumers, feature phones may be their main or only point of access to the Internet. Facebook only recently began selling ads on its feature phone platform and makes very little money that way, but extending into countries with rapidly developing tech ecosystem may help Facebook counterbalance its declining or stagnant traffic in countries such as the U.S. and UK.
Facebook had 751 million monthly active users on mobile as of March 31, 2013, an increase of 54% year-over-year.
Facebook For Every Phone includes the social network’s most popular features, including News Feed, Messenger and Photos. It is optimized to use less data than other Java apps and mobile sites, which is a boon for users on limited data plans. In addition, Facebook has partnered with mobile operators around the world to offer free or discounted data access to Facebook For Every Phone. The app is powered by Snaptu, a mobile platform that Facebook acquired in 2011.Android/iOS: Fitness trackers are a great way to gamify your fitness goals and compete with others. If you're motivated by helping others, free app Charity Miles helps you earn money while you run or bike.
The app uses your phone's GPS to track your exercise. Each time you open it up, you pick a charity. You'll then earn 10 cents a mile for biking and 25 cents a mile for walking and running. While the app is open, they show you an ad from the sponsor donating the money.
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You won't change the world with the amount you'll earn, but if you run or bike anyway, you may as well help charities along the way.
Charity Miles | Charity Miles via Cnet
Charity Miles | iTunes App Store
Charity Miles | Google PlayIt wasn't long ago when FC Edmonton owner Tom Fath could say he knew nothing of the beautiful sport — soccer.
"I knew that you played soccer with a round ball and that's about all," he says. "I'd played a little bit of soccer at recess in school and once or twice in phys-ed."
Head coach Colin Miller on Edmonton AM FC Edmonton's head coach Colin Miller will be Rick Harp's live call-in guest on Edmonton AM. Miller will take listener questions on any aspect of the game, at every level. That's on CBC Radio (93.9FM) at 8:10 a.m. Email your questions now to edmontonam@cbc.ca or call 780-468-4422 at 8 a.m. to ask your question.
What Fath did know was paving. The Fath Group of Companies is built on the business of building parking lots.
"He's a paver by heart he always says," said Fath's son Eric. "He's just a little parking lot paver but he's now a lot more than that."
Five years ago the 62-year-old businessman went out on limb. Wanting to invest in the cultural life his city, Fath purchased the rights for the Edmonton entry in the North American Soccer League.
"I wanted to do something to give back to the city in a more substantial way than just donating to varrious charities, so I took on the challenge," he said.
There's no denying it's been a challenge.
Soccer families not filling stands
While tens of thousands of Edmonton kids play the sport, soccer families aren't filling the stands to watch the pros play.
That's the biggest challenge — selling the team to Edmontonians, who so far have been ambivalent, said Eric Fath who's been tasked with the job..
"It's second division soccer, so no it's not Manchester United or even the MLS in North America which is the Vancouver Whitecaps or Toronto FC for the Canadian teams, but it's still a very high level of play and it's a local team,"
FC Edmonton is the only Canadian team in the NASL playing teams with what are hardly household names — Tampa Bay Rowdies, San Antonio Scorpions, Minnesota United.
It also means higher travel costs with the team racking up $700,000 in travel bills last year.
But home field too is a mixed blessing.
Clark Stadium needs work
There's no Commonwealth Stadium to draw fans to home games. Instead FC Edmonton play in the aging Clark Stadium — an open field with fading concrete risers on one side and a seating capacity of fewer than 1,400.
Even if every game was a sellout, the team would not come close to breaking even.
So in a show of faith, the Faths are spending $700,000 to bring in new flip-up seats to circle the rest of the field.
They hope their commitment will show fans the team isn't going anywhere and deserving of support.
"Now we have a stadium that can support 5,000 people...really showing that we're here to stay. Hopefully people respond and start coming out to games," Tom Fath said.
It's no secret a winning team will go a long ways to filling those new seats and making FC Edmonton a fixture in the city's cultural life.
"The youth need to be able to look up to their heroes and if you have that in your city it gives your city a lot more life," Fath said.
The players recognize they too have a role in selling the team.
'We're not stupid'
"We're not stupid," said Shaun Saiko, a native Edmontonian and the team's leading scorer. "He's investing a lot of his own money coming out of his own pocket and we want to give as much as we can back to him so we can have something to be proud of."
Saiko, 23, grew up in Edmonton playing soccer and left at 14 to try out in the United Kingdom.
Now he's toiling on a team that finished dead last last season and is off to a less than stellar start this year.
"We're a better team than that and we've got a better owner than that so we're trying to repay him."
Fath, though, is taking it all in stride.
He's not willing to walk away now.
"I can be a little stubborn. Actually I can be quite stubborn so if we're going to start something we like it to succeed and historically things haven't always succeeded at the beginning, but typically they end up succeeding."Thon Maker will skip college and attempt to enter the 2016 NBA Draft, the 19-year-old prospect announced Sunday via Bleacher Report.
Maker is still in high school, but is technically in his fifth year, giving him a strong chance to be considered eligible for the draft, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports.
After spending three years attending American high schools, Maker has been in Canada at Orangeville Prep for the past two years. He meets the NBA requirement of being at least 19 years old, but whether he will be considered a year out of high school will be up for debate. The NBA will have to approve for Maker to be eligible for the draft, but, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Maker had to make his declaration before the NBA would rule.
Listed at 7-feet with a 9-foot-3 standing reach, Maker is considered one of the top prospects in high school. He was originally expected to announced where he would be attending college later this month. Arizona State, Kansas, and Notre Dame were all under consideration.
Born in Sudan, Maker moved to Australia when he was 5, then to the United States in eighth grade before finally arriving in Canada two years ago.Between raising two children, being a housewife, and riding horses in her spare time, Instagrammer Summers VonHesse still finds time to make an income of nearly $5,000 per month. And she does it by selling sexy selfies online.
“I’ve never had a ‘real job’ since I got married eight years ago. Being able to contribute in my house feels really nice,” VonHesse Tells Yahoo Beauty.
In November, VonHesse began revealing more skin on her Instagram page. She quickly realized she was an online hit, reaching nearly 110,000 Instagram followers, and could profit from all the fans who wanted to see more of her. So she decided to take control and increase her finances as well as her followers.
“I enjoy doing it,” she says. “To be honest, I’m not doing it because we really need the money or anything like that, but it sure is nice that I am bringing in $5,000 a month.”
So how exactly does this work? VanHesse posts pictures on a portal called patreon.com/socalsummers. Then strangers pay different sums of money to get glimpses of VonHesse in lingerie and sometimes even nude.
Users of the platform pledge a certain amount per month and then get access to the explicit content of the Nevada mom. The cost to subscribe goes from $5 to $50; the higher sum you are willing to pay, the more content you have access to see.
But the 30-year-old tells Yahoo Beauty that it took her a long time to love her body and be as confident as she is now — confident enough to post pictures of herself like that on the Internet.
“I was always putting myself down, my husband kept telling me I was the most beautiful girl in the world, but I didn’t believe him,” says VonHesse.
Her journey toward self-love started two years ago when she began following other body-positive Instagrammers. She says that when she saw the confidence of women who had body types similar to hers, it helped her realize her own beauty.
“Believe it or not, I was reading through the comments of the other bloggers and saw how men were telling them how beautiful they were. I began there to believe that what my husband had been telling me all along was true,” she says.
VonHesse’s husband is in the military, and he takes most of the photos of his wife himself. She says he supports her decision and is proud to have such a beautiful wife.
“My husband knows how men are,” she says. “Sometimes we make fun of all those weird comments I get on my pics.”
As for what’s next, VonHeese aspires to one day open a sanctuary for abandoned horses. As she writes on her Patreon page: “It is my dream to set up a horse rescue, first and foremost. This was little more than a crazy idea that would never happen a year ago, but with y’alls support it is going to become a reality.”
As VonHesse is a mom of two, we also had to ask how she’d feel if her children followed her into this line of work. “I think that the human body is a beautiful thing, and there is nothing to be ashamed of,” she says. “I want them to love their bodies, and if they wanna profit from sharing images, then I would be fine with that.”
Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.The best thing about baking is berries! These lemon cupcakes with blackberry icing were a huge hit at a family party. The recipe is very simple and the taste is tart yet very sweet. It’s a good cupcake for sharing.
I started with a basic vanilla cupcake and worked fresh lemon into the batter. I prefer to cut a lemon in half and hold the peeled side in my hand while squeezing. The juice flows through my fingers and it catches any pesky seeds before they make it into the batter.
I definitely used my stand mixer for the batter as it gets a little thick. The cupcakes are dense and have a unique lemon flavor. You could take the cupcake recipe and add any icing. It’s a cornerstone keeper recipe.
For the icing, I chopped the blackberries by hand but you could totally use a food processor or blender. This icing is more of a thick gl |
." Sen. Coleman Young II, D-Detroit, called the bill a continuation of a “war on women.” Opponents have said they consider the bill part of an ongoing effort to chip away at the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. “Please – can we deal with the issues we were sent up to deal with, and not this nonsense?” Young said. Sen Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, said the bill is an attempt to keep “chipping away at fundamental right to choose.” She called it a "shameless" and "backdoor" attempt to restrict access to abortions. “Women in Michigan, I hope you’re paying attention," Warren said. The bill would require more abortion providers to become licensed as freestanding outpatient surgical facilities with the state. That would add inspection and licensing requirements for the facilities, including an annual licensing fee that is now $238 annually and go could higher. But opponents of the bill say the real costs would come with physical changes to buildings that would be required at some clinics. Facilities that perform at least 120 abortions per year would require licensing under the Senate version of the bill. A House Fiscal Agency analysis from this summer says that four abortion providers are currently licensed as freestanding outpatient surgical facilities in the state. An additional 16 abortion providers in the state would require that type of licensing under the House-approved bill, according to estimates from the state’s Bureau of Health Systems. It was not immediately clear how many clinics the Senate version of the bill might affect. Republicans say they have dropped some provisions from the House bill aimed at making the bill more palatable to opponents. Some insurance requirements called for in the House version, for example, are not in the revised bill. But many critics of the bill had said the most restrictive portion of the legislation was the licensing requirements called for under the legislation. Warren said the bill bans the use of "telemedicine" related to abortions, which she said is “absolutely offensive” and restricts access. She also unsuccessfully fought to add measures aimed at reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies, including access to birth control. Warren tried unsuccessfully to pass several other amendments – including a few she said were aimed at making a point about gender parity. They would have required a man seeking a vasectomy to be examined to see if the procedure was medically necessary to prevent death. Another would have required rectal exams before prescribing erectile dysfunction medicine. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Warren said. The issue drew national attention this summer after two Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Lisa Brown of West Bloomfield and Barb Byrum of Onondaga, were banned from speaking on the House floor for one day by Republican leaders. Wednesday's vote was mostly along party lines with a few exceptions. Democrats John Gleason of Flushing and Tupac Hunter of Detroit joined Republicans in support. Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw Township, did not vote.
Email Tim Martin at tmartin4@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TimMartinMIJapan National Tourism Organization
Last month, YouTube personality Jon Jafari—known to his millions of subscribers as "JonTron"— backed himself into a particularly unsavory corner during a livestream debate held on Twitch, through making some unwarranted remarks concerning immigration. As he veered from one rhetorical disaster to another—you don't talk about "ethnic enclaves" and compare today's America to Apartheid-era South Africa without arching eyebrows—one of his examples was particularly revealing and dangerously uninformed.
During the stream—hosted on professional streamer Steve Bonnell's channel (where he's known as "Destiny")—Jafari called Japan a "model society," presenting a romanticized version of a country that, from the outside looking in, has got it all figured out. He would later go on to add, "nobody would ask Japan if it was okay if Japan became a minority Japanese nation," likely referencing how homogeneous the population is.
Jafari's beliefs are hardly unique, his opinions shared by others who reject the idea of a society that benefits from a diversified population for fear of losing their own identity, or who hold a desire to secure a presumed "purity." But I know for a fact—from personal experience and through education, having spent a lot of time there—that Japan is not the "model society" Jafari claims it to be.
Yes, I am in fact Japanese—though only ever half.
I've always been self-conscious about my mixed heritage. My mother was born and raised in Japan and went on to marry my half-Swedish father, whose blue eyes and blonde hair I did not inherit. My appearance holds no significant traits that can define exactly what I am. Not entirely white, not entirely Asian. While I can't place my finger on the source of the anxiety I have over my identity, there has always been an internalized pressure to "be" Japanese. This meant I needed to be fluent in the language, knowledgeable of the culture, and aware of every single historical event dating back to the conception of the country. I was preparing myself to take an imaginary exam that would prove to no one in particular that yes, I am in fact Japanese—though only ever half.
Japan is plagued by a number of societal and cultural issues that are often overlooked outside of the country itself, particularly by Western observers keener to celebrate its more colorful qualities. These complications—intense work ethics, high expectations placed upon students, social conformity—may appeal to people because they're supposed to be ideals that produce good results, but they do more harm than good. And such expectations, which have proven to be both physically and mentally damaging, should never be circumstances on which a "model society" are based.
The belief that Japan is considered "perfect" may be attributed to the media the country produces—and in turn, the media produced about Japan by the west, too. It's easy to look at the animated films, illustrated novels, and video games that it's well-known for and become enamored by it all.
These depictions of Japan often fall into one of two categories: First, Japan is rendered as an idealized, distant place of harmony and honor. It retains a sort of "old world" culture of loyalty and respect that the decadent west has lost—this is the Japan that Jafari suggests exists.
Second, is "weird Japan," brought to life by the are countless, recycled jokes about tentacle porn and used panties on TV sitcoms and during podcast banter. But these two depictions are not in contradiction: This skewed perception of Japan that causes many to nonchalantly chalk up any indiscretions or questionable content in Japanese media as funny national characteristic. Whether someone believe that "Japan is weird!" or if they believe it's the last bastion of a more traditional age, both visions see Japan as an exception to the complexities of modern life. It's not a real place. It's a fairy tale, a joke, or both.
All images courtesy the Japan National Tourism Organization
I'd like to emphasize that there's nothing wrong with being enthusiastic about the media that Japan creates. If your stepping stone to learning more about Japan stems from your excitement of its media, that's fantastic, and I encourage you to explore it. Japanese media isn't bad in and of itself, at all. But it only offers a small taste of what Japan is like: a place that, as it stands, clings to racial purity and remaining culturally homogenous.
Let's examine Jafari's "model society" outside of placing homogeneity as the standard. Businessmen fall asleep standing upright while riding the subway home at 10pm, beaten to the bone by a society that promotes a toxic work culture, still influenced by ancient ideals. If you're not working all the time to contribute to the good of society, then you aren't being constructive. The Japanese have a term, "Ganbatte" (頑張って), which loosely translates as "don't give up," or "do your best."
It might be a cute phrase on paper to Western eyes—but in practice, with employers looking on as workers fake-smile their way through their day, it can be completely exhausting. It's usually a term reserved for showing support but when used in a context where workers are encouraged to exhaust themselves, it's hardly uplifting. And saying that the Japanese work harder than their contemporaries in the West really isn't a compliment.
Indeed, overtime culture is such a problem that there's a term for that, too. "Karōshi" (過労死) which translates literally to "overworking death." It's such an epidemic that working yourself to death can be officially registered on a death certificate. At it's current state, Japan's work culture promotes fatigue and overwork. Consider a man who leaves early and works late, leaving little time to spend with their family at home. How can he have a healthy work-life balance if the majority of it is spent at the office? If his co-workers are staying late, then it would be dangerous for him to stand out and leave at an acceptable time.
Although this doesn't affect the entirety of Japan, there is also the very real issue of loneliness and isolation. A hikikomori is an adolescent or adult who has resigned themselves away from society and social life—they're also often described as "loners" or "hermits." The degree to which this phenomenon exists depends solely on the individual; but in the most extreme cases, people effectively vanish for several years.
Some of these hikikomoris previously go through a phase of refusing to attend school, too, for a variety of reasons ranging from anxiety to other forms of stress. Having seen the Japanese school system first hand, I don't blame them—the country's education system can be brutal and places great demands on young people.
There are high expectations, where students face significant pressure from parents and society as a whole to conform—much as their elders do when they move into employment. In both work and education, competition is fierce and breeds far too much stress to be considered healthy by the standards we generally accept in the West. Here, mental health matters are more commonly discussed, and it's become accepted that just because an employee or student isn't bearing any outward signs of pain doesn't mean they don't need help. But to many Japanese people, silent conformity is safer than becoming an outlier, where stepping away from perceived norms is to step away from society itself.
We cannot praise Japan for ethnic homogeneity as Jafari has done because it's deceptive and as illustrated, doesn't work when put into practice.
The elderly citizens of Japan greatly outnumber the young, with the country's overall population declining since 2011. The dramatic aging of Japanese citizens is a result of low sub-replacement fertility and high life expectancy. Older citizens are self-reliant and active, often taken care of by their families due to traditional household hierarchies and financial reasons. It's incredibly common for generations to live under the same roof, although this has started to change in recent years.
But when a family can no longer take care of their elderly loved ones, they move them into assisted living. Because over 33% of the Japanese population is above age 60, 25.9% are aged 65 or above, 12.5% and are aged 75 or above, placing the elderly into homes puts a massive strain on the economy and social services. With fewer working-aged individuals to contribute to society, Japan's economy is being affected. Even with an official retirement age in place, citizens can (and still do) work well into their 60s.
We cannot praise Japan for ethnic homogeneity as Jafari has done because it's deceptive and as illustrated, doesn't work when put into practice. The country has major problems around racial diversity. The issues afflicting Japan—especially the strong desire to retain group identity and exclude outside cultures—tie into the cultural issues of overwork, isolation, conformity, competition. Japan's cultural monism and deep nationalism influences the concerns I've laid out because it points to the larger problem of this mindset being associated with growth and success.
If Jafari looks at Japan and idealizes the homogeneity and focusing on that as his selling point of "too much mixing causes problems," he's also looking at the of history of a country that has essentially ignored the warning signs of an inflexible mentality.
Through the admiring lens of western exoticsm, Japan is seen as having a unique culture because of its institutions and how they contrast against Western countries. It's a homogeneous society that has a strong sense of group and national identity, with little ethnic or racial diversity. Strict immigration laws prevent Japan from being fully inclusive. It does little to help assimilate transplants into everyday life.
But these beliefs are not good—they are and have been detrimental for Japan and Japanese society. Opposing diversity and embracing a racial purity that does not exist prevents richness and variety, breeding a dangerous "us versus them" mentality.
I love Japan, and I want my second home to thrive and work to fix these issues. But a cultural shift needs to take place in order to facilitate any meaningful movement, and solutions are hard to implement because they are not immediate. Many dangerous assumptions can be drawn by labeling a country that has a complicated history and societal differences as the status quo. It's the pinnacle of ignorance. Japan—like every other place in the world—is imperfect. One should take the time to research and learn about the intricacies of the environment which is being placed on a pedestal, especially if a wide audience has access to those misconceptions.
Perhaps the concept of homogeneity is appealing because there are people afraid of America, and other countries in the West, becoming more culturally diverse—Brexit couldn't have happened without a percentage of the British population holding strong anti-immigration values. But being resistant to cultural variety has a tendency to show one's xenophobia, as Jafari's comments so clearly illustrated. To individuals like him, the melting pot cannot contain too many varieties of people, or else it'll boil over.Left Alone Launching April 28
Left Alone, the first title from two-person indie team Volumetric Games, will be launching on Steam April 28th. Along with that announcement, the launch trailer was posted, doubling the length and giving us a better idea of what to expect from the game. Damon and Matt have been putting the final touches on the game since we talked to them in February, and the new scenes from the trailer certainly show their efforts. The pair hope to redeem the reputation of horror games made with the Unity 3D engine by making a game that is fully fleshed out and well-written.
In Left Alone, you play Joel, a recently divorced man meeting his friends at a campsite in the woods. He arrives to find that the tents are set up, but the guys are missing. In his search for them, he enters a nearby abandoned boarding school, and begins to unravel a horrible secret. In the new trailer, we see that he is definitely not alone in this school- and whoever is in there, they are not his friend. With enough security cameras and lockdown features to be a prison, threatening messages left on the walls, and someone lurking in the shadows just outside the window, the school seems to be the perfect place to get over whatever you thought was bothering you before you walked inside.For the second consecutive week, the Baltimore Ravens are facing a team from the NFC North Division. This Sunday, the Ravens take on the Minnesota Vikings (4-2), at U.S. Bank Stadium, in Minneapolis. The Ravens are looking to turn their fortunes around, especially on offense. Last week, the offense performed dismally, scoring no touchdowns. In fact, Baltimore relied on two special teams touchdowns, to get the game into overtime. Now sitting at 3-3, the Baltimore Ravens need a convincing victory, to right ship. Sunday’s game against the division-leading Vikings will be difficult. but not impossible to win. For the Ravens to come out victorious, they need to improve in three key areas. The offensive line, wide receivers, and run defense, all need to step up.
Offensive Line Needs to Solidify
Last week, I identified the offensive line as one of the weak points in the Ravens offense. The offensive line, aside from its performance against the Raiders, has been a disappointment. Yes, the offensive line is banged up, missing three players for the year. However, just because the offensive line is missing Marshal Yanda and company, doesn’t mean they should be this bad. Too many times, the offensive line failed to provide quarterback Joe Flacco adequate time to find a receiver, and throw the ball. When the offensive line plays well, so does Joe Flacco. In Oakland, the offensive line kept Flacco upright all game. This resulted in Flacco playing his best football all season. He finished the game, completing 19/26 of his passes for 222 yards, with a 98.6 quarterback rating. Flacco also broke his 10 game interception streak, which was leading the NFL at the time. When the offensive line failed to protect Flacco the next week against Chicago, he struggled. Flacco completed 24/41 of his passes for 180 yards, finishing with a 48.08quarterback rating. Flacco was also intercepted twice. If the Ravens want to win this game against the Vikings, the offensive line will need to solidify and perform at a much higher level.
Wide Receivers Need to Perform
Much like the offensive line, the wide receivers for the Ravens were a weak point for Baltimore last week. Baltimore was missing their outstanding receiver, Jeremy Maclin, and also lost Breshad Perriman during the game. During the game, the battered receiving corps was unable to find separation from Chicago defenders. The Ravens receiving corps also found themselves dropping the ball at key times. Twice, the receivers failed to catch perfect passes, which lead to interceptions. On one play, Joe Flacco delivered the ball to Breshad Perriman, but Perriman took a nasty hit and flung the ball into the air. The ball was picked off and returned for a lengthy distance. On another play, Chris Moore did the same thing as Perriman, and the defensive back returned the interception for a touchdown. Michael Campanaro also dropped a ball, that would have lead to a crucial first down. Receiver Chris Matthews also tripped running his route in the end zone, resulting in him failing to get to a perfectly thrown ball. The Ravens may be missing their top three receivers for this game. Mike Wallace, Jeremy Maclin, and Breshad Perriman, along with Chris Matthews, are dealing with injuries. It’s unknown who will play and who won’t this Sunday, but it seems that Chris Matthews and Breshad Perriman will likely miss the game. For the Ravens to win this crucial game, they will need the wide receivers that do play, to play well.
Run Defense Needs to Show Up
Since losing defensive tackle Brandon Williams, the Baltimore Ravens’ run defense has been lackluster. Last week, they let up 231 yards on the ground to the Bears offense. The Ravens are optimistic that Brandon Williams could return this week. He hasn’t been ruled out yet, and it looks like it will be a game-time decision for the Ravens. Regardless if Williams is on the field, the Ravens run defense needs to improve. Baltimore’s defense can be the best in the league if their run defense returns to form. The Ravens have a massive opportunity this week, for their run defense to perform well. Since losing the stellar rookie running back, Dalvin Cook, the Vikings’ rushing attack has been lackluster. The Ravens need to take advantage of a mediocre rushing attack and shut it down. With Brandon Williams potentially returning, this looks like the most likely to occur out of all three keys to a Ravens victory.
Predicting the Ravens vs Vikings GameOver the past year, the Cruz Campaign has spent $4,972 on “floral services.” Why? (Background Image: Gage Skidmore/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
The campaign trail is, by all accounts, a greasy and exhausting slog. Also a slog? Sifting through hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports.
As spreadsheets go, though, these ones, which candidates for federal office must file every quarter, are pretty fascinating—especially when they belong to people running for president. Tucked among the acres of credit card fees, various euphemisms for cold-calling, and millions of dollars spent on postage (seriously!), were hidden nuggets of information. It was as though the candidates, so bombastic at rallies and behind podiums, had been using this medium to send more subtle messages—about their favorite Port-a-Potty brand, for example, or their abiding love for someplace called “Goode’s Armadillo Palace.”
After spending about 12 hours scrolling through all the available recent data* for each current major party candidate, Atlas Obscura had some questions. Fifty-seven questions, in fact. In alphabetical order, we present our most pressing queries.
If you have the inclination to take a spin through the documents, which are accessible via this handy online database–look for “Operating Expenditures,” under “Disbursements”—please let us know what bits of fascinating errata you find!
*Note: Senator Sanders’s expenditures were only available through September 2015; everyone else’s data ran through the end of 2015.
GOVERNOR JEB BUSH
Governor Jeb Bush, potentially looking at one of his many clocks. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
1. Does the Bush Campaign feel nervous about sourcing many of their charter flights via Moby Dick Airways LTD?
2. Why does Jeb refer to a number of his employees only by their first names?
3. What did the Bush Campaign tack up on the $22 corkboard they got from Walmart?
4. Did a Bush Campaign member get stuck in Miami in August and have to buy $218 worth of gas from a man named Kyle Radon, as this line item makes it appear?
5. What was on the menu when the Bush Campaign ate at the Ronald Reagan Foundation?
6. What Killer Track did the Bush Campaign pay $11,950 to license from Killer Tracks Music?
7. Who among the Bush Campaign bothered to expense a $1 pack of Office Depot pens?
8. Did the Bush Campaign’s SuperPAC have to front his rent deposit for him?
9. Does the Bush Campaign get a lot out of their subscription to the Wall Street Journal?
10. Why is the Bush Campaign the only campaign to patronize Lyft as well as Uber?
(BONUS) Unusual Major Expenditure Type: clocks ($434)
DR. BEN CARSON
Dr. Ben Carson, sans balloons. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
Questions for the Carson Campaign:
11. Why buy balloons at all if you, like the Carson Campaign, are only going to buy $50 worth?
12. Especially if you are also buying $31,790 worth of wristbands?
13. Does “Coolhead, Inc.” provide good digital consulting services to the Carson campaign?
14. What $7,103 service did the Carson Campaign acquire over the course of several visits to “Apple iTunes”?
15. Did the Carson Campaign prefer the Bagels or the Baguettes at Bagels & Baguettes this past August?
16. Did the Carson Campaign prefer the Dog or the Duck at Dog & Duck this past September?
17. Can one–as the Carson Campaign’s activity suggests–really buy office supplies at Sports Authority?
18. What “TOYS” did the Carson Campaign purchase on December 7th, from Amman, Jordan ($388) and London, UK ($118)?
(BONUS) Unusual Major Expenditure Type: stock photos and photoshoots ($41,857)
SECRETARY HILLARY CLINTON
Secretary Hillary Clinton, potentially excited for the petting zoo. (Photo: Hillary for Iowa/WikiCommons CC BY 2.0)
Questions for the Clinton Campaign:
19. Did the Clinton Campaign really hire a petting zoo in October?
20. And also someone named “Silly Ricky” in November?
21. Who among the Clinton Campaign got to crack open the $3,221 worth of glow sticks purchased in October?
22. Is Clinton the only person in the world with an actual LinkedIn subscription?
23. Are Clinton employees nervous to take something called the Vamoose Bus?
24. Does the Clinton Campaign’s John Podesta charge a flat $500 every time he travels?
25. Does the Clinton Campaign think they are cooler than everyone else because they have a Slack account?
26. Which of the six different portable toilet companies used by the Clinton Campaign was the best?
27. Who among the Clinton Campaign had to write the $69,878 check to Kitty Purry, Inc?
(BONUS) Unusual Major Expenditure Type: golf carts ($4,443)
SENATOR TED CRUZ
Senator Ted Cruz, perhaps practicing his Funspot moves. (Photo: Michael Vadon/Flickr)
Questions for the Cruz Campaign:
28. Where does the Cruz campaign store the $29,093 worth of flags they bought in Utah?
29. Which poor Cruz Campaign member had three different meals or snacks on an Amtrak train on August 3rd, 2015?
30. Was it the same Cruz Campaign staffer who spent $63 on food at the Kum & Go #863 in Sapulpa, Oklahoma exactly one month later?
31. What movie did Ted Cruz send his donors to in November, courtesy of tickets from Fandango.com?
32. What $622 item did the Cruz Campaign buy at a Houston Guitar Center on September 3rd, 2015, and what $595 item did they buy at that same Houston Guitar Center on September 3rd, 2015?
33. How did the Cruz Campaign store their documents, photos, etc. before signing up for a $10/month Dropbox subscription in October 2015?
34. Did anyone see the Cruz Campaign’s $5000 November Snapchat ad?
35. Did the Cruz Campaign win any prizes at Funspot in New Hampshire on November 6th?
36. How did the Cruz Campaign enjoy their several visits to someplace called Goode’s Armadillo Palace in Houston last spring?
(BONUS) Unusual Major Expenditure Type: “Floral Services” ($4,972 across 11 different states)
GOVERNOR JOHN KASICH
Governor John Kasich, maybe after a hearty Staples meal. (Photo: Michael Vadon/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 4.0)
Questions for the Kasich Campaign:
37. Is the Kasich Campaign the only one to have taken a ferry en masse (Mackinaw City, Michigan, September 2015)?
38. How did the Kasich Campaign manage to spend $128 on food at Staples?
39. Who among the Kasich Campaign required $93 Best Buy headphones?
40. How did the Kasich Campaign end up paying $1000 for a Labor Day Parade?
41. Which classy member of the Kasich Campaign decided to hire the Columbus Symphony for an event?
42. Which funky member of the Kasich Campaign settled on “Funky’s Catering” for an unspecified meal?
(BONUS) Unusual Major Expenditure Type: business cards ($672)
SENATOR MARCO RUBIO
Senator Marco “Uber” Rubio, hailing a cab? (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
Questions for the Rubio Campaign:
43. If the Rubio Campaign loves Chick-Fil-A so much, why don’t they marry it?
44. Did the Rubio Campaign enjoy their June 2015 stay at the Hard Rock Hotel?
45. What is the Rubio Campaign keeping in their $2,923 worth of storage units?
46. Which concert did the Rubio Campaign pay $189 to attend at the Iowa State Fair?
47. Whither goest thou, Rubio Campaign, in thy 793 Ubers in the night?
48. Is there actual food at the Long Beach Petroleum Club, or did the Rubio campaign just “fuel up”?
(BONUS) Unusual Major Expenditure Type: in-flight internet ($2,589)
SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS
Senator Bernie Sanders, potentially asking for more ice cream. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
Questions for the Sanders Campaign:
49. Who among the Sanders Campaign bought a $55 cell phone from Amazon.com last May, and do they call it a Berner Phone?
50. Who among the Sanders Campaign decided to spend $1473 at someplace called “Big D Party Rentals” in Texas?
51. What kind of ice cream did Ben and Jerry each donate $411 worth of to the Sanders Campaign in May?
52. What was the heaviest thing Local Muscle Movers of Portland, ME moved on behalf of the Sanders Campaign in September?
53. Do members of the Sanders Campaign make “Mail…Kymp?” jokes when paying their substantial ($2500) MailChimp bills?
54. What happened in August 2015 to shift the Sanders Campaign’s catering ethos from “The Common Man” in Claremont, NH to “Royal House: New Orleans Oyster Bar”?
(BONUS) Unusual Major Expenditure Type: mobile homes ($7,300)
MR. DONALD TRUMP
Mr. Donald Trump, sans hat. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 3.0)
Questions for the Trump Campaign:
55. Do Trump’s campaigners prefer eating at Trump Cafe, Trump Grill, or Trump Restaurants LLC?
56. What did Trump get framed for $370 in October?
57. Why aren’t there more Trump expenditures worth poking fun at?
(BONUS) Unusual Major Expenditure Type: hats ($687,700)The University of North Carolina has essentially admitted that dozens of courses taught by African-American studies professor Julius Nyang'oro were, to use non-academic parlance, baloney.
The school has not argued that athletes made up a high percentage of the students enrolled in those baloney courses.
Going a step further, a report engineered by a faculty committee concluded -- though not yet fully endorsed by the university -- that academic counselors assigned to specific teams perhaps pushed athletes to those baloney classes.
And the NCAA apparently has no jurisdiction in this matter.
Which is why, dear folks in Indianapolis, people just don't get you sometimes.
It would seem to the layman that the intersection of athletics and academic dishonesty is exactly the right spot for the NCAA to step in.
Except, as of right now, there is no indication that the NCAA will revisit or re-examine the penalties it has already inflicted on UNC and its football team for violations related to improper benefits and academic misconduct involving a tutor.Scott Beauchamp is a veteran and a writer who lives in Portland, Maine. He contributes to the Baffler, the Atlantic and Al Jazeera, among other publications.
Most Americans are familiar with the prestige that surrounds the United States military service academies. Various names and phrases, spoken like solemn incantations, attest to their sacrosanct status: the Point, the Long Gray Line, Annapolis, cadets. Their graduates constitute a who’s who of American greatness, including Ulysses Grant, Jimmy Carter, novelist James Salter and sci-fi writer Robert Heinlein, to name a few. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, in a 1962 address at West Point, typified the veneration when he told the cadets that they were “the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense.”
The service academies — the U.S. Military Academy for the Army (West Point), the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy — promise to educate and mold future officers charged with leading the enlisted members of the military.
But they are not the hallowed arbiters of quality promised by their myths. Their traditions mask bloated government money-sucks that consistently underperform. They are centers of nepotism that turn below-average students into average officers. They are indulgences that taxpayers, who fund them, can no longer afford. They’ve outlived their use, and it’s time to shut them down.
The most compelling and obvious argument is the financial one. It officially costs about $205,000 to produce a West Point graduate, although a 2003 Government Accountability Office study put the price tag at more than $300,000; officers at the Air Force and Naval academies are minted for $322,000 and $275,000, respectively. According to at least one measurement, that’s about four times as much as it costs to produce an officer through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, which trains officers-to-be while they attend civilian colleges.
One reason for the expense is that attendance at the academies is free for cadets. In fact, since they’re technically members of the armed forces, the students get paid for going to school. As Bruce Fleming, a heretical professor at the Naval Academy, wrote for Salon, they receive “a government-sponsored guarantee of a golden ticket to life: college at taxpayer expense with no student debts, the highest salary of any set of graduates, and guaranteed employment and... health benefits for at least five years, frequently well beyond.”
Perhaps risking your life in patriotic service merits lavish treatment. During my own Army service, not having to worry about housing or medical care surely allowed me to concentrate on my duties as a soldier. But graduates of the academies, which cover every possible expense for four years, make up only 20 percent of officers serving in the military. The rest are from the ROTC and Officer Candidate School, which is for college grads and enlisted personnel who want an officer’s commission. Are those other officers less deserving of a “golden ticket”?
No, because they are not merely more numerous — they are also equally (or more) effective as officers. No evidence shows that officers who attended civilian colleges, or any one of the U.S. Senior Military Colleges such as the Citadel, are lesser leaders than their service-academy colleagues. Tom Ricks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning defense journalist, put it succinctly: “After covering the U.S. military for nearly two decades, I’ve concluded that graduates of the service academies don’t stand out compared to other officers.” After all, perhaps the most preeminent Army leader in recent times, Colin Powell, is a product of the ROTC, not West Point.
This parity in skill has been slowly expressing itself in a rising number of promotions for ROTC officers over the past few decades. Thirty years ago, most Army three-star generals had graduated from West Point. As of 1997 (the last year for which data is available), only a third had. A study of naval officer ascension using data from 2003 concluded that, on average, there were no real differences in promotion rates between Naval Academy officers and ROTC officers. Of course, these arguments from statistics can’t be definitive, but they do indicate that ROTC officers are able to compete with their peers. Nearly half of the Joint Chiefs of Staff serving over the past decade bypassed the service academies.
These days, too, a little thrift wouldn’t hurt. The F-35 fighter jet, the most expensive boondoggle in weapons history, is six years late, has already cost taxpayers nearly $400 billion and still doesn’t work; in the latest budget, Congress allocated $120 million for M1 Abrams tanks the Army says it doesn’t want or need; the Daily Beast recently called the 2016 budget a Christmas present for military contractors. According to the Project on Government Oversight, it includes billions of dollars in spending that the Pentagon didn’t request.
Former defense secretary Robert Gates, who embodies bipartisan consensus, said at the Federal Innovation Summit last summer that “what is needed most of all are leaders who are prepared to challenge conventional thinking, break crockery, stop doing what doesn’t work well or at all, and set a new course.” Well, here’s our chance.
Some arguments in favor of the service academies cite the rigorous selection process. But we really have no idea how elite their students are. Admittance requires a nomination from a member of Congress, the vice president, a secretary of the respective military branch or other high-level officials. These nominations are doled out in a process with vague guidelines and nonspecific criteria, making political patronage inevitable. The academies admit recruits according to Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 6954 — which, for guidance, merely says how many cadets can be admitted, who can nominate them and where they can come from. According to an investigation by USA Today, nepotism often governs the nominations, with many going to well-connected families or big-name donors.
Fleming has complained in numerous media outlets about the low quality of the students he teaches at the Naval Academy, and he says three Freedom of Information Act requests about the admissions process haven’t gotten him any closer to understanding why some students are admitted over others.
Gore Vidal (born at West Point and connected to the institution by heritage) depicted the service academies as loathsome breeding grounds for a permanent military-elite class of “ring knockers,” as he wrote in the New York Review of Books in 1973. That’s exactly why people have been trying to shut the academies down since at least 1830, when folk hero and Tennessee congressman Davy Crockett tried to pass a bill abolishing West Point. Another attempt was made in 1863, when Sen. B.F. Wade (R-Ohio) said in the bill’s defense, “I do not believe that there can be found, on the whole face of the Earth... any institution that has turned out so many false, ungrateful men as have emanated from this institution.”
As an enlisted Army infantryman, I served under platoon leaders who attended both West Point and ROTC. All were competent and professional. But the best graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara. What made him singular was his bravery and his resourcefulness. He was willing, in small ways, to deviate from standard operating procedure when the situation called for it. He also connected to the enlisted guys in an extraordinary way.
The service academies are institutions with deep roots, but bravery and resourcefulness are eminently more American than any particular school. Our country deserves more officers like my platoon leader, and we can have them without the financial and social burden of the service academies.
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Read more from Outlook and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.One day, the CID team is on their way to a small outstation weekend break when a small incident in a road halts all their plans.They see a woman who is crossing the road with a paper bag suddenly feels suffocated for breath and it seems like an Asthmatic attack. Cops rush to her aid and try to help her. Daya takes the bag from her hand and he thinks she is pointing towards it. He just bundles it in his car and rushes back to the woman.The young woman is rushed to the hospital but she dies over there due to internal poisoning. To cops’ shock, they are told that the young woman was a human bomb, and the explosives poison killed her. Cops decide to unravel the mystery of the same. That night, Day |
dog. They would have kept ripping her apart until they killed her," said Jones.Top video: FBI asks for help identifying ISIS militantJones was taken to the hospital, where he received four staples and seven stitches for his wounds.His dog was taken to an emergency animal clinic and has an 80-percent chance to survive. The medical bill is $5,000."It's going to be heartbreaking. I don't know if I'll ever get another dog if she don't make it," said Jones.The owner of the aggressive dogs is cooperating with the investigation. It's possible the owner could be fined.14277264
An off-duty police officer helped protect a man when three dogs attacked the man's pet Wednesday night.
The homeowner, Jimmy Jones, stepped in to protect his dog Lacey on Harvey Way when a neighbor's aggressive dogs turned on him.
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"I love my dog very much, so I was trying to save her. As soon as one dog got off my dog, it bit me, and they started to attack me," said Jones.
An off-duty Cocoa police officer who lives next door intervened and fired his gun, killing two of the dogs. The third ran away but came home overnight. That dog is quarantined.
Jones says the dog should be put down.
"I think they would have killed the dog. They would have kept ripping her apart until they killed her," said Jones.
Top video: FBI asks for help identifying ISIS militant
Jones was taken to the hospital, where he received four staples and seven stitches for his wounds.
His dog was taken to an emergency animal clinic and has an 80-percent chance to survive. The medical bill is $5,000.
"It's going to be heartbreaking. I don't know if I'll ever get another dog if she don't make it," said Jones.
The owner of the aggressive dogs is cooperating with the investigation. It's possible the owner could be fined.
AlertMeThe riot gear and the matching riot gear helmet are pieces of armor in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Lonesome Road.
Contents show]
Background Edit
The riot gear is a newer version of the L.A.P.D. riot armor bearing a greener color, with a matching new model of the military helmet with still functional built-in low light optics, a combination IR/white light lamp and gas mask, and a small spike protruding from the tip of it. The brown duster has two pouches on each sleeve and two green arm bands. Unlike the standard ranger combat armor, this set has brown military pants and brown boots.
This armor was used by the special pre-War riot control officers in the Divide, under the supervision of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment wearing a recognizable helmet and a more advanced riot armor. They were charged with riot control operations in the Divide against the entire local hippie community that protested outside Hopeville against the ongoing Sino-American War.
Characteristics Edit
The helmet gives the "Red Eye" effect, which gives low visibility sight while in sneaking between 6:00PM to 6:00AM or while indoors. This will toggle from on to off upon leaving sneak mode.
Locations Edit
The Divide - You can buy the riot gear from any commissary terminal.
Hopeville armory - There are two sets of the armor; one in poor condition found inside a normal locker, and another that is in near perfect condition in an adjacent locker, requiring a Lockpick skill of 100 to unlock.
Ashton missile silo - Behind a locked door requiring a Lockpick skill of 50 in a locker on the right.
Comparison Edit
Notes Edit
This set's helmet lens have a stronger glow in the dark than the other riot gear helmets.
Unlike other unique non-faction ranger armor, this gear is unlimited and can be bought from any commissary terminal in the Divide.
The female version of the riot gear set has no significant differences from the male version, except for the waist's more defined hourglass shape.
Playing Caravan while the sneak sight is activated may make it difficult to see the cards.
The riot gear helmet, like its improved variants, is considered "Heavy" apparel. All other helmets, even power armor helmets, are classified as "light", thus it can only be repaired with other copies of itself or heavy armor, even with the Jury Rigging perk.
The Sneak Sight will turn the walls of the Camp Guardian caves blue instead of sepia.
Although this armor bears extreme resemblance to NCR Ranger combat armor, and is worn by NCR riot control officers, this armor does not affiliate you with NCR.
The helmet can be worn over the 1st Recon beret; the red of the beret will be slightly visible.
The riot gear's effect are named "Riot Geared" and the helmet's "Red Eye".
A faint "forgive" can be seen on the helmet.
Bugs EditLIVE UPDATE COVERAGE FOR THE ASIASAT-8 Launch.T-0 0125E-0411E (Local time).ALL Launch Coverage for ALL Launches is Sponsored by ATK:THIS THREAD IS FOR UPDATES ONLY. ALL NON UPDATES WILL BE REMOVED.L2 Information notes: Falcon 9 / ASIASAT-8 Launch August 5, 0125E-0325E. (Range Approved)Resources:Launch Article:SpaceX News Articles from 2006 (Including numerous exclusive Elon interviews):SpaceX News Articles (Recent):=--=SpaceX GENERAL Forum Section: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=45.0 - please use this for general questions NOT specific to this mission.SpaceX MISSIONS Forum Section: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=55.0 - this section is for everything specific to SpaceX missions.SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 - ASIASAT-8 DISCUSSION THREAD:=--=L2 Members:L2 SpaceX Section - now a dedicated full section:Dedicated L2 ASIASAT-8 Thread:PLEASE NOTE THAT WE FULLY EXPECT THE SITE TO BE VERY BUSY ON LAUNCH DAYS FOR SPACEX MISSIONS. IT IS POSSIBLE WE WILL RESTRICT IT TO FORUM MEMBERS ONLY - WITH NO ACCESS TO THE FORUM FOR GUESTS - IF THE SITE BECOMES TOO BUSY. READ THIS: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=31697.0 ^^ Per the above, and from lessons learned, we will very likely restrict to L2 and Logged in Members from T-10 minutes to 30 mins after S/C Sep. This site is simply too busy these days to cope with all the guests and thus we need to prioritize members.750 GQ 750W 80 Plus Gold Semi-Modular Power Supply is rated 4.8 out of 5 by 10.
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Also See: SIDEBAR: New U.S.-Philippines Society Refocuses Attention on Region's Newest 'Tiger'
On Oct. 7, 2012, Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III announced the signing of a peace agreement between his government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The deal, which paves the way for a settlement to one of Asia's longest-running ethnic conflicts, may turn out to be the crowning achievement of the Aquino presidency — one that's eluded half a dozen presidents before him.
Jose L. Cuisia Jr., Manila's ambassador to the United States, said the secessionist guerrilla war has killed an estimated 120,000 people since the early 1970s and has impoverished millions more on the southern island of Mindanao, whose Muslim residents have long chafed under rule by the Christian-dominated central government.
Under the complicated settlement — which took years of countless back-and-forth negotiations to achieve — the Aquino government and MILF leaders agreed to create a new political entity, called Bangsamoro, that will offer the region autonomy but not full indepedence. It also provides for a transition period over the next few years to establish this new entity, as well as passage of a "basic law" that would define the scope of power and wealth-sharing between the national government and Bangsamoro.
"The Muslims living there will enjoy more rights under the government's new setup, although there will be certain functions still retained by the central government — for example, defense, security and monetary and fiscal policy," Cuisia told The Washington Diplomat in an interview three days after Aquino's announcement. "They will be allowed to raise tax revenue in their particular area, take on subsidies from government grants and get revenue allotments from the central government.
Photo: Lawrence Ruggeri Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr.
"It's still a work in process, but the important thing is that there's an agreement in principle," the ambassador added. "I think it's a fantastic development. This is why our government immediately expressed its congratulations."
So did U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the accord "a testament to the commitment of all sides for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the southern Philippines." In a press release issued hours after Aquino's declaration, Clinton said "the next steps will be to ensure that the framework agreement is fully implemented. We encourage all parties to work together to build peace, prosperity and greater opportunities for all the people of the Philippines."
Peace, prosperity and opportunity — these days, the Philippines seems to be enjoying a little of all three. "Times are pretty good in the Philippines if you are young, skilled and live in the city. Young urban workers are helping to give the country its brightest prospects in decades," wrote Floyd Whaley in an Aug. 27 New York Times article. "With $70 billion in reserves and lower interest payments on its debt after recent credit rating upgrades, the Philippines pledged $1 billion to the International Monetary Fund to help shore up the struggling economies of Europe."
The article also noted that by HSBC estimates, the Philippines could become the 16th-largest economy in the world by 2050 if current trends hold.
Geopolitically, as tensions roil the waters of the South China Sea, where nations compete for territory and resources, the Philippines is also capitalizing on the Obama administration's military and economic "pivot" to Asia as a counterweight against growing Chinese assertiveness in the strategic waterways. That pivot was in full view as a newly re-elected President Obama made a historic visit to Burma (Myanmar) during a swing through Asia last month.
Although Manila wasn't one of the stops on the president's agenda, the Philippines has been one of the most vocal supporters of America's foray back into the Asia Pacific. In fact, U.S. foreign military financing for the Philippines nearly tripled in 2012 over the previous year, from $12 million to around $30 million, and since 2002, the Philippines has received nearly $500 million in military assistance from the United States, according to the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
The ambassador said his country's long relationship with the United States — which ruled the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 — has had its share of ups and downs, "but this is the best we've ever seen."
Bilateral ties took a nosedive in 1991 when, in the face of strident nationalism and anti-American sentiment, the Philippine Senate rejected a deal that would have turned over Clark Air Base to the Philippine government the following year while allowing the Pentagon to remain at Subic Bay Naval Base for another 10 years. Instead, the United States had to turn over Clark, one of its oldest overseas bases, to the Philippine government two months after the senate's decision; Subic Bay closed the following year.
"It was probably only in 2002 that we saw some improvement, when we joined the Coalition of the Willing in the Iraq War," Cuisia said.
More recently, "we've seen a resurgence in the relationship between the Philippines and the United States. Secretary of State Clinton has had a key role in formulating that policy, and we also give credit to the assistant secretary of state [for East Asian and Pacific affairs], Kurt Campbell. He's the one pushing for a greater role for ASEAN in the U.S.," Cuisia said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
President Obama met with the 10-member bloc for the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last month, and his administration has increasingly turned to ASEAN to settle the various territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Beijing prefers to handle the disagreements through direct negotiations, where it will wield more power. But the United States — declaring that freedom of navigation in the economically vital waters is in its "national interest," much to China's ire — has pushed for the standoff to be addressed peacefully in a multilateral setting.
The focus of all the competing claims are hundreds of rocky outcroppings that make up the Spratly Islands, which didn't attract much international attention until the late 1990s, when surveys indicated the possibility of large oil and gas reserves underneath the seabed.
Four of the six claimants to the Spratlys — Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines — are ASEAN member states; the other two are China and Taiwan.
"But it's only Vietnam and the Philippines which have experienced incursions by Chinese fishing vessels and marine surveillance vessels," said Cuisia, noting a 1988 confrontation between China and Vietnam that killed 64 Vietnamese soldiers. And in March 2011, Chinese patrol ships harassed a Philippine scientific vessel and fired across the bows of Philippine fishing boats in waters within the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone covering the Spratlys.
In April of this year, however, Philippine Navy personnel boarded Chinese fishing vessels at Scarborough Shoal, claiming they had found illegally harvested coral and marine life. The move quickly drew Chinese surveillance ships and eventually gunboats from both sides to the tiny band of coral rocks and reef in a dangerous escalation that lasted two months.
Credit: DOD photos by D. Myles Cullen President of the Philippines Benigno S. Aquino III, right, meets with U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint of the Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas Jr. in Manila on June 4, 2012.
Asked about such skirmishes, the ambassador said: "Our claim is with reference to our 200-mile exclusive economic zone as specified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. If it is within our 200-mile EEZ, we will defend that."
But experts say that kind of thinking could spark a major conflict that entangles many players. "The United States could be drawn into a China-Philippines conflict because of its 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines," Bonnie S. Glaser of the Center for Strategic and International Studies points out in the report "Armed Clash in the South China Sea."
One potential flashpoint, for example, could be natural gas drilling in the area of Reed Bank. "Oil survey ships operating in Reed Bank under contract have increasingly been harassed by Chinese vessels," Glaser wrote, noting that Manila intends to award 15 exploration contracts over the next few years for offshore exploration near Palawan Island. "Reed Bank is a red line for the Philippines, so this contingency could quickly escalate to violence if China intervened to halt the drilling."
In the report "Stirring up the South China Sea: Regional Responses" released over the summer, the International Crisis Group argues that there's plenty of blame to go around for stoking tensions.
"Increasingly assertive positions among claimants have pushed regional tensions to new heights. Driven by potential hydrocarbon reserves and declining fish stocks, Vietnam and the Philippines in particular are taking a more confrontational posture with China," the International Crisis Group said.
"All claimants are expanding their military and law enforcement capabilities, while growing nationalism at home is empowering hardliners pushing for a tougher stance on territorial claims. In addition, claimants are pursuing divergent resolution mechanisms; Beijing insists on resolving the disputes bilaterally, while Vietnam and the Philippines are actively engaging the U.S. and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations."
But the issue has split ASEAN. At the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh last month, the Philippines and summit host Cambodia butted heads over bringing the issue up at the regional gathering, with Cambodia, an ally of China, refusing to "internationalize the South China Sea from now on," according to a foreign ministry official.
That prompted a blunt response from President Aquino, who tersely challenged that statement, saying, "For the record, this was not our understanding. The ASEAN route is not the only route for us. As a sovereign state, it is our right to defend our national interests."
The kerfuffle mirrored an earlier breakdown at a July gathering of ASEAN foreign ministers in Cambodia, where the bloc failed to agree on a joint communiqué for the first time in its 45-year history because of the South China Sea impasse. The Philippines had wanted a communiqué to mention the confrontation between Manila and Beijing at Scarborough Shoal, but Cambodia seemed to bow to Chinese pressure to shelve the draft, saying the island disputes were bilateral issues.
"This was a spectacular failure for the regional grouping and an outcome that, on the surface, seemed not to be in any nation's interests," wrote Ernest Z. Bower of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a July 20 commentary.
"Fundamentally, the chaos at the [meeting] appears to be an outcome manipulated by a China that has decided that a weak and divided ASEAN is in its national interests. Understanding that fact, and the fact that ASEAN has the capacity and commitment to overcome China's shortsighted campaign to break its ranks, is a necessary condition for advising the policies of countries that want to advance regional structures that will promote peace, security and prosperity in the Asia Pacific."
That's precisely why Cuisia says ASEAN needs to adopt a code of conduct to minimize the short-term risks of a flare-up and ultimately resolve the various sovereignty claims. The bloc has formally asked China to start talks on such a code, but whether any kind of multilateral legal framework can be established — it's been talked about for years — is highly doubtful.
"We have had diplomatic protests but we've not been able to resolve the issue. We're hoping that a code of conduct will be discussed with China and agreed upon, which would then guide all the countries of the region," Cuisia said. "We believe it is important that we have a rules-based system anchored in international law, and that this issue should be settled peacefully and diplomatically if possible. We want to ensure freedom of navigation and unimpeded, lawful commerce. Those are the same objectives of the U.S. government."
Indeed, both Washington and Manila see eye to eye when it comes to the foreign policy dilemma in the South China Sea (which Manila unilaterally renamed the West Philippine Sea this September, one of many names competing countries have given the waterway).
U.S. service members brief U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during his visit to Camp Navarro in the Philippines, which has increased its military ties with the United States in the wake of the various island disputes in the South China Sea.
When Aquino visited the White House in June after the Scarborough Shoal faceoff, President Obama said the Philippines and United States would "consult closely together" as part of the pivot back to Asia," which he said should serve as a reminder that "the United States considers itself, and is, a Pacific power."
And in October, U.S. Marines joined their Philippine counterparts for 10 days of joint exercises in the South China Sea. As the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard — which once docked in Subic Bay — cruised through the disputed waters, the show of military might annoyed Chinese officials but reassured Southeast Asian allies such as the Philippines and Vietnam of American support.
But in a speech at the D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario said that the United States could lend even more support. He lamented that the overall share of U.S. military funding to his strategic nation has actually dropped, with Manila's portion of funding accounting for 35 percent of the total given to East Asia this year, compared to more than 70 percent in 2006.
Del Rosario, who served as Manila's envoy in Washington from 2001 to 2006 (and was profiled in the September 2003 issue of The Washington Diplomat), also urged the United States to lift conditions on military financing because of concerns over human rights violations and extrajudicial killings, saying his government has been addressing those concerns.
Overall, however, bilateral military ties are stronger than ever, with Washington sharing data with Manila, which in turn has given U.S. forces greater access to its airfields and ports.
In fact, these days, both the Clark and Subic Bay bases, once the source of strife between the two nations, are thriving economic zones.
"When the U.S. bases were there, they had 40,000 military and civilian personnel working there. Now they have 160,000," Cuisia pointed out. "We are the fourth-largest shipbuilding industry in the world, and a lot of Taiwanese companies are located at Subic. At Clark, we have Samsung, and Yokohama will build the world's largest tire factory there."
Just as the Philippines has patched up its once rocky alliance with the United States, paving the way for greater economic cooperation, the government is hoping that peace on its southern front will usher in newfound prosperity.
The roots of the Muslim uprising on the southern island of Mindanao reach back to the U.S. colonization of the Philippines in the late 19th century and escalated following Philippine independence in 1946. For decades, Muslims living in the area had complained of official discrimination against the native Moro population in housing and education, as well as an official government policy of settling Catholic Filipino emigrants in Mindanao.
The early 1970s saw the rise of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and soon after, the more conservative Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which broke away from the MNLF in 1978. The MILF dreamed of establishing an independent homeland governed by Islamic Sharia law — and received help from both Malaysia and Libyan strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi — though by the early 1990s, that support had pretty much dried up.
In 1997, months after the MNLF signed a peace accord with the government, talks began with the MILF aimed at resolving the conflict. But peace remained elusive until Aug. 4, 2011, when the newly elected Aquino met secretly with MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo, marking the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since the beginning of peace talks in 1997. Exploratory negotiations were held in Kuala Lumpur, leading to formal talks and finally the "framework agreement" reached in October.
"This conflict has been going on through the second half of the 20th century, said Hank Hendrickson, executive director of the recently formed U.S.-Philippines Society (see sidebar). "The issue hasn't really been a question of a separate state but degrees of autonomy. This Kuala Lumpur agreement is a new and hopeful effort to establish autonomy in the region."
The society's president, John F. Maisto, said the credibility of the Aquino government is what's really changed.
"When you're dealing with a government that makes under-the-table deals based on politics — as you had in the Philippines throughout the 20th century — it gets very messy. So this is a welcome turn of events," he told The Diplomat. "It's certainly a step in the right direction, and it's going to depend upon evidence of good faith on both sides as they move this process along."
Joshua Kurlantzick, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, cites four specific reasons to believe that this time, the peace is for real.
"For one, the Philippine armed forces increasingly realize that they have other threats to focus on, namely China — a threat for which they are woefully unprepared, as reflected by the horrendous state of the Philippine Navy, which has been exposed in the current crisis over the South China Sea," said Kurlantzick, writing Oct. 9 on the deal.
"Secondly, the agreement offers people in the south more than previous negotiations, promising them a potential Muslim autonomous region in the south that would be better governed, and less likely to descend into a mafia state than previous efforts at autonomy," he said.
"Third, President Aquino seems to enjoy more genuine trust from rebel leaders, and people in the south, than previous presidents dating back to Joseph Estrada," added Kurlantzick. "Finally, this proposed peace deal, by creating the possibility for real economic development, offers the chance to reduce inequality in the south, and reduce the anger among poorer Muslim groups in the south against the generally wealthier Christian minority in Mindanao."
The ambassador agrees that Aquino's popularity was crucial to getting the job done.
"The United States has, of course, been pushing for a peace agreement, but it was really the leadership of our president, who met with the vice chairman of the MILF in Tokyo to discuss principles, which has resulted in this agreement," he said.
"They saw that the president is sincere and enjoys unprecedented trust. His popularity ratings are at 77 percent, and he's been in office just over two years," Cuisia added. "He realizes that unless we have peace in that area, we cannot have sustainable economic development."
To that end, said Cuisia, "Mindanao has tremendous economic potential — it has lots of mineral deposits and very fertile land, and they don't get typhoons."
Roughly the size of Indiana, 37,660-square-mile Mindanao is the easternmost of the 7,107 islands that comprise the Philippines. With 21.5 million people, it's home to nearly a fourth of the country's population. Yet the island's agriculture-based economy — dominated by bananas, pineapples, palm oil and other plantation crops — has left the vast majority of Mindanao's people impoverished for the benefit of a relative few.
The peace agreement, assuming it holds, is one of several bright spots in an economic outlook that until just a few years ago seemed rather grim.
"When we look back at the [Ferdinand] Marcos years, martial law was imposed in 1972 and lasted until 1985," Cuisia recalled. "Our economy did very badly during those years, especially after the assassination of Sen. Benigno Aquino, father of our current president. Inflation shot up over 18 percent, and interest rates were as high as 43 percent. Our international reserves had been practically depleted by the Marcos government. When the new government took over in 1983, it had less than $1 billion in reserves."
However, it did possess an estimated 1,220 pairs of shoes left behind by the former first lady, Imelda Marcos — who along with her husband made world headlines for indulging in a lavish lifestyle while millions of Filipinos went to bed hungry every night. (The shoe collection, sitting in a section of Manila's National Museum, is now worthless, having fallen victim years ago to termites, typhoons and government neglect.)
These days, things are very different. Poverty and graft are still endemic, but the Philippines is a democracy, and the economy is strong. During the first half of 2012, the country's GDP expanded by 6.1 percent. That's down from last year's 7.6 percent growth rate, but Cuisia says the 2011 figure was partially fueled by election-year spending.
One of the most promising industries is the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.
Cuisia said the Philippines is now the world's leading call-center employer, surpassing even India, where rents in Bangalore and other major cities have become excessively high.
At the moment, the BPO industry employs about 640,000 Filipinos — working mainly in customer service, tech support and legal/medical transcription. The largest single employer is Cincinnati-based Convergys, with 26,000 employees in 18 call centers throughout the Philippines, followed by Accenture, with 24,000, and IBM with just over 20,000. Other large players in this industry are J.P. Morgan, American Express, United Airlines, Citibank, Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
In addition to lower overhead, the Philippines has another advantage over India: the English spoken there is much closer to American English.
"We're more familiar with American jargon, TV programs and NFL sports," Cuisia said. "For example, if an American customer cracks a joke, it's very likely someone working at an Indian call center won't get it, whereas the Filipino would understand. Also, the Filipino call centers tend to be warmer and more accommodating, where the Indian call centers tend to be argumentative."
Cuisia predicted that by 2016, about 1.2 million Filipinos will be working in the BPO sector, generating $25 billion a year. That's even more than the current top earner, electronics, which now accounts for 40 percent of foreign exchange. Meanwhile, remittances from the 9 million Filipinos working abroad, mostly in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, will bring in around $21 billion this year.
Cuisia, 68, is a political appointee. Raised in Manila, he speaks Tagalog as well as English and Spanish. Like many Filipinos, he was educated in the United States — first at Philadelphia's La Salle University, then at the Wharton School, where he earned an MBA in 1970. The aspiring executive then worked in New York for Arthur Young & Co. In later years, he headed the country's social security system, then became governor of the Central Bank and chairman of the Monetary Board — finally becoming CEO of insurance giant AIG's Philippine subsidiary, Philam.
Since coming to Washington in 2011, a big part of Cuisia's job is promoting trade and investment in the Philippines. That's why, in late October, he joined 42 other Washington-based foreign ambassadors on a State Department-sponsored "Experience America" trip to Arkansas. There, Cuisia met with former President Bill Clinton, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, and top officials of Fortune 500 companies and educational institutions.
"We focus on our military and security cooperation, and I do a lot of lobbying with the Pentagon and the State Department, but I also meet with the [Office of the U.S. Trade Representative] and try to get the Commerce Department to organize trade missions to the Philippines," he said.
To that end, he's pushing hard for passage of the Save Our Industries Act.
Introduced in the Senate by Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and in the House by Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), the SAVE Act now has eight bipartisan Senate sponsors and 21 bipartisan House sponsors. If passed, it would allow Philippine apparel made of U.S. fabric to enter the United States duty-free. The Philippines is particularly known for its needlework skills, as well as the ability to assemble more tailored, embellished products at the mid- to high-end market tier.
Cuisia said that over time, it's becoming more difficult for Philippine apparel manufacturers — whose workers now earn $300 to $400 a month — to compete against their much lower-wage Chinese rivals. At present, the Philippine share of the U.S. garment market stands at 2 percent, compared to 38 percent for China.
"We're trying to push this SAVE bill to enable us to be more competitive. I've spent a lot of time trying to explain this to legislators," the ambassador said, noting that he's also attempting to get the word out to the 2.5 million Filipino-Americans in the United States.
Maria Alvero, commercial counselor at the Philippine Embassy, said the SAVE Act "is a stepping stone to the Trans-Pacific Partnership," which the Philippines has expressed interest in joining.
But that can't happen, Cuisia warned, until his country relaxes its rules on foreign investment in critical sectors of the Philippine economy. Under current law, foreigners are limited to between 20 and 60 percent of equity in specific ventures depending on the type of business in question.
"We'd have to amend our constitution. There are certain economic provisions that restrict foreign ownership in retail trade, education, advertising and shipping," he said. "That's why for us to qualify under TPP, we have to remove all those restrictions. Generally the business sector is in favor, but it'll take time."
About the Author
Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.Share this...
Scottish Skeptic here has tabulated a ranking of climate science blog sites. To no one’s surprise Anthony Watts’s Watts Up With That? took the no. 1 spot, followed by Marc Morano’s Climate Depot. The ranking was done using internet site rating service Alexa.
First I’m really thrilled to see that NoTricksZone made it all the way to the number 13 14 spot, even bumping out RealClimate. I’m really surprised by this result. Not bad for something I’m doing on the side with the help of reader contributions such as those from Ed Caryl. Thanks to both loyal and occasional readers!
65% are skeptic or luke-warmer
Having done a quick count of the warmist sites, I came up with 48 from a total of 137. That’s crunches to be only 35%. That’s a far cry from the 97% the warmists like to try to have the rest of the world believe.
That means that almost two thirds of all climate science blogs are very skeptical or somewhat skeptical of the IPCC science (skeptic or luke-warmer). That’s hardly a consensus! Many of the skeptic sites are run by scientists and meteorologists…also showing that that “consensus among experts” is a complete myth.
Moreover, the top 20 sites are clearly dominated by skeptics.The #AMPLIFY project needs your support to continue growing this archive. Please consider sharing your story today and/or making a donation to the project. Thank you.
Name: Michael Buzzelli
Age: 50
County of Residence: Allegheny, previously Los Angeles
Pronouns: He
How do you describe your identity? Gay male
Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I was very lucky. I came out in the 80s. While I’ve had a lot of friends who had difficulties coming out, I had a very supportive family and a large fry of friends.
How would you describe yourself NOW in terms of “being out”? I am a very proud gay man. I live without shame. I will continue to stand up for the rights of everyone who feels ostracized. I will continue to resist the current administration that seems to be harmful to LGBTQ people, ethnicities and others.
Tell me about the first LGBTQ person whom you met. What impact did they have on your life? My first group of friends in the LGBTQ community had a significant impact on me.
Past or present, favorite LGBTQ character or creator in television, film or literature? Please tell us why. When I was a kid I watched Billy Crystal as Jody on “Soap.” He was one of the first out characters on a popular television show. I was also heavily influenced by E.M. Forster’s work, and the poetry of Walt Whitman and Constantine Kavafy.
How do you stay informed about LGBTQ issues? Several sources on the Internet. Qwerty. The Washington Blade…etc.
Describe your geographical community. I am in an urban environment and I think it’s been a very friendly to me. I am also involved in the Pittsburgh arts scene and it’s very inclusive.
Describe your local or regional LGBTQ community. I’m in the Pittsburgh metro area.
Help us continue to tell these stories. Donate to #AMPLIFY today!
Have you ever experienced discrimination based on your identity? Specifically, in a job setting, when applying for housing or while in public. I had an incident living in Virginia when I was just out of college and working at a Food Lion ( a local grocery store) and management asked me if I was a “homosexual.” I said yes. They didn’t fire me but I quit shortly after that.
Tell us about your access to health care in Western PA. Has it been LGBTQ competent (or not?) I did have am occurrence with in a proctology office. After a colonoscopy, I asked the doctor (who was filling in for my regular gastroenterologist) “When can I have anal sex again?” And he said, “You shouldn’t ever do that.” I asked to see another doctor.
Are there issues impacting your LGBTQ neighbors that aren’t visible or part of the local dialogue? I think the current situation in our federal government must change. We were moving forward nicely before last November.
What would you like to see elected officials do to improve life for LGBTQ Pennsylvanians? Move forward not backward.
Please share a lived experience, anecdote or fact about life as an LGBTQ person in your community. I remember when I was just coming out in high school and a female friend said to me, “I bet you could change if I found the right woman for you |
particular wanted to be told.
"I remember when I heard Nelson Mandela's name mentioned at barbecues or dinner parties, the words 'terrorist' or 'bad man' was an umbilical cord almost to his name. As a young kid I wish I'd had questions about it, but I never did. I just thought that guy's maybe not a good guy, because sadly we didn't engage with our parents.
"You didn't ask questions like why black kids don't go to school with you, why is it just all white? That's how you grew up, which is very wrong and very sad. I wish I'd had the courage of conviction to ask questions, but I didn't. It's about exposure."
It was only when Pienaar went to university on a sports scholarship that he found himself exposed to different cultures, speaking English and having debates about politics and the country's future. "We'd just gone through 1985, a very dark year in South Africa's history, so it was topical at university. There were talks and rumours about Mr Mandela being released and white South Africans in particular feared the worst.
"Many were very conservative South Africans who were stocking up on food, thinking it's going to be Armageddon, civil warfare. I can understand that, not that I agreed with it. They feared that if this man who had been put in jail for 27 years, and was not handled particularly well as a prisoner, comes out, he's going to be slightly peeved.
"What he says the nation will do. So if Mr Mandela came out of prison and said, 'Listen, this is wrong, we're taking over the country now by force,' it would have been civil warfare. Then he came out and he didn't. The conservative people were, 'We're just waiting for this to happen'. It never happened."
Mandela's release and the fall of apartheid meant an end to international sanctions and sporting boycotts. A year after the first multiracial democratic election in 1994, the country hosted the Rugby World Cup, traditionally an Afrikaner sport that saw black people cheering for the opposition. But Mandela understood the importance of surprise and the grand gesture. He resisted pressure to scrap the springbok, the team's despised emblem, and rallied the nation around the players.
"During those six weeks what happened in this country was incredible," Pienaar said. "I'm still gobsmacked when I think back to the profound change that happened. We started obviously with a great leader with a fantastic vision who realised that sport is important for the Afrikaner white community and to earn their respect and trust.
"But on the other side I have such a respect for what he had to go through in the African National Congress because the springbok was a symbol of apartheid. The majority of South Africans never supported the Springboks, so to ask them to support them for the first time was a massive ask.
"Through the course of those six weeks, because he asked them and we came to the party in terms of playing good rugby and building a nice momentum towards the final, things happened in South Africa that were just magical."
For the final there were 63,000 people in the stadium and 62,000 were white. With a stroke of PR genius, Mandela appeared in the green-and-gold Springbok jersey and cap: "It's well documented that Mr Mandela walked out into Ellis Park in front of a predominantly white crowd, very much an Afrikaner crowd, wearing a springbok on his heart and how they shouted, 'Nelson, Nelson, Nelson!' because what he'd promised he delivered. And when the final whistle blew this country changed for ever. It's incomprehensible."
The events became the subject of a book and film, Invictus, starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman and directed by Clint Eastwood. Pienaar and Mandela became close over the years until ill health forced the latter to withdraw from public life. Last week came the sad but inevitable news of his demise.
"It's a time for celebration, celebrating what he did and what he stood for, and also time for reflection and mourning obviously," Pienaar said.
"But hopefully it will be tears of joy that South Africa has been so blessed to have a man who put us on a very important road, and just hope the leaders following him will not only use his name for effect but because they truly believe in what he stood for, and build on that."“We’re gonna keep jumping the truck ‘til we break the record, or break the truck.” Not our words (surprisingly), but the words of Joe Sylvester, driver of Bad Habit, a 4535kg, 1400hp monster truck that’s just broken the world record monster truck distance jump at the Cornfield 500.
Yep, this Ram-bodied giant managed to jump 72.42 metres - that’s more than 42 Richard Hammonds. Sylvester hit the launch ramp at 85mph, only 1mph short of the current monster truck land-speed record, and landed so violently he destroyed Bad Habit’s front suspension. And some of, er, America…
Sylvester says: “The level of risk is about as high as you can go in a monster truck. I can’t really think of anything else that would be higher risk than that. If you crash at that speed and from that height it’s pretty devastating”.
Having first claimed the record in 2010 with a 63.39-metre jump, he doesn’t think he’ll have to defend it any time soon. “It’s not a matter of difficulty. It’s if they’ve got the balls to hit a jump at 85 miles per hour, and as far as I know there’s not anybody ready to step up and take that kind of a chance yet.”
Now watch. Then check out this monster truck near miss, the time Hammond taught a nun to drive one, and our drive in a rather large Fiat Panda….(CNN) Turf cutter Jack Conaway was cutting peat for fuel in the Emlagh bog when he made a surprising and smelly discovery.
Buried 12 feet under, Conaway found a massive 22 pound (10 kilogram) chunk of butter estimated to be 2,000 years old.
Oddly enough, such encounters are not unusual.
Hundreds of lumps of bog butter have been found in Ireland and Scotland, dating back over thousands of years, according a study published in The Journal of Irish Archaeology.
Jack Conaway gave the huge chunk of bog butter to the Cavan County Museum.
In 2013, a fellow turf cutter in County Offaly found a massive container holding 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of bog butter believed to be 5,000 years old.
The Cavan County Museum says in medieval times, butter was a luxury product that was used to pay taxes and rents.
JUST WATCHED Mummified monk found in ancient statue Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Mummified monk found in ancient statue 01:26
"It was sometimes used as a offering to the spirits and gods to keep people and their property safe -- when used as offerings it would have been buried and never dug up again," the museum said on its website.
Conditions in bogs -- low temperatures, high levels of acidity and minimal oxygen -- make them effective refrigerators, the museum said.
Archaeologists say that bog butter is crumbly, with a waxy texture and overwhelming cheese smell.
However, despite bog butter being technically edible, researchers advise against eating it.HOUSTON—The process of staging the NBA’s all-star weekend is elaborate and time-consuming and it’s impossible for things to happen without a huge amount of lead time.
People with knowledge of the hospitality industry in Toronto say league officials have already been in the city making inquiries about hotel availability and convention space.
According to several sources, Maple Leaf Sports and the Raptors have already begun the process of submitting an official bid to host the 2016 all-star game to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the franchise and to bring one of the league’s most popular events to an international venue for the first time ever.
“There are two (2015) applications in, one from Brooklyn and one from the Garden,” said commissioner David Stern.
League sources said there have been no other expressions of interest yet in the 2016 event; the 2014 weekend is scheduled for New Orleans and NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said here Saturday night that either Brooklyn or New York are odds-on favourites to host the 2015 game.
“We don’t consider anything in a vacuum,” said Stern. “We announce that bids are open for future all-star games.”
The league accepts bids for all-star games from cities interested in hosting them that include specifics on hotel and convention space and arena modifications needed to stage the event. The league does not solicit bids from specific cities.
The Raptors have never bid for the game, often because of a lack of space for the massive NBA Jam Session that’s part of the weekend; that won’t be an issue for 2016, sources said.
For the departing Stern, the event here will be the last he’ll preside over since he is scheduled to retire weeks before the 2014 game.
He said his greatest memory of the past 30 years was awarding the most valuable player trophy to Magic Johnson in 1992, when Johnson returned to basketball months after announcing his retirement after contracting the AIDS virus.
“Giving sweaty Magic Johnson a big hug right after he hit the last three and still being able to hug him, because he’s alive every time I see him, that is at the top of the list,” said Stern. “And it will not easily be dislodged. Even though I do enjoy every all-star game, that one will resonate for the rest of my life.”
Silver, who assumes the commissioner’s duties next February, said the selection process isn’t likely to change and while it might be intriguing to take the extravaganza to neutral cities, perhaps in Europe, that might not be workable.
“We’ve discussed playing internationally.... I’m not sure if it will work logistically, but it’s something we’ll continue to study,” he said. “We’ve looked at other neutral cities. We’ve looked at refreshing All-Star Saturday Night and other innovative events for the weekend, and I think we’ll continue to do that, the same way we have under David’s leadership.”
The game itself has become almost secondary to the “event” that encompasses it. When Stern took over, it was a one-day spectacle, just the game on a Sunday. The NBA took a page from the ABA and started to stage a dunk contest and an old-timers game on the Saturday.
Now there is the four-day jam session, events on the Friday night and all day and night Saturday, with the Sunday game wrapping up an exhausting weekend.
“I think probably the most drastic change that I’ve seen and I’ve experienced, as a kid growing up overseas, you couldn’t watch the game live,” 15-time all-star Kobe Bryant, who spent part of his youth in Italy, told The Associated Press. “You know what I mean?
“It was on delay, would come on the next day, it wouldn’t be a big publicized thing, you’d have to kind of search it out. Until now, it’s televised live across how many countries? That speaks to his influence, that speaks to his business savvy.”The second half of the series plays out predominately, as Steven Avery’s defense team attempt to prove the Manitowoc County Sheriffs planted evidence at the crime scene. The filmmakers, Moria Demos and Laura Riccadi, consistently juxtapose the Avery family with various authoritative figures in Manitowoc Country to subtly show how class systems contribute to corruption in our communities. The B-roll footage shown of Manitowoc County and the Avery estate create a desolate backdrop for a tale about a man’s misfortune. In addition, the film editor (Demos) uses this additional footage to visually show how time passes and some things standstill, as the seasons change, but Avery’s salvage stays the same. The Making A Murderer Netflix series surpasses its docu-series genre, because the narrative is meticulously constructed to tell an unprecedented case of injustice. While watching the series I constantly keep comparing the show to two fictional crime series, Netflix’s Narcos and HBO’s The Wire. Now Narcos is a fictional retelling of America’s involvement in apprehending Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar. The writers infuse their story with elements of magical realism as they boldly walk the line separating fact from fiction. Making A Murderer filmmakers take almost the opposite approach, as they are telling an unbelievable story through the use of actual footage and audio recordings. I also compare this show to HBO’s The Wire, because every episode begins with an opening thesis that is proven before the credits roll. Granted, The Wire is a fictional TV crime drama, but numerous critics have praised the show for its authenticity. Demos and Riccadi may use common crime show tropes to construct this narrative, but everything we see still happened; maybe that’s the most unsettling thing of all.
Testing the Evidence 1×06
“There is a substantial amount of physical evidence that now makes sense,” protests Ken Kratz after refusing to comment on any DNA evidence that supports Brendan Dassey’s disturbing confession. This press conference is held a day after Dassey’s arrest and a year before Steven Avery’s trial. Brendan’s confession prompts the crime investigators to re-search the Avery estate, specifically the garage. Avery’s defense team continues to refute the DNA evidence found four months after the initial search on the Avery property. There’s a significant difference between the Ken Kratz press conference footage found during the opening sequence and the scenes featuring the press questioning both the prosecution and defense teams after these court sessions. The opening sequence depicts Ken Kratz deceptively orchestrating the press to turn against the Avery family. In contrast to the media being used as the audience’s avatar during Steven Avery’s trial proceedings. They ask the same questions viewers have after Dean Strang and Jerry Buting discredits the prosecution’s DNA evidence and their Brendan Dassey story. “The evidence ain’t make no sense. If the state ain’t got to prove nothing then an innocent person always got to prove himself,” insists Steven Avery during a recorded phone interview. This episode illustrates how the burden of truth shifts from the prosecution to the defense team. An unsettling revelation as Dean Strang discusses the jury’s predisposition to believe that their police departments are “the good guys”, even though the evidence suggests the contrary in this scenario.
Framing Defense 1×07
“I want to emphasize that the investigation is being conducted by the Calumet County Sheriff’s department, the state of Wisconsin division of criminal investigation, and the FBI,” explains Sheriff Jerry Pagel during a press conference, insisting the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s department played a very limited role in the investigation. A statement that filmmakers, Demos and Riccadi, refute through their summary of Steven Avery’s framing defense. The cross-examination scenes reaffirm both the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department’s desire to convict Avery of this crime and the possible conspiracy underlying the entire murder investigation. The after trial press conference footage continues to draw a stark dichotomy between Avery’s defense team and the prosecution. There’s apparent denial in both Norm Gahn and Ken Kratz’s refusal to give credence to any possible conspiracy undermining their evidence. In comparison to the conviction, in both Dean Strang and Jerry Buting’s statements about arguing a framing defense on behalf of their client. The contrast between the two opposing sides further presents this case as a true underdog story. “The sentence will be life in prison if we lose count one,” explains Dean Strang to the Avery family. This final note in the episode reaffirms the stakes of the trial. Steven Avery already lost 18 years due to one wrongful conviction, now he face losing the rest of his life, unless the jury finds him not guilty on “count one.”
The Great Burden 1×08
“In some ways to be the accused is to lose every time, what you can hope to get back is your liberty, eventually,” states Dean Strang during a recorded interview. This sentiment is seen after we observe Allen Avery talking about his and Steven’s plans for when he gets his freedom back, someday. The closing arguments footage from both sides is brilliantly edited together to reiterate both parties’ stance on the Teresa Halbach murder case. This eighth installment features more quiet moments with Steven Avery’s parents, as they await to hear the jury’s verdict. The stillness works in favor of the narrative structure as it escalates the dramatic tension. Steven Avery is found guilty, but the case is not over, as Brendan Dassey returns to the fold. “What about my statements and that… well they kept asking me all those questions and that… until they heard what they wanted.” This episode concludes with a cliffhanger as Brendan Dassey enters the courtroom for his trial. Again, Demos and Riccadi skillfully entice the viewers to continue watching how this case unfolds, even though Steven Avery has already been found guilty. They give us hope as Brendan Dassey’s lawyers have a motion passed for the jury to be from out of state. Then Demos and Riccadi raise the stakes, as Dean Strang reminds the Avery family (and the viewers) that this situation is more unfortunate for a seventeen year old boy, “who was never really given a chance at life.”
Lack of Humility 1×09
“Well if they framed Steven Avery, the question is if Brendan’s case is a whole charade too… is the jury going to believe that he confessed to a murder that he never even committed,” speculates Jerry Buting during the opening sequence; meanwhile both courtroom footage from both Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey play to visually draw the parallels between their misfortunes. Brendan’s case is condensed into one episode in the series, as his peril is a direct consequence of the animosity between the state prosecutors and the Avery defense team formed during Steven’s trial. If the state prosecutors lose the Brendan Dassey case this would increase Steven Avery’s chance for an appeal. There’s a lack of humility in the prosecution as they cross-examine both Brendan Dassey and Kayla Avery on the stand. The Avery cousins’ testimonies depict their vulnerability not only through their blood ties, but also as children. In turn their innocence is prayed upon and manipulated to service the prosecution’s needs. Brendan’s conversations over the phone with his mother continue to illicit sympathy as he continues to behave as a kicked puppy, whose hoping if he plays dead then they’ll leave him alone. “The forces that caused that… I don’t think are driven by malice, I think are expressions of ordinary human failings,” explains Dean Strang, “The consequences are what are so sad and awful.” This interview footage setups the final chapter in the Avery saga, as the fight is taken from the courtroom and placed back into everyday life. The Avery family continues to live in a community that has made a mockery of their name, while both Steven and Brendan continue to fight from inside a cage.
Fighting for Their Lives 1×10
The final chapter in Steven Avery’s story begins as we return to his abandon trailer. There’s a hollowness felt as we are shown his bedroom, kitchen, a busted pipe causing water damage, and an old 2007 calendar still hanging on the wall. The empty trailer also depicts how Steven Avery is still frozen in time, even though everyone else has already moved on with their lives, he can’t. “We had a pretty good idea going into this prosecution, the kind of individual Mr. Avery was, we think that what Mr. Avery did to Ms. Halbach should speak volumes to the kind of person Mr. Avery is,” states Ken Kratz during a press conference following Steven Avery’s verdict, “That’s why I’m very happy, the citizens of Manitowoc County won’t need to worry about Mr. Avery being on their streets anymore.” Brendan Dassey’s post conviction lawyer team is predominately featured in this episode, as they argue that Len Kachinsky conspired with state prosecutor, Ken Kratz, against his own client. The most unsettling revelations come to fruition during Tom Fassbender’s testimony. Steve Drizin cross-examines Mr. Fassbender to prove that this investigator actively forced Brendan into his confession. Ultimately though both Brendan Dassey and Steven Avery’s verdicts are upheld in the court of law. Demos and Riccadi balance the hopelessness with small victories, as they end the series with Steven Avery being moved to a local prison. “They think I’ll stop working on it and it’ll be forgotten,” explains Steven Avery, as the camera pans over the Avery Salvage yard eight years after his verdict. There’s a striking difference between the yards from the footage shot back in 2005, as old cars are piled on top of one another. There’s a dramatic tone change in the score playing as we come across a car that almost looks like Teresa Halbach’s vehicle. Once, a key piece of physical evidence now lies buried and forgotten, as Mr. Avery says, “But I want the truth. I want my life, they keep on taking it… when you know you’re innocent you’ll keep on going.” The final sequence is a resounding plea from Steven Avery, for support in his pursuits to prove his own innocence.
Average Episode Rating: 9After the Tucson memorial service, many right wing bloggers attacked President Obama’s speech on civility in politics and falsely claimed that organizers encouraged the applause throughout the President’s address. One Power Line blogger, Paul Mirengoff, had another target: Dr. Carlos Gonzales, a Native American professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine who gave a Pascua Yaqui prayer at the service. Mirengoff believed that, despite a number of readings from the Bible from other speakers, Dr. Gonzales’s prayer wasn’t “Christian” or “American” enough, and did a disservice to the memorial:
As for the “ugly,” I’m afraid I must cite the opening “prayer” by Native American Carlos Gonzales. It was apparently was some sort of Yaqui Indian tribal thing, with lots of references to “the creator” but no mention of God. Several of the victims were, as I understand it, quite religious in that quaint Christian kind of way (none, to my knowledge, was a Yaqui). They (and their families) likely would have appreciated a prayer more closely aligned with their religious beliefs. But it wasn’t just Gonzales’s prayer that was “ugly” under the circumstances. Before he ever got to the prayer, Gonzales provided us with a mini-auto biography and made several references to Mexico, the country from which (he informed us) his family came to Arizona in the mid 19th century. I’m not sure why Gonzales felt that Mexico needed to intrude into this service, but I have an idea. In any event, the invocation could have used more God, less Mexico, and less Carlos Gonzales.
It turns out though that Mirengoff is a partner at a law firm, Akin Gump, which has an active practice in Native American communities, who may not take kindly to Mirengoff’s dismissive and denigrating post about Gonzales’s prayer. The Careerist reports on the reaction to Mirengoff’s post:House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Eric Ivan CantorPelosi warns GOP: Next president could declare national emergency on guns Ousted GOP lawmaker David Brat named dean at Liberty University business school Trump, GOP seek to shift blame for shutdown to Pelosi MORE (R-Va.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte Robert (Bob) William GoodlatteIt’s time for Congress to pass an anti-cruelty statute DOJ opinion will help protect kids from dangers of online gambling House GOP probe into FBI, DOJ comes to an end MORE (R-Va.) are drafting legislation to provide a path to citizenship for immigrant children who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, their offices said Thursday.
The bill, which a Cantor spokeswoman said is in its “early stages,” would be the first House Republican proposal to address the status of illegal immigrants, but it would not go nearly as far as Democrats want. While the legislation resembles the DREAM Act that is part of the Senate immigration bill, aides said it would not be as broad.
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The Senate Dream Act provides an expedited path to citizenship for people brought into the U.S. illegally as children and who have attended college or served in the military. The House GOP proposal, by contrast, could be limited to younger people.
“As part of the step-by-step approach the House is taking to address immigration reform, Leader Cantor and I are working on a bill to provide a legal status to those who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children by their parents,” Goodlatte said in a statement Thursday.
“These children came here through no fault of their own and many of them know no other home than the United States,” he said. “This is one component of immigration reform — any successful reform plan must improve our legal immigration programs, strengthen border security and the interior enforcement of our immigration laws, and find a way to fairly deal with those who are currently in the country unlawfully.”
Aides said there is no timetable for when the proposal would get a committee hearing or vote.
The Judiciary Committee has already approved four immigration bills dealing with interior enforcement, an E-Verify system for employers, high-skilled visas and an agricultural guest-worker program.
Democrats said the move was a welcome sign from Republicans who have been reluctant to provide any legal status to illegal immigrants. But they said it is not enough.
“You’ve got to deal with all aspects of the broken immigration system,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra Xavier BecerraOvernight Health Care: Drug execs set for grilling | Washington state to sue over Trump rule targeting Planned Parenthood | Wyoming moves closer to Medicaid work requirements Washington state to sue Trump administration over rule targeting Planned Parenthood NY, California and Washington threaten to sue over Trump rule to restrict abortion referrals MORE (Calif.), the House Democratic Caucus chairman who is working on a bipartisan, comprehensive bill. “You can help the kids, but if you leave the parents behind, you still have a very broken system.”
Speaker John Boehner John Andrew BoehnerEx-GOP lawmaker joins marijuana trade group Crowley, Shuster moving to K Street On unilateral executive action, Mitch McConnell was right — in 2014 MORE (R-Ohio) has said the House would move immigration reform on a step-by-step basis rather than with a comprehensive bill. Becerra said the system could not be fixed with “band-aids” or “in pieces.”
“I’m not in the Republican Conference. I’m not the Speaker,” Becerra said. “The Speaker has to determine how he can try to move things forward. I will simply say that we know what it takes to fix the broken immigration system. Pieces don’t fix the machine. You’ve got to fix the machine. You know, man up, do it right, get it done.”
Several lawmakers made compelling cases for approving some version of the DREAM Act during Wednesday’s closed-door House GOP meeting on immigration reform.
“It seemed like a lot more people [thought] that if you were brought here as a child and you graduate valedictorian — how can we be against it?,” one veteran lawmaker told The Hill after the meeting. “A lot of people said that and I was surprised.”
An embrace of any form of the DREAM Act would represent a shift by the GOP, especially because just last month the House voted to kill policies that give officials discretion to not deport illegal immigrants considered low-risk.
Only six Republicans opposed the amendment sponsored by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) and approved by the House in a 224-201 vote.
Republican leaders have consistently voted against the Democrats' DREAM Act over the last several years.
According to one member of the Republican leadership team who spoke to The Hill on the condition of anonymity, it was apparent at Wednesday's lengthy meeting that "there was a growing recognition" the GOP needed to deal with the issue.
"I think there's growing support to deal with that in immigration — that immigration is changing before our eyes because our kids have grown up with these kids, they're in the families, they're in the neighborhoods, they are graduating with our kids and it's like, what the heck are you going to do with a 18-year-old valedictorian who was brought in when they were one or two?," the lawmaker said.
Cantor's effort is consistent with a post-election speech he delivered at the American Enterprise Institute in February. When it comes to immigration reform, Cantor said at the time, "a good place to start is with the kids."
He added, "One of the great founding principles of our country was that children would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents."
Last year, Sen. Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioHillicon Valley: Senators urge Trump to bar Huawei products from electric grid | Ex-security officials condemn Trump emergency declaration | New malicious cyber tool found | Facebook faces questions on treatment of moderators Key senators say administration should ban Huawei tech in US electric grid Trump unleashing digital juggernaut ahead of 2020 MORE (R-Fla.) planned to offer the a Republican version of the DREAM Act, but later opted against it.
—This article was updated at 10:35 p.m.On Wednesday night, Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery and The Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly were arrested by police in Ferguson, Missouri while covering the civil unrest which has followed the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The reporters claim that they were given no reason for their detention, and the police have failed to provide anything to counter that narrative. Lowery also claims that he was physically abused during his detention process.
@ryanjreilly and @wesleyLowery have been arrested for "not packing their bags quick enough" at McD's #Ferguson — Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 14, 2014
A video uploaded to the internet by Lowery appears to back up his account:
After his release from police custody, Lowery penned an account of his ordeal for The Washington Post:
During this time, we asked the officers for badge numbers. We asked to speak to a supervising officer. We asked why we were being detained. We were told: trespassing in a McDonald’s.
…
Once at the station, we were processed, our pockets emptied. No mug shots. They removed our restraints and put us in a holding cell. Ryan was able to get ahold of his dad. I called my mom, but I couldn’t get through. I couldn’t remember any phone numbers. We were in there for what felt like 10 or 15 minutes. Then the processing officer came in. “Who’s media?” he asked. We said we were. And the officer said we were both free to go. We asked to speak to a commanding officer. We asked to see an arrest report. No report, the officer told us, and no, they wouldn’t provide any names.
In an appearance on MSNBC after his release, Lowery also alleged that he was assaulted by police officers after he was accused of resisting arrest. He said as he adjusted a bag which was slung over his shoulder, police interpreted this as a sign of resistance, said “let’s take him,” and threw Lowery into a soda machine. They then took his possessions and put him in physical restraints.
This is not the only account of police taking action to ensure that the press, the only mechanism which can impose accountability on public servants in moments like these, knows that they are in just as much risk as are those engaging in rioting.
Police aiming weapons at @ajam journalists after hitting them with teargas, then dismantling their gear. IN AMERICA. pic.twitter.com/D4bqpb9sS8 — Mark Joyella (@standupkid) August 14, 2014
With this, a story that was about a tragic shooting, the search for justice, and an angry population engaging in social unrest while police struggled to keep the peace is now a story about police mistreatment of the press. The media particularly enjoys covering the media, and they are perfectly justified in covering this story extensively and into the weekend. Even those who are predisposed to give those officers attempting to maintain order in Ferguson the benefit of the doubt have been disturbed by their behavior.
The police did not cover themselves in glory in this instance, and their actions deserve all the scrutiny they will receive in the coming days as the national media pours over every move they make.
“I understand the need to address looting and rioting, and quickly. I understand that law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to do that. But perhaps when a police force, which must work with local communities to be successful, has already shot an unarmed person thereby inflaming the emotions of said community, they should approach the policing in the immediate aftermath with an overabundance of caution,” Mary Katharine Ham wrote in a compelling and powerful post. “Using rioting as an excuse for police abuses is just as problematic as using the original shooting as an excuse for looting.”
No one should suggest the police’s response to civil unrest in Ferguson is an excuse for more turbulence, though some will. Those who want this situation to escalate and become an issue around the country now have their rallying cry. The officers who engaged in this heavy handed and apparently unprovoked attack on the press are responsible for that condition.When U.S. politicians argue that the country needs the controversial Cyber Intelligence Security Protection Act (CISPA)—the newly reintroduced bill that privacy activists vehemently oppose—this is what they’re talking about.
A major new report by cybersecurity consultant Mandiant says it’s traced an astounding number of cyber attacks on the U.S. to People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398: a single military building outside Shanghai, China.
Mandiant’s description of these attacks is nearly identical to those that members of Congress use when describing why the country needs drastically improved cybersecurity legislation—and CISPA in particular.
According to the report, an attacker codenamed APT1 [Advanced Persistent Threat], “has conducted a cyber espionage campaign against a broad range of victims,” is “likely government-sponsored,” and “has a well-defined attack methodology.” APT1 has reportedly attacked 141 companies in 20 different industries, searching for, among other things, technology blueprints, business plans, and partnership agreements.
Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), when reintroducing CISPA into the House Wednesday, alluded to attacks, particularly from China, that seem to fit that bill.
“We are in a cyber war. Most Americans probably don’t know it,” Rogers said at the conference. “And at this point, we’re losing. I have never seen anything so rampant.”
“Every single day they literally have thousands of cyberwarriors or cyberspies looking to steal your intellectual property,” he added.
CISPA, designed to help the government fight such attacks, is founded on the idea of information-sharing between private networks and the U.S. government. If it passes, an American company under cyber attack could easily and quickly share what it knows with federal agencies like the NSA, which is in the process creating its own cyber command center. But privacy advocates have resoundingly condemned the bill as a gross violation of privacy, saying the government shouldn’t have access to citizens’ online content without either a warrant or their permission.
Cementing its agreement with Rogers’s sentiments, Mandiant opened its report with a 2011 quote from the congressman, where he stressed that the cyber attacks weren’t Chinese civilians, but rather a government plan. “China’s economic espionage has reached an intolerable level,” he claimed. It also noted that China’s defense ministry has denied the existence of state-sponsored attacks.
Echoing Rogers, Mandiant said that the fact that it has traced attacks with such near-certainty to a military building meant the attacks were an official Chinese government operation.
“Our analysis has led us to conclude that APT1 is likely government-sponsored and one of the most persistent of China’s cyber threat actors,” the report says. “We believe that APT1 is able to wage such a long-running and extensive cyber espionage campaign in large part because it receives direct government support.”
CISPA coauthor Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), who has clashed with privacy groups over the bill, indicated that APT1 is evidence of why CISPA is necessary.
“#CISPA: Because American businesses are under siege,” he tweeted, linking to a New York Times story on Mandiant’s report.
Photo of Unit 61398 via city8.comPresident Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is reportedly furious over persistent rumors that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is angling for a job in the White House.
Kushner’s displeasure at the prospect of Christie working alongside him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was reported by anonymous sources who spoke to Politico.
The news site wrote a lengthy article detailing the on-the-job hardships that Trump has experienced in his first month as president.
Trump is reported to be surprised at the difficulties in implementing the changes he has sought in running a large federal bureaucracy.
The president is also reportedly at the helm of a tired, demoralized staff whose members are largely unclear about their roles and are constantly looking over their shoulder in fear of upsetting the boss.
Jared Kushner (seen in the lefthand photo with his wife, Ivanka Trump) is a senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. Kushner is reportedly furious over rumors that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (right) is in line to get a job in the White House
Kushner is described in the article as a man who wields power but whose area of responsibility in the White House is largely undefined – making it difficult for colleagues to gauge where they stand with him.
After Trump won the election on November 9, it was long expected that Christie would assume a senior role in his administration.
Christie was offered a number of positions within the new Trump administration – though not the gig he wanted, attorney general – and so he turned them all down.
The New Jersey governor was reportedly offered the homeland security secretary’s position, veterans affairs secretary, the ambassadorship to Italy, or a role as a White House adviser.
Christie rejected those offers because none of them included the job he really wanted – attorney general, according to NJ.com.
Trump would eventually name Jeff Sessions, the Alabama senator, to the attorney general’s position.
The governor was also said to be interested in the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, but that position was also never offered.
Because of Trump's Atlantic City casino connections, the president-elect and the New Jersey governor have known each other for 15 years.
Christie was one of the first major Republican Party figures to back Trump in the primary, as he endorsed the billionaire shortly after giving up on his own White House dreams.
Trump paid back Christie the favor by naming him the head of the Trump transition team.
However, Christie reportedly was on the outs with members of Trump's team.
He was replaced by Vice President-elect Mike Pence as head of the transition and made a vice-chair instead.
Christie's departure was thought to be because he was politically vulnerable due to the fallout from the Bridgegate scandal.
Two of his aides were convicted recently of engineering the closure of a lane on the George Washington Bridge as political payback |
, too, such as Perfint in Chennai, which is using a robotic arm to help perform quick, cost-effective biopsies, to diagnose and then treat lung, liver and other soft-tissue cancers.
A medical technician prepares a patient's blood samples for testing in a portable medical diagnostic product -- a "lab in a box" -- developed by ReaMetrix. (Simon Denyer/Washington Post)
“You don’t really need to look to the West for innovation,” said Bala Manian, an Indian-born American and Silicon Valley entrepreneur who set up ReaMetrix. “If you frame the problem differently, in a local context, that is an innovation opportunity.”
Ultimately, though, ReaMetrix aims to use India as the research center and proving ground but find a market — and reshape the health-care industry — in the United States.
“Fundamentally, although I am born and raised in India, I am an American,” Manian said. “I really see this as an opportunity to transform the paradigm in how health care is managed in the developed economies, particularly the United States.”
Indian approach
Products designed in India start with a common set of assumptions. Power supplies in India are notoriously unreliable, so products are designed to run on voltages from 80 to 230, or even off a car battery. It isn’t enough for them to work in an air-conditioned hospital; they need to function in dusty conditions and summer temperatures that can reach 12o degrees.
Many Western-made products depend on costly disposable items thrown away after each test, but that business model is too expensive in India. Instead, cheap labor means that sterilizing and reusing components is more cost-effective here.
Indeed, it is the intense pressure on health-care costs in India that drives the innovative process in a different direction than in the United States.
“It is a very different market here,” said S. Nandakumar, Perfint’s chief executive. “It is not supported by insurance companies. Here everybody pays from their own pocket or the government’s pocket.” That, he said, makes it tough to survive in the Indian market. “So we are leveraging Indian market requirements, saying if something succeeds here, it should succeed elsewhere.”
Manian, of ReaMetrix, began his career in the world of digital optics, work spanning supermarket bar codes to the defense industry, from medical scans to movie special effects, winning him an Oscar in 1999 for his contribution to films such as “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Return of the Jedi.”
At ReaMetrix, he saw an opportunity in the world of medical reagents — compounds that react with chemicals in blood, urine or sputum to help diagnose medical conditions.
Liquid reagents that often require refrigeration are not always suitable for the Indian market, so the company designed cheap, dried reagents that could be easily shipped across the country.
The next step was to design a multipurpose diagnostic machine, a neat box the size of a small PC’s hard drive that can be carried by hand, run on a car battery and situated in a doctor’s surgery clinic or a small-town medical clinic anywhere in the country.
Using state-of-the-art optics, it can perform CD4 blood tests to detect and monitor HIV in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. Tests for diabetes and arthritis are being developed, along with others able to differentiate quickly among malaria, dengue fever and chikungunya, or between infectious and viral diseases.
Each test comes as a “panel” — in computer terms, an app — so the product can be effectively custom-built by the user. In poor states such as Bihar, where the parasitic disease leishmaniasis is a problem, doctors and medical centers could buy that panel. In richer cities, diabetes might be a more commonly needed test.
The box “leverages” global technologies — hardware from Germany, electronics from California, software from India and the United States, optics designed in India and made in Germany. Test results, instead of being sent to a lab and coming back days later, are available from 15 minutes to two hours later.
In a huge country such as India, the cost of a test is often dwarfed by the cost to the patient to travel to the point of care. ReaMetrix says its product “changes the paradigm” by bringing the test to the patient.
Manian said affordable diagnostic testing can shift the focus “from treating illness to maintaining wellness,” to make prevention and early detection much easier, even allowing people to monitor the effects of lifestyle changes on their metabolic parameters.
“It is no different when you have an expensive car,” he said. “You are willing to pay for regular and routine service calls, rather than wait for it to fail and have a pretty expensive repair bill.”
The cancer fight
In Chennai, Perfint is setting its sights principally on emerging markets rather than the United States. With the World Health Organization reporting that cancer was set to become the world’s deadliest disease, and with 40 percent of the world’s smokers in India and China, the company set out looking for a cost-effective method of diagnosis and treatment.
Existing methods of biopsies involve surgery, exposure to high-powered X-rays, significant costs for disposable items or difficult-to-acquire surgical skills. Under Perfint’s system, a robotic arm is positioned above the patient, with a CT scan and three-dimensional computer modeling system helping a doctor guide a needle to exactly where the biopsy needs to be taken.
The same procedure can help administer anesthetic to exactly the right spot and even burn a tumor with electromagnetic waves in a process known as ablation — a significantly more precise method than many other cancer treatments available.
There are a number of factors that could handicap India’s development as a global health-care research hub, including a lack of venture capital, the absence of a supportive policy framework and a shortage of clinical partners willing to test and help develop products.
Attracting good talent is a problem, too. The hierarchical culture makes young people not as adventurous here as they are in Silicon Valley, Manian said, while scientific accomplishment is valued less than material wealth in modern India.
Nevertheless, significantly lower costs help to compensate, as does the discipline that India imposes on the research scientist.
“The Indian market really pushes you to the edge,” Nandakumar said. “The procedures you look at are very different, very cost-effective, but when we do this, we find it is actually what the Western world wants.”So what was Jameis doing Monday morning when the Buccaneers players given a “Victory Monday” day off?
Of course, Jameis was at the office early in the morning, so said quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian on the Buccaneers Radio Network.
Bajakian was asked about grading Jameis against the Falcons and revealed Jameis’ schedule.
“For as tough as I am on Jameis, he’s tough on himself also. And he’s a perfectionist,” Bajakian said. “He came in first thing this morning, players’ day off. He pops his head in my office; I don’t know what time it was. He always will make his entrance and we sat down and talked about the game. The first things he’s bringing up is, ‘Hey, I could have done this better. I could have done that better.’ So there’s always stuff to improve upon. But I was happy to see progress in the areas we emphasized all offseason, all training camp.”
There’s no letup from 22-year-old Jameis.
“He’s hungry. He’s very hungry in every way. He’s hungry to improve as an individual,” Bajakian said of Jameis. “He’s a competitor, wants to beat everybody we play. So I don’t think he’s ever going to be one who rests on his laurels.”The NHL has had a ton of great ideas in the last half-decade or so. The establishment of the Winter Classic as one of the sports calendar's marquee events, massive television deals with NBC and Rogers, and the overall improvement of the league's access to players through outlets like NHL.com and HBO's 24/7.
All that said, the league still has one big fat weak spot within its media empire… the NHL Network. Every year, hockey fans have complained about the network's weak aesthetic look, lack of substantial analysis, poor coverage of huge news stories (i.e. the entire NHL lockout) and overall dearth of original ideas. If I'm flipping around channels, I would probably rather click on NFL Network, MLB Network or NBA TV. And I'm someone who would rather watch bad hockey television than good anything else. This is a problem.
In the spirit of Festivus, I figured the end of the year might be an appropriate time to air some of the grievances that I and many hockey fans league-wide have with the league's in-house network, and perhaps some ideas that can be used to fix them.
1. NHL On the Fly and NHL Tonight, the network's flagship shows, are both weak
MLB Network's MLB Tonight is probably the best "live look-in" style show, in part because they mix in the chatter with getting you live to the actual important moments that the average fan would want to see. Despite not being in the vein of NFL Red Zone, they still will have you watching the key moments when you want to see them. Potential no hitters, bases loaded situations, even just showing you the end of games.
The NHL on NBC has, in a way, parroted the style the MLB Tonight has for its live look-ins as well, showing it isn't impossible for hockey. During the NHL Live pre-game show, Liam McHugh will set up Mike Milbury and Keith Jones for discussions of a game as it is being shown live to the audience in progress. It's an effective way to get a hot take on a team or player in the news, while still giving the audience a great visual of an NHL broadcast.
NHL Network has two, fairly similar studio shows: NHL On the Fly (which runs 7-10 p.m. ET) and NHL Tonight (which goes from 10 p.m. ET until the end of the evening). While there has been an effort to make these programs better, they simply aren't up to snuff. In fact, they've gotten worse over time.
On the Fly used to be the closest to an American version of the English Premier League review program Match of the Day. There would be discussion and analysis, but the highlights would be uninterrupted by studio chatter and just use the play-by-play of one of the local broadcasts. It wasn't original, as we pointed out, but it made the show stand out in the United States and Canada.
Now, both NHL Net shows are what every other late night sports studio show is: hosts talking over highlights. And it isn't particularly good. In addition, NHL Network's "live look-ins" and updates are often well late, and the league rarely, if ever, shows overtimes or shootouts live on the show. NHL Tonight often eats up precious live game time out west with dull "arena cam" interviews with players that are never cut away from.
This is an easy fix. Whether you revert back to the Match of the Day style or not, make the show flexible. Show all shootouts live when possible, and maybe even all overtimes. Showcase the best of the game as it happens. Cut down on the arena cam interviews and stick with feeds of post-game press conferences from regional television networks and NBC/TSN. Hockey has forever felt like it's almost too fast for television. NHL Network's highlight shows make it seem too slow.
2. The network itself doesn't look great
Here's a fun fact I bet you wouldn't guess: the NHL Network makes a pretty tidy profit for the league. Chris Botta of Sports Business Journal reported last July that the network made $53 million in affiliate fees and advertising last year. They spent just $16 million on production. Meaning they could pump a lot of money into the network and still make profits in the tens of millions.
The current set-up sure doesn't look that way. The NHL Network set in Toronto, quite frankly, is the worst in sports that I can think of between the major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) the cable sports networks (ESPN, Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports Network and CBS Sports Network) and the major league networks (NFL Net, NBA TV, MLB Net, Big Ten Network, Golf Channel, it goes on…).
The desk is too small, there's very few other spots on the set to improvise, at least that we've seen. It really doesn't look much better than the original NHL on OLN set. I'm serious, take a look. If you ask anyone at NBC Sports Network now, that set and the VERSUS one that replaced it were openly derided before they moved into Stamford.
The NHL Network's other set, at the NHL Store on 47th and 6th in New York City, looks fine for what it is, and they've made it better and better as they've gone on. The graphics for the network are fine, but a little stagnant, and the live game graphics are reminiscent of the last days of VERSUS.
But the problem remains in Toronto, and they're producing at least six hours of live programming out of that place each night, and it's not anywhere near as aesthetically pleasing as what MLB Net has in Secaucus, NBA TV has in Atlanta, or NFL Net has in Los Angeles.
Botta's article also mentions that the NHL Network went back on original plans to move into the NBC Sports Network's international broadcast center in Stamford, Connecticut. In the Botta article, NHL VP of Programming Bob Chesterman is quoted as saying that "It’s… a non-issue because the talent we get in Toronto is outstanding. You’re only as good as your talent. In the end, that’s what’s going to be our driving force.”
While I respect that you might get better hockey talent in Toronto than in Stamford, the fact is that that building already puts out a better 90 minutes or so of NHL studio programming three nights a week than NHL Network does all week long. While it might be fair to say that the quality could go down if they did more from that building, it would still at least look a lot better.
3. They somehow don't have enough talking heads
For a league that schedules itself the way the NHL does — with three-game nights often following 11-game nights — there are rarely ever more than two people live on the air of NHL On the Fly or Tonight. Just a host and an analyst. This set-up is more applicable to the old way those shows were done, where you didn't need people to talk over plays very much. Now, you really need that because they're going to be breaking down replays.
Frankly, the shows can often seem very monotone with just one voice speaking. One analyst unquestioned, without any banter, can get dull after a while. There's something to be a said for a network that avoids making itself about mindless debate, but you have to have some sort of discussion going on.
NHL Network also hits on a problem that the league has in general with television: the bench of players who make for good analysts isn't very deep. NHL Network's talent stable often borders more on pleasant than actually insightful (It should be noted that everyone I've ever dealt with at NHL Network is a true hockey person, and therefore pleasant and thoughtful). Jeff O'Neill has made waves in Canada since beginning his broadcasting career and is becoming good at the gig, but the rest just seem kind of… there to say the things you expect hockey analysts to say. And they do. And that's it. Barry Melrose is occasionally on, and he is what he is, but it isn't enough.
This does not include the network's hosts, I should add. Kathryn Tappen's Olympic hosting gig is well earned, as she often puts an intelligent, pleasant face on the channel. Steve Mears is one of hockey's finest young broadcasters, having already logged time in an NHL radio booth (he'll be calling the World Junior Championship off a monitor for the network again this year), and serving as an effective host for NHL Live. EJ Hradek is also a fun personality who'd be capable of bringing news to the network if they actually made the effort. But when it comes to finding an honest, incisive take on the night's action… you might want to find a way to pipe in TSN or Sportsnet.
4. A lack of regular, original programming in general
Yes, NHL Network is usually live from 5 p.m. – 1 a.m. ET five days a week, and various hours around game programming on the weekends, but… there's literally nothing else. The network did away with most of the old Top 10 and "Classic Series" shows they'd produced on the older version of the network, and now have very little backlog. While this is merely a nuisance during the regular season and playoffs, it drives me into an unnecessary rage during the summer.
You see, the NHL Network is largely bereft of studio programming once we hit July. NHL Live goes off the air for a couple months and so do the Toronto-based shows, and NHL Network basically turns into a re-broadcast of last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs until at least the middle of September when pre-season hockey saves us all.
This is the complete opposite of MLB Network, which had a ton of clip-heavy, talking head-heavy compilation shows ready when they hit the air. Tons of episodes of Prime 9 and Classic Seasons were already there and prepared to air. There's no such thing on NHL Network during the off-season. Perhaps an old NHL Productions' produced documentary, or one of the five or six episodes of NHL 36, but nothing substantial. There's no hint of the quirky, stylish NBA TV programming such as NB80's, which I'll stop and watch even though I'm hardly a casual basketball fan.
The NHL doesn't merely seem confused about its non-studio programming identity, it just doesn't appear interested in having one. It's just studio show, studio show, rerun throughout the night/two games from a night ago repeated/back to studio shows. That's the pattern every single night, unless there's a live game. It just continues the idea that the NHL Network is this monotonous channel frozen in time.
5. Original productions of games
Speaking of live games, this is more of a minor complaint, but still a place where the network could stand to get better. The NHL Network takes broadcast feeds from regional sports networks (and on Saturdays, the CBC) to air their games, often with just their own graphics imposed on the screen. This is fine, I guess, but there's just so much more that they could be doing.
NBA TV rarely does original productions until the postseason, but MLB Network makes it a point to have at least one of their "Showcase Games" each week, while the NFL Network has a much-maligned, but still highly rated package. The network is not in nearly enough homes to earn an exclusive broadcast each week (i.e. only available on NHL Network in the home markets of the teams), but why not build towards a day when that could happen?
What about a game of the week with an original production on Thursdays? Last I saw, Gary Thorne wasn't on ESPN anymore. He was even employed by the channel to work the World Juniors a few years back. Why not feed into many hockey fans' nostalgia and have him and Bill Clement call a Thursday Night Hockey game? Hell, you could still use the camera shots from NESN or Fox or Comcast, just have Gary and Bill there in person, describing the action.
6. No legitimate news operation to speak of
Again, something that very much hurts NHL Network during the off-season. Whenever a signing breaks during the far longer Major League Baseball off-season, I know that if I tune into MLB Network within an hour or so of the signing, they will probably have somebody on camera breaking it down. Until now, NHL Network broadcasts TSN's Free Agent Frenzy show on July 1st, and then says sayonara for the summer. Unacceptable.
While NHL Net has Bob McKenzie or Darren Dreger of TSN come in once a week or so to dish on various insider gossip, it's far from a regular presence. Especially considering the fact that NHL.com employs quite a few respected journalists, why aren't they put to use? Why isn't the NHL's own network a factor when any news story whatsoever is broken. The only story on record that the network came close to breaking was when Kevin Weekes had the Ryan Getzlaf signing last season. Why isn't Hradek counted on as a newshound, considering his background in newspaper writing and with ESPN The Magazine?
NFL Network employs tons of journalists, and uses them across the network and NFL.com. MLB Network has every baseball insider under the sun making frequent appearances on the channel. NHL Network has… an occasional segment, and even then, it's rarely their own talent.
In summation, this whole column may be for naught in a year. There have been rumors that Sportsnet's acquisition of the league's TV rights may give them some hand in how NHL Network looks, and that may completely change the game for the channel. Or maybe they bite the bullet and finally move down to Connecticut and join the NBC family (I've been to the studios, they have the room, folks).
There are a few things a league-owned network can be: a propaganda wing, a flashy source of entertainment, or a legitimate newsgathering organization. NHL Network serves its fans none of those things right now. Hell, I bet NHL fans would be fine with a propaganda wing if it looked good and it was entertaining. It could be SportsCenter-esque flashy, but with hockey all the time. Or it could take a journalistic approach and give hockey fans juicy stories and break trades and signings.
Right now, the NHL Networks does none of those things well, or even at an acceptable level. It is an eyesore for a league that has started to pride itself on putting together professional, flashy, good-looking events. That it has actually regressed since getting on the air in 2007 is not good for a league with a solid entertainment record in recent years. It cannot continue, or else the road to credibility with hockey fans will become an almost insurmountable hill to climb. I believe it can be salvaged, but not in its current format.Neil Magny was afraid.
He was afraid that he wasn’t good enough. He was afraid that even when he was good enough, was it still really enough?
Magny was coming off back-to-back losses to Sergio Moraes and Seth Baczynski when he finally had enough. The fear and stress was far more than the UFC welterweight ever hoped for and he was more than willing to turn the page. What was there to lose? A third consecutive loss would have been the last straw for the Colorado-based fighter.
So Magny decided to change everything. First it was his attitude, then his thought process. And before long, Magny was a completely different fighter mentally, and it started to show inside the Octagon.
“My whole thought process has changed,” Magny told The MMA Corner. “I was so focused on the things that didn’t really matter in relation to my actual fights. I was thinking about things before my fight like if I had a bad performance, would I get cut or not? After the fight, I was thinking about whether or not my performance was good enough and would I still have my job? I just started letting go of those thoughts and the things I couldn’t control. I started to relax and just focus on what was actually important and not the negative thoughts that held me back.”
“At first, it was a lot of nerves,” Magny admitted. “I couldn’t even sleep the night before my fights. But now I’ve found my comfort zone. It’s a calm place that I’ve found and I’m starting to act like I’ve been there before. I’m at the point now where I can finally get home after weigh ins and get a good night of sleep in. I’m feeling refreshed the morning of the fight, energized, and ready to go. I feel as if I’m a completely different person and fighter.”
Magny would go on to win back-to-back fights via decision over the likes of Gasan Umalatov and Tim Means. Less than two months after outlasting Means, Magny sent Rodrigo de Lima packing with a second round TKO in front of a New Zealand crowd. Two months passed and Magny found himself standing across the Octagon from Alex Garcia in Tulsa, OK. A decision victory over Garcia led to a TKO finish over William Macario in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to cap off an unlikely 2014. Magny tied the UFC record for the most wins in a calendar year with five, but more importantly, his career was back on steady ground.
“2014 was an awesome year for me,” Magny said. “It was a huge blessing for me not only to fight as many times as I did, but to stay healthy the whole year. I thought I would fight and be on the shelf for a few months, but that wasn’t the case. The fights kept rolling in fight after fight and I was always prepared to take them. The thing that I’ve found to be beneficial is that when you fight so often, you don’t allow time for the nerves to build up and you don’t allow your mind to wonder into those negative thoughts. You also don’t have time to fall out of shape or get overweight. You stay ready and stay healthy the entire year.”
Magny admitted fighting on a regular basis was more refreshing than it was extracting. And if presented the same opportunity in 2015, Magny wouldn’t flinch.
“I definitely think I’ll be able to keep the pace that I had last year,” Magny said. “With the UFC hosting so many events in a calendar year, it really benefits guys like me who want to stay active and fight five or six times a year. That’s a lot for some guys, but for me, it’s normal. I don’t want to get washed away with the others. I want to stay active and be recognized as one of the guys that’s willing to step up when called on. Those are the guys people look up to, and that’s the guy I want to be.”
Just less than two months into 2015, Magny will make his first appearance when he meets Kiichi Kunimoto on Feb. 14 at UFC Fight Night 60 in Broomfield, Colo. Magny was paired with Kunimoto after he was initially slated to meet Josh Koscheck at UFC 184. While a win over Kunimoto won’t necessarily catapult Magny into title contention, it’s another step up the welterweight division’s steep ladder.
[pullquote]”I want to improve myself so I get to the point where I’m consistently fighting guys in the top 10. I won’t be satisfied until I get there.”[/pullquote]
“A part of me really wanted to see how I matched up against a fighter like Koscheck,” Magny admitted. “He’s been around the sport for a long time and has fought some of the best in the world. But the other part of me is excited for the opponent I get to fight now. It goes back to maintaining that strong mindset and worrying about the things that I can control. Fighting Koscheck is not one of them, so I’m more concerned with getting better as a fighter and preparing for this fight. I want to improve myself so I get to the point where I’m consistently fighting guys in the top 10,” Magny said. “I won’t be satisfied until I get there.”
“He’s [Kunimoto] a reputable opponent,” said Magny. “If you take a look at his resume, he’s won seven straight fights. That’s a difficult thing for anyone to do. But I really do like my style and matchup in this fight. I would say my conditioning will be a big factor in this one. The longer the fight goes on, the better it is for me. I’m definitely looking for the finish, whether that be by submission or knockout, I’m going for it. But at the same time, you need to be realistic and understand those things don’t always come. So in a sense, I’m also preparing for a dog fight if this one goes the distance.”
A win for Magny would be his sixth consecutive victory, the longest of any active welterweight under the Zuffa banner. So what’s next for Magny if he can outedge Kunimoto, you may ask. Not so fast. Magny isn’t interested in looking that far ahead, and neither should you.
“There’s so much discipline that goes into this sport that I’m not interested in looking ahead. A lot of times you want things that you can’t have, so you have to make the sacrifices in life to obtain those things. My fight with Kunimoto is my priority and I’m making those sacrifices for that fight and nothing else at the moment. I’m not going to scream for a title shot or anything like that if I win,” said Magny. “I’m not one of those guys who’s interested in calling other guys out.”
“I believe the right guy will fall in my path, and when that happens, I’ll be up for the challenge. But first, I need to take care of business.”
Follow @GarrettDerr on Twitter.It's unknown if General Manager Ray Shero will be able to pull off any more moves before the trading deadline. But he said grabbing a defenseman was the priority, and shortly after the Olympic trade freeze ended, he checked that off his list; acquiring an impending free agent in Jordan Leopold.
Leopold, while not flashy, has been a solid contributor on some good teams. This season he's been playing the most minutes of any Florida Panthers defensemen at even-strength (18:18) and short-handed (3:01). Let's look behind the jump at some other advanced statistical metrics and also get a first-hand testimonial from Donny Rivette, the editor of the excellent Litter Box Cats blog.
[Jordan Leopold is] very underrated considering his strengths; slick skater, sharp on the outlet pass. A bit difficult to nail down what he does best, in that all of his skills are top-four good without being remotely flashy; you don't notice the job he's done until you see him exit the ice. Will jump into the offensive zone regularly without being reckless. Plus/minus should rebound on a strong Pens squad. Panthers will miss his quiet contributions through remainder of the season if not adequately replaced (and chances are he won't be). He's that solid, slightly above average defenseman who tends to get lost in his position's middleground between high-scoring minute-munchers and those who cling to the third pairing.
That sets a good picture of Leopold. And even though the Penguins figured to need either a physical or more defensive minded defenseman than Leopold, there's evidence that he's had a pretty good season, even if it has been under-the-radar.
If you're new to new stats, don't freak. The "QCOMP" is a measure of the quality of competition a player faces, the higher the number the harder the opponents. When a player dips into negative, he's playing against weaker producers. It makes sense, Brooks Orpik and Sergei Gonchar (a usual pair against the opponent's top line) are the Pens leaders in QCOMP, and Martin Skoula is on the bottom. Goals For while a player is on the ice and Goals Against while on the ice can show who's playing well (though the high minute guys can dilute this).
So Jordan Leopold was playing a lot of minutes and consistently against tougher opponents than any Pittsburgh Penguin defenseman has this season. And his Goals Against is better than many of his new teammates, despite them playing lesser (and easier) minutes. Dan Bylsma cited Leopold matching other team's top guns like Alex Ovechkin today in his comments.
The proof will be when we see what Leopold has in a Penguins uniform. But from Donny and the advanced stats, he may have a bit of a pleasant surprise.Convicted murderer Charles Manson, 74, is shown in a photo released from Corcoran State Prison in California on March 18, 2009. REUTERS/Courtesy of Corcoran State Prison/Handout
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California corrections officials released a new photograph of imprisoned mass murderer Charles Manson on Thursday, showing the balding, gray-bearded killer at the age of 74.
The picture, which was taken at Corcoran State Prison in Central California, also reveals a glum Manson still bearing the swastika he carved into his forehead during his sensational 1970 murder trial.
Manson became one of the 20th century’s most infamous criminals during the summer of 1969, when the Beatles-obsessed ex-con directed his mostly young, female followers to murder seven people.
Among the victims was eight-months pregnant actress Sharon Tate, the wife of filmmaker Roman Polanski. She was stabbed 16 times by members of the Manson Family in the early morning hours of August 9, 1969.
Four other people were also stabbed or shot to death in Tate’s home that night by the group, who scrawled the word “Pig” in blood on the front door before leaving.
The following night members of the family stabbed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca to death, using their blood to write “Rise,” “Death to Pigs” and “Healter Skelter” — a misspelled reference to the Beatles song “Helter Skelter” — on the walls and refrigerator door.
Manson was convicted and sentenced to death in 1971 but was spared execution when California abolished the death penalty the following year.
He has been denied parole 11 times and is next scheduled for a hearing in 2012.LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Without a doubt, it’s been a tough few days for communities across the country following protests over police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana and an attack in Dallas that left five police officers dead.
That’s why a video of something simple—a basketball game—is resonating with Hoosiers. Police officers played against some local kids in Lafayette. Word of the encounter spread quickly online.
Kristin Pearl posted pictures and video of the game on Facebook, writing that “in the face of all that is going on in America right now, it was refreshing to drive into Lafayette and see this.”
The basketball game happened at Linnwood Park in Lafayette on Saturday afternoon. It involved Indiana State Police troopers and kids at the park.
According to the Lafayette Journal and Courier, troopers David Vido, Stephen Grayson, Jeremy Piers and Kent Westcott had wrapped up a traffic stop a few blocks away. Some local kids came up to them as they were about to leave.
The two groups began talking, and then one of the neighborhood kids challenged them to a game of basketball. The troopers played in full uniform and gear. While they gave a valiant effort, they lost by one score.Canadian Milos Raonic officially made Richard Krajicek his new coach on Monday.
Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., was looking for a new coach after parting ways with Spain's Carlos Moya earlier in December. Krajicek, who won his only Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1996, played a very similar style to Raonic, relying on his big serve throughout his career.
"Today was my first practice with Richard Krajicek. It's great to have Richard, alongside my team, for the upcoming season in my attempt to reach new and higher goals in 2017," said Raonic in a post on his verified Instagram account. "I worked with Richard for a few days already last year before Australian Open and I am sure Richard with his experience and being a Wimbledon champion can help me reach my goals. I look forward to doing great things together."
Raonic finished the ATP season ranked third worldwide, the highest a Canadian singles tennis player has ever been rated.
That career-best year included a semifinal appearance at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals, where he fell to eventual champion Andy Murray. Raonic also reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.
Krajicek previously worked with reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka for this year's grass-court season.
Raonic will open his 2017 campaign by defending his Brisbane International title on Jan. 1.This email has also been verified by Google DKIM 2048-bit RSA key
Re: Tax hit for Chris Hayes
Should we add the 1.62 a week line Podesta suggested? Small thing but, I might say "he hasn't been able to show how he's gonna pay for it" rather than explained because didn't they put out a whole chart showing how they pay? Otherwise I'm good. On Jan 11, 2016, at 3:57 PM, Jennifer Palmieri <jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com> wrote: I think this is good. Plus Betsaida. * HRC is going to call into Chris Hayes' show this afternoon to do her tax hit. How does this look to you guys? · Right now, the super-wealthy and big corporations are using every trick in the book to game the system and avoid paying billions in taxes. It’s wrong, and it’s bad for our economy. We can’t have one tax system for those at the top and another one for everyone else. · So today, I proposed adding a new “fair share surcharge” on multi-millionaires and closing loopholes to make it harder to game the system. I’m also pushing for the Buffett Rule, which sets a minimum rate for those at the top, and other reforms like closing the carried interest loophole that allows some hedge fund managers to pay a lower rate than a teacher or a nurse. · When it comes to taxes, there’s a clear choice in this election. Republicans candidates are promising huge new giveaways to the wealthiest Americans. And on the Democratic side, I am the only candidate pledging to raise middle class incomes, not middle class taxes. · You know, Senator Sanders, Governor O’Malley, and I share a lot of the same values and goals. We both want to make the economy work for everyone, not just those at the top. And the differences between us pale compared to what we see on the other side. But we *do* have differences. · I’m a progressive who likes to get things done. I measure every policy by whether it’s going to actually make life better for working families. And I’ve laid out how I’m going to pay for everything I’m proposing by making the wealthy pay their fair share. · Senator Sanders has a different approach. His agenda would add 18 to 20 trillion dollars in new federal spending, but he hasn’t explained how he’d pay for it. That’s a big risk, because it’s hard to make the arithmetic add up any other way than a big tax increase on middle class families. I don’t think that’s the right choice when incomes for most people have barely bud |
hate everything for so long.”
I’ve never met Pat “The Bunny” Schneeweis, but he taught me that everything changes, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.By Barbara Loe Fisher
The Vaccine Culture War is heating up.1 Ground zero is America, Europe and other economically developed countries, where the pharmaceutical industrial complex is raising an iron fist to protect multibillion-dollar profits by disempowering the people.2,3,4,5,6,7,8
In America, professors and doctors in academia and government are profiling parents by class and race to shame and discredit those challenging vaccine orthodoxy. Elite members of the highest paid professions in our society are using academic journals and mainstream media to openly preach fear, hate, prejudice and discrimination against people who disagree with them about vaccination.
Law Professor: Mothers of Unvaccinated Children Are Criminals
"When it comes to vaccines, rich parents get away with child neglect," the headline in The Washington Post proclaimed on May 10, 2017. The OpEd was written by Linda C. Fentiman, a Pace University law professor promoting criminal prosecution of mothers whose children are not vaccinated.9
She alleged that state legislatures are accommodating "wealthy" mothers by allowing exemptions in vaccine laws, while poor pregnant women have "faced charges of criminal child abuse" and imprisonment for "failing to deliver adequate nutrition or delivering drugs via their breast milk."
She suggested that ALL mothers who don't vaccinate their children are criminals and should be punished — "regardless of socioeconomic status" — because vaccination is a "collective obligation" and "the science on the efficacy and safety of vaccines is clear."
Boston Herald: Hang People Talking Bad About Vaccines
That "punish the mothers" OpEd was preceded by a May 8 Boston Herald editorial revealing just how far the persecution of people advocating for vaccine safety and informed consent has gone. The Boston Herald editorial staff called for the execution of individuals who exercise free speech about vaccine risks and failures.
As in, it should be "a hanging offense" to inform parents (especially, to inform parents in "immigrant communities") that vaccines carry an unpredictable risk of injury or death and often fail to work as advertised.10
Nobody should be surprised. Prejudice and discrimination against groups of people, whether because of the color of their skin, their gender, how they dress, what they eat, where they live, their religious beliefs, their cultural values and political opinions — or simply because they choose to stay healthy in a different way — is always a slippery slope once it is allowed to gain a foothold in society.
MD, Professor, Vaccine Developer Calls for 'Funeral' of Vaccine Safety and Choice Advocacy
In 2011, Dr. Gregory Poland, a University of Minnesota professor of medicine and vaccine developer at Mayo Clinic,11,12 profiled parents concerned about vaccine risks in the New England Journal of Medicine.
He said, "Antivaccinationists tend toward complete distrust of government and manufacturers, conspiratorial thinking, denialism, low cognitive complexity in thinking patterns, reasoning flaws and a habit of substituting anecdotes for data." Then he used a death image to invoke a thinly veiled threat. He asked, "What can we do to hasten the funeral of antivaccination campaigns?"13
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CDC on Mothers: Who Are They and Where Do They Live?
Trash talk has become the weapon of choice for a select group of professors and doctors using academic journals and mainstream media to humiliate and bully people who disagree with them about the science, policy, law and ethics of vaccination.
In the 21st century, it has been going on in earnest since about 2004 when Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials kicked off the Vaccine Culture War by asking this question in the Journal of Pediatrics: "Children Who Have Received No Vaccines: Who Are They and Where Do They Live?"14 The CDC study authors played with the words "undervaccinated" and "unvaccinated" so mothers could be profiled by class and race. They said:
"Undervaccinated children tend to be black, to have a younger mother who was not married and did not have a college degree, to live in a household near the poverty level, and to live in a central city.
Unvaccinated children tended to be white, to have a mother who was married and had a college degree, to live in a household with an annual income exceeding $75,000 and to have parents who expressed concerns regarding the safety of vaccines and indicated that medical doctors have little influence over vaccination decisions for their children."
There it was, the uncomfortable truth that it is college educated, financially stable middle class mothers independently evaluating the benefits and risks of vaccination rather than blindly trusting and relying on someone else to do their thinking for them.
Although the CDC's 2004 profiling study drew lines between mothers based on race and socio-economic class, there was no discussion of the distinct possibility that those lines would disappear if ALL mothers were financially stable, able to access full information about vaccination and were truly free to make voluntary vaccine decisions without being punished for the decision they make.
Your skin doesn't have to be a certain color and you don't have to belong to a certain socioeconomic class — or have a college degree — to figure out that you are not being told the whole truth about risks that doctors insist your child must take. All you have to do is vaccinate your healthy child and witness that child have symptoms of severe vaccine reactions and either die or become a totally different child physically, mentally and emotionally.
Delegitimizing Vaccine Exemptions and Those Who Take or Give Them
For more than a decade, professors at Johns Hopkins and Emory universities have published articles profiling parents making independent vaccine choices for their children for the purpose of creating a public narrative that delegitimizes vaccine exemptions and the human right to exercise freedom of thought, conscience, religious belief and informed consent to vaccine risk taking.15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24
In 2012 these esteemed professors also put the squeeze on pediatricians to discourage them from exercising professional judgment and conscience when giving children medical vaccine exemptions,25,26 directing them to strictly conform to narrow vaccine contraindications approved by the CDC, which exclude 99.99 percent of children from qualifying for a medical exemption.27,28,29
Since doctors cannot predict who will be harmed by vaccination,30,31 this kind of cruel utilitarian public health policy selects an unknown number of children, who are biologically vulnerable to being harmed by vaccines, for sacrifice. When doctors with big titles in government and academia put a target on the backs of parents and doctors opposing inhumane one-size-fits-all public health policies and laws, it gives a green light for legislators to do the same thing.
In 2012, California pediatrician politician Richard Pan lobbied to eliminate the personal belief vaccine exemption for children to attend school. He told The Associated Press that, "In private schools, these are people who have money, who are upper middle-class, and they are going on the internet and seeing information and misinformation."32,33
Educated Critical Thinkers Eating Organic, Leaning Holistic
In 2013, the flames of prejudice were fanned by an online publication profiling parents in a San Francisco community and labeling them "vaccine deniers."34
The parents were described as "wealthy, educated, liberal leaning" and often working in "technology, law and other white collar professions that demand critical thinking skills," who put their children at risk by feeding them non-GMO organic food, taking them to holistic doctors, and paying $20,000 a year to send them to private schools where self-reliance, independence and critical thinking are taught.
So, by 2015, the narrative about parents being stupid and crazy for questioning the safety of vaccines had morphed into one profiling parents by class and race. The New York Times had no problem running the headline, "Rich, White and Refusing Vaccinations."35
2015 Measles in Disneyland Unleashes Media Hate Fest Attacking Parents and Civil Liberties
And when a measles outbreak popped up in 2015 at Disneyland, it didn't matter that only 2.5 percent of California children were attending kindergarten with a personal belief vaccine exemption.36
It was an opportunity for the pharmaceutical industrial complex to create a media hate fest that turned into a competition for who could suggest the most egregious violations of civil liberties and the nastiest kinds of punishment for parents declining to give their children every one of the 69 doses of 16 vaccines on the CDC's poorly studied childhood vaccine schedule.37,38,39
An Arizona State University magazine editor wrote, "Shouldn't we know where they live? Every single exemption request should be reviewed in a public meeting and approved by a public body (like a city council or school board). And if the exemption is approved, basic information — the parent's name, address and the vaccinations declined — should be available on the internet via a publicly maintained registry."40
Professors at major universities suggested the government should impose a tax on unvaccinated people,41 suspend free speech about vaccination42 and deny elected representatives public office and strip doctors of their medical licenses if they talk bad about vaccines.43 A science writer urged Americans to turn on each other and conduct a "concerted campaign of person-to-person shaming and shunning."44
A USA Today OpEd stated flatly: "Parents who do not vaccinate their children should go to jail."45 By the end of 2015, the California legislature had narrowly voted to eliminate the personal belief vaccine exemption, while denying medical care to the children of parents making vaccine choices had become standard behavior in pediatric offices across the country.46,47
Professor and Vaccine Developer: 'Snuff Out' Vaccine Safety and Choice Advocates
In 2016, the profiling of vaccine hesitant parents based on race and class had become so politically correct in America that two Michigan pediatricians felt comfortable describing them this way: "These parents almost always come from privilege, and they are almost never punished for their actions... they are by and large white, educated and affluent."48
By 2017, Peter Hotez, a Baylor University professor of medicine and vaccine developer,49,50 slapped the "high educational attainment and socioeconomic status" label on parents defending vaccine freedom of choice. In Scientific American magazine, he called on the U.S. government and G-20 nations to take steps to "snuff out" the "American anti-vaccine movement."51 To "snuff out" means to "crush or kill."52
It is no wonder the Boston Herald editorial staff did not hesitate to suggest that the hangman's noose was the kind of punishment that these "white, educated and affluent" parents deserved.53 Apparently, you get a free pass to engage in race and class baiting if you have M.D., Ph.D. or J.D. written after your name and or bang the drum loudly for forced vaccination, suggesting that those who refuse to believe get a taste of the whip.
History does reveal that it is much easier to wage a reign of terror when the gallows and guillotine in the public square are used to teach unbelievers a lesson. Clearly, the doctors and professors demanding that we roll up our children's sleeves to prove we are willing to take one for the team are getting nervous. They know that more than 90 percent of American parents are asking pediatricians questions about vaccine safety and want to make voluntary vaccine decisions for their children.54
Professor and Vaccine Developer: Take Away Vaccine Exemptions
Wealthy vaccine developers, like pediatrician and professor of vaccinology Dr. Paul Offit,55,56,57 are lobbying to eliminate all vaccine exemptions that have not been approved by doctors, so parents are legally prohibited from exercising freedom of thought and conscience when making health care decisions for their children.58,59,60
Offit believes that children can safely receive 10,000 vaccines at once61 and has contempt for parents who do not agree with him about that. He said, "They're people who believe they can know anything and know as much as their doctor — if not more — by simply studying it, reading about it."62
Wealthiest Profession in America: Medical Doctors
Offit is a member of the highest paid profession in America — medical doctors63,64 — and he also belongs to an elite academic community where professors of medicine at some universities are paid $3 to $4 million per year,65 which is comparable to pharmaceutical company salaries. In 2011, the annual salary for an M.D. vice president at Merck was $6 million.66
There are about 750,000 medical doctors working in the U.S. and, although currently the top five medical specialties earn an average $400,000 to half a million dollars per year, the average annual income for most doctors is between $190,000 and $240,000, which is more than six times the U.S. median income of about $36,000 and four times the U.S. household median income of $56,000.67,68,69
There are about 33,000 medical doctors working for the federal government, and they are paid an average $206,000 per year.70 Full professors at colleges and universities are paid on average between $140,000 and $220,000,71,72 but some are paid millions.73
Give No Safe Harbor to Race and Class Baiting
While doctors and professors certainly have the legal right to make a lot of money, it does not give them the moral right to dictate what other people in society can value, think, believe, say or do. Their vicious attacks on people who disagree with them about health and vaccination is an attack on basic human rights that protect all people, rich and poor, and of every race in every country, against tyranny.
Class and race baiting has no place in the public conversation about vaccination and there should be no safe harbor for those who engage in it. Until laws are passed limiting the authority of medical doctors using the heel of boot of the state to violate human rights, the people's health and freedom will be in danger. Learn more about vaccination and health within NVIC.org.
It's your health. Your family. Your choice.Jon Stewart used his first show of 2013 to tear into House Republicans for the rather notable opposition to the Hurricane Sandy relief bill passed in the Senate. Stewart called them “assholes” and their reasoning “bullshit,” as well as mocking the idea that there was so much pork in the bill many Republicans couldn’t bring themselves to vote for it.
RELATED: Martin Bashir Busts Paul Ryan For Voting ‘No’ On Hurricane Sandy Aid But Yes On Midwest Flood Aid
Stewart compared the natural disaster of Sandy to the human disaster of the House GOP, highlighting how Congress left for the night last week before voting on the relief bill. He credited the Republican voices of outrage, including Chris Christie and Peter King, for getting results and forcing the GOP to hold the vote.
However, the House has only so far approved $9 billion of the $60 billion relief bill, and will take up the rest of it next week, because as Stewart put it, “what’s another week when you’ve been fucked for months?” He scolded the sixty-seven House Republicans who voted against the bill and wondered why they would vote against the bill, asking, “What would Jesus, or any other human being that isn’t an asshole, do?”
As for the argument that the bill was loaded with pork, Stewart shot back by saying that there were only two such paragraphs in the entire bill, about as much pork as in a PETA staff fridge. He said their reasoning was “bullshit,” and in particular called out a Mississippi Republican for voting against the bill while also, last year, requesting money for the national flood insurance program this past year for his constituents.
Stewart ended by laying it on the line for the GOP.
“If you guys can’t vote for this, then we’re fucked for the next few years. And I’m not saying you’re responsible for all the problems facing our country, but you sure are making them a lot harder to fix.”
Watch the video below, courtesy of Comedy Central:
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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comThe boss of London’s Meantime Brewing Company has defended the independent beer maker’s decision to sell out to SAB Miller, in a deal that allows the global brewer behind the Peroni and Miller brands to muscle in on the UK craft brewing boom.
Nick Miller, Meantime’s chief executive, said the craft tag was increasingly redundant and that selling to the world’s second-biggest brewer would not harm the company’s reputation, built up over 16 years as a standalone producer.
“I think the term ‘craft’ will disappear. It will become the norm that we have craft beer whether the brewer is big or small. If you stay true to what you believe in, which is high quality premium beers... I think the drinker will welcome that.”
Meantime was founded in 1999 by brewer Alastair Hook in a flat in Greenwich and its most popular brews include London lager, London pale ale and London porter. It now operates from a modern 120,000 hectolitre brewery in Greenwich and has two pubs, the Greenwich Union and the Old Brewery bar.
Q&A best bits: running a craft brewing business Read more
SAB Miller said the deal, sealed for an undisclosed sum, would give it a presence in the fastest growing part of the UK beer market. It plans to increase sales of Meantime beer in Britain beyond the brewer’s London base and is considering exporting to Europe.
Meantime increased production by 58% last year as demand for craft beers increased. Growth has quickened this year, Miller said. The overall UK beer market grew by 1% in 2014.
Britain is experiencing a surge in craft brewing. Even as pubs close at a rate of about 30 a week, the number of breweries has increased by 10% over each of the past two years to more than 1,400 – the most since the 1940s. The boom is led by small operations making distinctive ales in and around London, Leeds and other major cities.
Meantime's sale to SABMiller won't stifle the craft beer renaissance Read more
Mindful that the independent status of craft brewers contributes to their popularity, SAB Miller and Meantime stressed that Meantime would keep its autonomy and distinct character.
SAB Miller’s purchase of Meantime is a further sign that craft beer, originally associated with hipsters, beards and tattoos, is going mainstream. JD Wetherspoon, the pub chain, has started stocking beers made by BrewDog, the avowedly anti-establishment Scottish brewery. Craft beer is now included in the basket of goods used to calculate inflation.
It remains to be seen how the purchase of Meantime by SAB Miller, which owns mass brands such as Foster’s in Australia and Miller in the US, goes down with UK beer enthusiasts.
Meantime’s Miller said: “Why would Meantime suddenly not be a craft beer because it’s got a different set of shareholders. Are we saying the shareholders determine whether we are craft or not? This morning, Alastair and I had no different values to the ones we had yesterday.”
But Richard Burhouse, founder and managing director of Huddersfield’s Magic Rock brewery, said being owned by SAB Miller was at odds with the spirit of craft beer.
“Any credibility they had will be gone but I’m not sure how much it will affect them because I think they’ve been going into the mass market where customers are not so bothered. I don’t begrudge Alastair doing this. He’s been doing it [brewing at Meantime] a long time. Never say never but it’s not on my mind at all that if we had an approach we would consider it.”
Craft ale has become difficult to define as its popularity has grown. The Campaign for Real Ale does not class Meantime’s beers as real ale because they are served from a pressurised keg. Miller said top quality ingredients, character and lack of pasteurisation supported Meantime’s craft status.
Tom Stainer, Camra’s head of communications, said: “Whilst Meantime do not currently produce real ale, Camra are nonetheless concerned that choice for beer drinkers may be reduced following the acquisition of the brewery by SAB Miller, who may focus on a handful of core beers rather than a wide range. We would also urge the brewery to consider returning to brewing real ale in the future.”
The companies did not disclose the price SAB Miller will pay for Meantime. Meantime’s chief executive said he, Hook and about 60 other investors, including some employees, owned the business.
Miller and Hook will continue to run Meantime. They will receive funds to expand the Greenwich brewery and will also be in charge of a new product development facility to come up with new beers for SAB Miller.This article is from the archive of our partner.
Assault rifle sales in the United States are dropping, Bloomberg reported.
According to the news outlet, requests for criminal background checks, which is a leading indicator of gun purchases, dropped 3.8 percent between 2013 and 2014. Meanwhile sales from the popular gun maker Smith & Wesson fell 23 percent last quarter, while other manufacturers like Sturm, Ruger & Co. saw similar drop offs.
So what's for the sudden decline in gun sales? Have guns become less popular?
Ironically, the decline is likely a sign that gun legislation is dead in Congress, or at least, the fear of it is.
Jim Hornsby, the owner of a gun store outside Atlanta told Bloomberg that people are no longer as worried that the federal government is coming after their firearms. Even when a 9-year-old has an Uzi.
"Assault-rifle sales stopped in their tracks,” Hornsby said. "There’s not an immediate fear the government’s going to take them away."
The original spike in gun sales began shortly after President Obama was elected amid fears that the new administration would try to institute new gun restrictions. In 2009, during the heart of the recession, American gun sales continued to soar as many citizens remained worried about the election of a new Democratic President.Twenty-four hours after Avatar appeared in theaters, the Web site Language Log was teeming with comments about Na’vi, the alien tongue spoken in the film. The site is always lively, but it was especially so that day because Paul Frommer—who created the language—had shown up to discuss Na’vi syntax and phonetics. His fans were asking questions. How to say “I don’t speak Na’vi” or “I love you,” for example. An especially ambitious commenter named “Prrton” even posted a lengthy statement in the new language:
“Ngaru ätxäle … oel set futa Hal’liwutta tsayeyktanru ngal peng futa lì’fyati Na’viyä nume nereeiu a ngeyä wotxa lì’utìtäftxurenu sì aylì’uyä sänumeti perängey ayoel. Ayoel nereu a tsa’u ke tsayängun lu txo ayoel pänutìng futa rawketi sayi nìwotx ulte Eywafa ke txayey. Kawkrr!!;-) Eywa ngahu.”
Or, in English:
“I now ask you to tell the Hollywood bosses [Hal’liwutta tsayeyktanru] that those of us who want to learn the Na’vi language are waiting (impatiently) for your full grammar and lexicon. We promise to raise a lotta hell if what we want is not forthcoming, and ‘by Eywa’ we wont stop. Ever!! ;-)”
Prrton—a California consultant who goes by Britton Watkins in the real world—is clearly a little unusual. But not because he’s an Avatar obsessive (there are lots of those). He’s unusual in that he formulated a paragraph in Na’vi without a complete grammar or dictionary. And he didn’t just stick a few words from the movie into random order or repeat lines that had occurred in the film. He produced an original and grammatically correct statement.
At this point, you might be wondering how that’s even possible. But it is, because Frommer developed a complex system of rules that determines the “correct” form for Na’vi sentences. And fans who pay close—very close—attention, can figure out those rules just by listening to the dialogue. They can take the information available and back-engineer the system, like anthropologists jotting down field notes in the jungle. Fans of The Princess and the Frog, which came out the same week as Avatar, could not do the same with the made-up language spoken by the frog-prince, who hails from the imaginary kingdom of Maldonia. He utters a few vaguely “European”-sounding phrases, but there is no system behind them. Aspiring Maldonian princesses can exclaim “Ashidanza!” when they think something is “cool,” but they can’t produce never-before-uttered Maldonian sentences.
Aspiring Pandorans, however, can introduce themselves, give opinions, make requests, and even write poems in Na’vi. This, in fact, is what they are doing at learnnavi.org. The forum there already has 153,000 posts by 4,300 people—aficionados who chat, translate, and encourage novices who have never even studied a foreign language. (Yes, there are people who didn’t bother learning Spanish in high school but who are eager to learn the invented language spoken on a fictional alien planet.) Na’vi, it would seem, has been taken over by the Na’vi speakers. While waiting on Frommer’s full lexicon and grammar, Na’vi enthusiasts have produced their own study guides, word lists, and audio samples. They have posted guidelines for picking a “correct” Na’vi name and compiled warnings about common beginners’ errors.
But here’s the catch: These budding Na’vi speakers don’t want full control over the language. Although it’s possible for them to create the language from the ground up using the little information they have, they’d rather Frommer direct them. After Prrton asked the “Hollywood bosses” for a grammar and dictionary, he started a Web petition asking for the same. As of this writing, there are 3,868 signatures.
Prrton and fans like him want a language authority. They want confirmation that what they have figured out so far is correct. They want more vocabulary to work with and a wider range of sentence examples so they can better determine how to use the language. Na’vi is attractive to fans because it’s usable in the real world, but it loses its value without a coherent connection to the fictional world of the film. If Na’vi speakers just made up words as needed and settled questions of grammar on their own, they would no longer be speaking the language of Pandora. And that’s the whole point: to speak Na’vi, not some other weird language. There is also the danger that a sequel will come along and undo all the decisions they’ve made in a few lines of dialogue.
For Na’vi, Frommer is the ultimate authority, so the words and sentences that come directly from him are valued the most highly and considered the most trustworthy. A page on the learnnavi wiki offers a complete list of all “official” Frommer-created Na’vi material, including the text of his out-of-office e-mail reply. When it comes to decoding the rules of the language, an offhand comment from Frommer in a radio interview trumps any Avatar product that came from someone else. The Activist's Survival Guide, a companion book to the film, flagrantly violate the sound combination rules that govern the rest of Na'vi vocabulary. They have decided that the only reasonable explanation for this offense is that someone other than Frommer came up with the terms and stuck them in the book, thinking, “What's the difference? They're just made up words.” Hollywood bosses have been known to do such things. This is why, while fans of the Star Trek language Klingon consider every line of Klingon in any of the Star Trek movies or TV episodes to be “official,” they only really trust dialogue that comes from the inventor, Marc Okrand, himself. When someone else sticks some Klingon in a script, it almost always comes out wrong. The connection to the fictional world is important; keeping the language correct is even more so”>
Frommer told me in a phone interview that he is thrilled to see fans taking up his language and impressed with their progress. He also feels a sense of responsibility to this community and has been corresponding by e-mail with the most active members. He would like to put out more information in the form of a Web site, with lessons, sample texts, sound files, and grammar exercises, but he is still waiting for word from Fox on whether they would support such a project. In the meantime, he is not sure what he is allowed to do on his own under the terms of his contract. That’s why Prrton and the other petitioners appeal not only to Frommer but also to the “Hollywood bosses” who they assume have some control over what will happen with the language.
On the publicity circuit, James Cameron frequently made proud mention of the fact that he hired a linguist to create a realistic language. (He said he wanted to “out-Klingon Klingon.”) His move paid off in that people who notice these things like the result. They’ve embraced it with gusto, and now they want the rest of it. The most likely explanation for the delay in working out how to release the Na’vi language to the world is not that the Hollywood bosses don’t want Frommer to do it but just that they haven’t gotten around to thinking about it. But Hal’liwutta tsayeyktanru be warned: The natives are getting restless.
Become a fan of Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.John McCain got caught playing an iPhone game, which Mashable has identified as VIP Poker, during a Senate hearing Tuesday on the question of whether the United States should bomb Syria.
VIP Poker, made by the Silicon Valley startup TinyCo., offers to let you play Texas Hold’em Poker live with thousands of players from around the world. It describes itself as "easy to use, so you can focus on playing, not learning buttons."
When caught, in a photo originally published on the Washington Post website, McCain tried to laugh it off on Twitter:
Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing - worst of all I lost! — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) September 3, 2013
But Twitter, by and large, wasn't having it. With the exception of one or two supporters, most of the responses to this tweet consisted of what can only be paraphrased as:
You did this on our dime? And while a serious discussion of war was going on? Seriously, you couldn't keep it in your pocket for three hours?
Oh, I get it! LOL because war maybe. So good! RT @SenJohnMcCain Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at Senate hearing - worst of all I lost! — Michael Solana (@micsolana) September 3, 2013
@SenJohnMcCain We Americans really do ask too much of our representatives. What's your poker name? Let's play during the next session! — David Weiner (@daweiner) September 3, 2013
@SenJohnMcCain @FreeBeacon if this is real, it is horrifically insulting and a disgrace. If not real, it is funny. — Jon Wolfsthal (@CNSWolfsthal) September 3, 2013
@SenJohnMcCain so you admit to playing games on US Taxpayer salary? While at a hearing? And think it funny? — Jon Wolfsthal (@CNSWolfsthal) September 3, 2013
@shankskg @SenJohnMcCain hey, when your mind is already made up, why listen? — Drug Monkey (@drugmonkeyblog) September 3, 2013
No, the people of Arizona lost. RT @SenJohnMcCain Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing - worst of all I lost! — Greg (@CajunConservatv) September 3, 2013
@chrislhayes @SenJohnMcCain, you are a disgrace to the #USNavalAcademy. Retire & manifest your personality disorder in some other way. — Carl Nyberg (@CarlNyberg312) September 3, 2013
VIP Poker maker TinyCo is a San Francisco-based firm. Marc Andreesen sits on its board of directors.
The Senate is currently debating whether to give President Obama the authority to bomb the nation of Syria in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons.
Image: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesKyoto Animation began streaming a special announcement video on Monday for the Sound! Euphonium anime to commemorate the announcement that the anime is getting a film and a sequel TV series.
Noboru Taki: Well then, let's start.
Text: Special Announcement
Text: A film version that will look back at the TV series!
Noboru Taki: Now, go and show me the true strength of Kitauji.
Text: Has been decided!
Text: Road to nationals
Text on Board: National competition participation
Text: And!
Text: Sequel work decided!
The Gekijō-ban Hibike! Euphonium ~ Kitauji Kōkō Suisōraku-Bu e Yōkoso~ (Sound! Euphonium the Movie: Welcome to the Kitauji High School Concert Band) film will look back at the spring 2015 television series, which depicted a high school concert band's journey to the prefectural band competition. The sequel will depict what happens afterward.
The spring 2015 television anime adapted Ayano Takeda's 2013 novel, which is also titled Hibike! Euphonium Kitauji Kōkō Suisōraku-Bu e Yōkoso. The story follows the Kitauji High School Concert Band, which used to always advance to national competitions. Ever since the adviser changed, though, it has not advanced past the Kansai tournament. However, thanks to the newly appointed adviser's strict instruction, the students are steadily improving. The band members' daily lives are full of ups and downs including fights over solos and the decision to resign extracurricular activities to focus on studies.
The television anime premiered in April, and Pony Canyon USA streamed the anime on Crunchyroll as the anime aired in Japan. Pony Canyon USA will also release the anime in North America.Study: Native Americans Can Trace DNA to 6 Women
A new study of DNA suggests nearly all Native Americans can trace part of their ancestry to just six women, whose descendants immigrated to North, Central and South America as much as 20,000 years ago.
According to the study published this week by the scientific journal PLoS One, researchers believe the women left a DNA legacy that can be found in about 95 percent of native people throughout the Americas.
The study said the finding does not mean those six women were the only ancestors of the migrants who populated the Americas from Asia.
Researchers said the women probably did not live in Asia because the DNA signatures they left behind are not found there. They likely lived on Beringia, a now-submerged land bridge that once connected Asia and North America.
The "founding mothers" are believed to have lived between 18,000 and 21,000 years ago, though not necessarily at the same time, said study co-author Ugo Perego.
Perego is from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in Salt Lake City and the University of Pavia in Italy. He said the study confirms previous indications of six founding mothers.
Perego and his colleagues traced the history of a particular kind of DNA that represents just a tiny fraction of the human genetic material and reflects only a piece of a person's ancestry.
This DNA is found in the mitochondria, the power plants of cells. Unlike the DNA found in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is passed along only by the mother. It follows a lineage that connects a person to his or her mother, the mother's mother, and so on.
The researchers created a family tree that traces the different mitochondrial DNA lineages found in today's Native Americans. By noting mutations in each branch and applying a formula for how often such mutations arise, they calculated how old each branch was. That indicated when each branch arose in a single woman.
However, an expert unconnected with the study said the findings left some questions unanswered.
University of Florida anthropologist Connie Mulligan, who studies the colonization of the Americas but didn't participate in the new work, said it is not surprising to trace the mitochondrial DNA to six women. But Mulligan said the bigger questions of where those women lived and of how many people left Beringia to colonize the Americas remain unanswered.
The estimate for when the women lived is open to question because it is unclear if the researchers properly accounted for differing mutation rates in mitochondrial DNA, she said. Further work could change the estimate, she said.
From NPR and wire reportsBut Mr Entsch, a senior MP who is well respected in the Coalition partyroom, said he was "not pushing for a change in leader, I'm looking for significant change in leadership". North Queensland MP Warren Entsch. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen A second Queensland MP, Ewen Jones, said he "didn't see the point" of the announcement, while Northern Territory's Chief Minister and leader of the Country Liberal Party, Adam Giles, likened the announcement to an April Fool's Day prank. "I woke up this morning and read the wires and was confused between Australia Day and April Fool's Day," Mr Giles said, adding the decision "makes us a bit of a joke in a range of areas as I really question the motivations in doing this". "It's Australia day, we are not a bunch of tossers, let's get it right."
In recent weeks, Mr Abbott has faced questions over his leadership and has reached out to the backbench in an attempt to calm nerves and present a more consultative style. Illustration: Rocco Fazzari But the knighting of Prince Philip did not go to cabinet and was the result of a "captain's call", with the Prime Minister consulting only the head of the National Australia Day Council, retired ADF chief Angus Houston, and Buckingham Palace. Air Chief Marshal (retired) Houston was also made a knight on Monday. Mr Entsch said he had not agreed with the Prime Minister's decision to revive knights and dames in March 2014 and "I suspect that if it had gone to the party room it |
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Luciana M Collins PF Depue RA Opposing roles for dopamine and serotonin in the modulation of human spatial working memory functions, Cereb Cortex., 1998, vol. 8 3 (pg. 218 - 226 ), vol.(pg. Maldjian JA Laurienti PJ Kraft RA Burdette JH An automated method for neuroanatomic and cytoarchitectonic atlas-based interrogation of fMRI data sets, Neuroimage., 2003, vol. 19 3 (pg. 1233 - 1239 ), vol.(pg. Marr D Vision, 1982 San Francisco (CA) WH Freeman McLean A Rubinsztein JS Robbins TW Sahakian BJ The effects of tyrosine depletion in normal healthy volunteers: implications for unipolar depression, Psychopharmacology (Berl)., 2004, vol. 171 3 (pg. 286 - 297 ), vol.(pg. Mehta MA Hinton EC Montgomery AJ Bantick RA Grasby PM Sulpiride and mnemonic function: effects of a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist on working memory, emotional memory and long-term memory in healthy volunteers, J Psychopharmacol., 2005, vol. 19 1 (pg. 29 - 38 ), vol.(pg. Mehta MA McGowan SW Lawrence AD Aitken MR Montgomery AJ Grasby PM Systemic sulpiride modulates striatal blood flow: relationships to spatial working memory and planning, Neuroimage., 2003, vol. 20 4 (pg. 1982 - 1994 ), vol.(pg. Mehta MA Montgomery AJ Kitamura Y Grasby PM Dopamine D2 receptor occupancy levels of acute sulpiride challenges that produce working memory and learning impairments in healthy volunteers, Psychopharmacology (Berl)., 2008, vol. 196 1 (pg. 157 - 165 ), vol.(pg. Mehta MA Riedel WJ Dopaminergic enhancement of cognitive function, Curr Pharm Des., 2006, vol. 12 20 (pg. 2487 - 2500 ), vol.(pg. Mehta MA Swainson R Ogilvie AD Sahakian J Robbins TW Improved short-term spatial memory but impaired reversal learning following the dopamine D(2) agonist bromocriptine in human volunteers, Psychopharmacology (Berl)., 2001, vol. 159 1 (pg. 10 - 20 ), vol.(pg. Miller SL Celone K DePeau K Diamond E Dickerson BC Rentz D Pihlajamaki M Sperling RA Age-related memory impairment associated with loss of parietal deactivation but preserved hippocampal activation, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 2008, vol. 105 6 (pg. 2181 - 6 ), vol.(pg. Morcom AM Good CD Frackowiak RS Rugg MD Age effects on the neural correlates of successful memory encoding, Brain., 2003, vol. 126 Pt 1 (pg. 213 - 229 ), vol.(pg. Mozley LH Gur RC Mozley PD Gur RE Striatal dopamine transporters and cognitive functioning in healthy men and women, Am J Psychiatry., 2001, vol. 158 9 (pg. 1492 - 1499 ), vol.(pg. Muller U von Cramon DY Pollmann S D1- versus D2-receptor modulation of visuospatial working memory in humans, J Neurosci., 1998, vol. 18 7 (pg. 2720 - 2728 ), vol.(pg. Naveh-Benjamin M Craik FI Guez J Kreuger S Divided attention in younger and older adults: effects of strategy and relatedness on memory performance and secondary task costs, J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn., 2005, vol. 31 3 (pg. 520 - 537 ), vol.(pg. Nelson HE Nichols T Hayasaka S Controlling the familywise error rate in functional neuroimaging: a comparative review, Stat Methods Med Res., 2003, vol. 12 5 (pg. 419 - 446 ), vol.(pg. O'Reilly RC McClelland JL Hippocampal conjunctive encoding, storage, and recall: avoiding a trade-off, Hippocampus., 1994, vol. 4 6 (pg. 661 - 682 ), vol.(pg. Oranje B Gispen-de Wied CC Westenberg HG Kemner C Verbaten MN Kahn RS Increasing dopaminergic activity: effects of L-dopa and bromocriptine on human sensory gating, J Psychopharmacol., 2004, vol. 18 3 (pg. 388 - 394 ), vol.(pg. Otmakhova NA Lisman JE D1/D5 dopamine receptors inhibit depotentiation at CA1 synapses via cAMP-dependent mechanism, J Neurosci., 1998, vol. 18 4 (pg. 1270 - 1279 ), vol.(pg. Otten LJ Henson RN Rugg MD State-related and item-related neural correlates of successful memory encoding, Nat Neurosci., 2002, vol. 5 12 (pg. 1339 - 1344 ), vol.(pg. Peretti CS Gierski F Harrois S Cognitive skill learning in healthy older adults after 2 months of double-blind treatment with piribedil, Psychopharmacology (Berl)., 2004, vol. 176 2 (pg. 175 - 181 ), vol.(pg. Perfect TJ Williams RB Anderton-Brown C Age differences in reported recollective experience are due to encoding effects, not response bias, Memory., 1995, vol. 3 2 (pg. 169 - 186 ), vol.(pg. Pralong E Jones RSG Eur J Neurosci., 1993, vol. 5 (pg. 760 - 767 ), vol.(pg. Raz N Gunning FM Head D Dupuis JH McQuain J Briggs SD Loken WJ Thornton AE Acker JD Selective aging of the human cerebral cortex observed in vivo: differential vulnerability of the prefrontal gray matter, Cereb Cortex., 1997, vol. 7 3 (pg. 268 - 282 ), vol.(pg. Raz N Rodrigue KM Differential aging of the brain: patterns, cognitive correlates and modifiers, Neurosci Biobehav Rev., 2006, vol. 30 6 (pg. 730 - 748 ), vol.(pg. Reddymasu SC Soykan I McCallum RW Domperidone: review of pharmacology and clinical applications in gastroenterology, Am J Gastroenterol., 2007, vol. 102 9 (pg. 2036 - 2045 ), vol.(pg. Reynolds JR Donaldson DI Wagner AD Braver TS Item- and task-level processes in the left inferior prefrontal cortex: positive and negative correlates of encoding, Neuroimage., 2004, vol. 21 4 (pg. 1472 - 1483 ), vol.(pg. Rugg MD Otten LJ Henson RN The neural basis of episodic memory: evidence from functional neuroimaging, Philos Trans R Soc Lond., 2002, vol. 357 1424 (pg. 1097 - 1110 ), vol.(pg. Rypma B D'Esposito M Isolating the neural mechanisms of age-related changes in human working memory, Nat Neurosci., 2000, vol. 3 5 (pg. 509 - 515 ), vol.(pg. Salthouse TA The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition, Psychol Rev., 1996, vol. 103 3 (pg. 403 - 428 ), vol.(pg. Sandquist TF Rohrbaugh JW Syndulko K Lindsley DB Electrophysiological signs of levels of processing: perceptual analysis and recognition memory, Psychophysiology., 1980, vol. 17 (pg. 568 - 576 ), vol.(pg. Schott BH Seidenbecher CI Fenker DB Lauer CJ Bunzeck N Bernstein HG Tischmeyer W Gundelfinger ED Heinze HJ Duzel E The dopaminergic midbrain participates in human episodic memory formation: evidence from genetic imaging, J Neurosci., 2006, vol. 26 5 (pg. 1407 - 1417 ), vol.(pg. Servan-Schreiber D Printz H Cohen JD A network model of catecholamine effects: gain, signal-to-noise ratio, and behavior, Science., 1990, vol. 249 (pg. 892 - 895 ), vol.(pg. Snodgrass JG Corwin J Pragmatics of measuring recognition memory: applications to dementia and amnesia, J Exp Psychol., 1988, vol. 117 (pg. 34 - 50 ), vol.(pg. Stevens WD Hasher L Chiew KS Grady CL A neural mechanism underlying memory failure in older adults, J Neurosci., 2008, vol. 28 48 (pg. 12820 - 4 ), vol.(pg. Summerfield C Greene M Wager T Egner T Hirsch J Mangels J Neocortical connectivity during episodic memory formation, PLoS Biol., 2006, vol. 4 5 pg. e128, vol.pg. Talairach J Tournoux P Co-planar stereotaxic atlas of the human brain, 1988 Stuttgart George Thieme Verlag (pg. 1 - 122 ) (pg. Treves A Rolls ET Computational analysis of the role of the hippocampus in memory, Hippocampus., 1994, vol. 4 3 (pg. 374 - 391 ), vol.(pg. Turner DC Robbins TW Clark L Aron AR Dowson J Sahakian BJ Relative lack of cognitive effects of methylphenidate in elderly male volunteers, Psychopharmacology (Berl)., 2003, vol. 168 4 (pg. 455 - 464 ), vol.(pg. Tzourio-Mazoyer N Landeau B Papathanassiou D Crivello F Etard O Delcroix N Mazoyer B Joliot M Automated anatomical labeling of activations in SPM using a macroscopic anatomical parcellation of the MNI MRI single-subject brain, Neuroimage., 2002, vol. 15 1 (pg. 273 - 289 ), vol.(pg. Volkow ND Gur RC Wang GJ Fowler JS Moberg PJ Ding YS Hitzemann R Smith G Logan J Association between decline in brain dopamine activity with age and cognitive and motor impairment in healthy individuals, Am J Psychiatry., 1998, vol. 155 3 (pg. 344 - 349 ), vol.(pg. von Bahr C Wiesel FA Movin G Eneroth P Jansson P Nilsson L Ogenstad S Neuroendocrine responses to single oral doses of remoxipride and sulpiride in healthy female and male volunteers, Psychopharmacology (Berl)., 1991, vol. 103 4 (pg. 443 - 448 ), vol.(pg. Voorn P Vanderschuren LJ Groenewegen HJ Robbins TW Pennartz CM Putting a spin on the dorsal-ventral divide of the striatum, Trends Neurosci., 2004, vol. 27 8 (pg. 468 - 474 ), vol.(pg. Wagner AD Davachi L Cognitive neuroscience: forgetting of things past, Curr Biol., 2001, vol. 11 23 (pg. R964 - R967 ), vol.(pg. Wagner AD Koutstaal W Schacter DL When encoding yields remembering: insights from event-related neuroimaging, Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci., 1999, vol. 354 1387 (pg. 1307 - 1324 ), vol.(pg. Wagner AD Schacter DL Rotte M Koustaal W Maril A Dale AM Rosen BR Buckner RL Building memories: remembering and forgetting of verbal experiences as predicted by brain activity, Science., 1998, vol. 21 (pg. 188 - 191 ), vol.(pg. Wang Y Chan GL Holden JE Dobko T Mak E Schulzer M Huser JM Snow BJ Ruth TJ Calne DB, et al. Age-dependent decline of dopamine D1 receptors in human brain: a PET study, Synapse., 1998, vol. 30 1 (pg. 56 - 61 ), vol.(pg. 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© 2009 The AuthorsGreat news, everyone! A fresh weekly IntelliJ IDEA 16 EAP is out and ready, packed with bugfixes and new features as usual. The noticeable changes affect the debugger, VCS integrations, and user interface.
Debugger
Now when debugging a Java application, you can use Groovy expressions with Evaluate Expression and Watches. Previously you could do that only when debugging Groovy code. This is good because Groovy expressions are much shorter and more expressive (especially when you work with collections.)
This feature requires a Groovy runtime library in the classpath.
Also, we’ve made it easier to debug multiple threads. Until now, stepping over one thread meant IntelliJ IDEA would also resume all the other threads (that stopped at breakpoints for which Suspend policy was set to All). Now you can change this behavior by enabling the Resume only the current thread option in Settings > Build, Execution, Deployment > Debugger > Stepping.
VCS integration
Git users will be happy to know that IntelliJ IDEA now supports worktrees. This feature was introduced in Git 2.5 to make working with clones of a single repository simpler, because instead of making a repository clone you could create a lightweight worktree. The good news is that now IntelliJ IDEA supports those worktrees, so you can work with them just like you do with regular repositories.
The look and feel of Git Log has been updated with a better-looking toolbar and thinner splitters, and the table headers have been removed.
Show/Find usages
Talking about user interface, we have improved the speed-search in the Show usages popup. Now, when you use it, the matches are highlighted for easier navigation.
The speed-search in Find usages tool window has also been improved in another way: now it looks through the entire contents of the tool window text.
Last but not least, if you run any code cleanup inspection via Run Inspection by Name, you will now be offered to apply the quick-fix right away in the dialog.
That’s it for now. We hope you’ll find these enhancements useful and give us your feedback and bug reports on our discussion forum and in the issue tracker.
Develop with pleasure!Welcome to Mignolaversity News Update, your monthly recap of all the Mignolaverse-related news from the past month. Newsarama ran February’s solicitations, so let’s check ’em out…
RASPUTIN
THE VOICE OF THE DRAGON #4 (of 5)
Written by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson
Illustrated by Christopher Mitten
Color by Dave Stewart On sale February 7, 2018
Full color, 32 pages
$3.99
Ongoing Bruttenholm and Sandhu’s mission to uncover the evasive “Master” behind the Nazis occult experiments is derailed when they fall into the clutches of their enemy.
KOSHCHEI THE DEATHLESS #2 (of 6)
Written by Mike Mignola
Illustrated by Ben Stenbeck
Color by Dave Stewart On sale February 7, 2018
Full color, 32 pages
$3.99
One-shot Sent to kill Hellboy by the Baba Yaga in Darkness Calls, Koshchei the Deathless hinted at a long and tragic life before being enslaved to the Russian witch. Now, in a pub somewhere in Hell, Koshchei tells Hellboy about a dangerous mission when the witch sent him to hunt and destroy the last dragons before their eggs hatch.
JENNY FINN #4 (of 4)
Written by Mike Mignola and Troy Nixey
Illustrated by Farel Dalrymple
Color by Dave Stewart On sale February 21, 2018
Full color, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries Jenny has been captured and the terrible plague is coming to an end, but when Joe has the chance to escape London a ghost from his past forces him to stay and finish what he started.
HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D.: 1955
BURNING SEASON
Written by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson
Pencils by Paolo Rivera
Inks by Joe Rivera
Color by Dave Stewart On sale February 21, 2018
Full color, 32 pages
$3.99
One-shot Hellboy investigates a rash of spontaneous human combustions in a Florida town unlike any supernatural phenomena he’s seen before–and the fire has an appetite for Bureau agents. • Paolo Rivera returns!
Plus there’s a “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth” omnibus in April…
B.P.R.D.
HELL ON EARTH
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
Written by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Scott Allie
Illustrated by Tyler Crook, Jason LaTour, Max Fiumara, and James Harren
Color by Dave Stewart On sale April 18, 2018
Full color, 408 pages
$34.99
Hardcover America’s monster problem explodes, society crumbles, and Liz Sherman rejoins the fight, as Nazis seek to bring Rasputin back to finish what he started when he first conjured Hellboy! This deluxe hardcover edition collects B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth volumes 4–6, plus an expanded sketchbook section. “Picking up objects in the Mignolaverse can cause horrific problems. Thankfully, picking up this book will only elicit thrills.” —SciFiPulse
And now the news…
• Let’s kick things off with the movie news first, shall we? David Harbour’s been teasing his version of Hellboy over on his instagram. And David Dae Kim has been teasing his version of Daimio (though revealing nothing).
• Deadline reports on further casting announcements: Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) will play Lady Hatton, one seventh of the Osiris Club (most recently appeared in “B.P.R.D. The Devil You Know” #3); Alistair Petrie (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) will be playing Lord Adam Glaren, in the comics a member of the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra (see “B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls” and “Witchinfder: Lost and Gone Forever”), but in the film another member of the Osiris Club; and Brian Gleeson (Love/Hate) will play Merlin (see “Hellboy: The Storm and the Fury”).
Continued below
• Injustice 2 is adding Hellboy to the roster…
• Skelton Crew Studio has released two new enamel pins: The Amazing Screw-On Head and Itty Bitty Hellboy.
• Mike Mignola and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell’s “Mr. Higgins Comes Home” came out and with it a bunch of interviews with the artist from Forces of Geek, Horror News Network, and us. Johnson-Cadwell’s also been sharing a bunch of his art on Twitter. Check it out.
• “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.” artist Paola Rivera has been sharing his process on his covers for “Occult Intelligence” #2 and #2 on his blog. It really is fantastic stuff (and I sure hope a bunch of it ends up in the trade collection).
• Patric Reynolds has finished work on “Joe Golem, Occult Detective: Flesh and Stone,” his last arc on the title. He always posts excellent stuff on his Twitter and Instagram. He also put up a bunch of commissions recently, including these two:
• “Lobster Johnson” and “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.” artist Stephen Green has been sharing some cool commissions too.
• And here’s one from “Abe Sapien” and “B.P.R.D.” artist Max Fiumara:
• And here’s a Hellboy from Duncan Fegredo.
• Until November 30, Ben Stenbeck is doing 20% off his pages and covers. Stenbeck also had a chat to Previews World about the upcoming “Koshchei the Deathless” miniseries.
• And finally, Laurence Campbell has been sharing a look at his inked “B.P.R.D. The Devil You Know” pages on Twitter.Former Marist Brothers' teacher Darcy O'Sullivan jailed for indecent assault of students
Updated
Former Catholic school teacher Darcy John O'Sullivan, who indecently assaulted at least a dozen children in New South Wales in the 1970s and 80s will spend at least three years behind bars.
Also known as Brother Dominic, O'Sullivan was a teacher at Marist Brothers in Hamilton, Newcastle, and later a principal at St Mary's High School in Casino.
O'Sullivan, 78, pleaded guilty earlier this year to 22 counts of indecently assaulting 12 boys at both schools over a 13-year period.
"[He] became increasingly confident that these offences would never come to light," District Court Judge Kate Traill said in her sentencing remarks.
The victims, she said, were left feeling "humiliated and degraded by the offender and they would have found it difficult to report [the assaults]."
Judge Traill pointed to a psychological assessment where O'Sullivan said "[He] saw the behaviour as an outlet of physical affection rather than for sexual gratification."
She also expressed frustration at having to sentence O'Sullivan in line with laws that were in place at the time of the offences.
Judge Traill said the same offences now attracted a maximum sentence of up to 10 years' jail as there was now a better understanding of their impact upon victims.
Court told of 'brazen' assaults
Earlier in the trial, the court heard O'Sullivan "made a lifestyle" of preying on young students.
During the trial, evidence was given that some students at the school were sent to his office for punishment, where he would ask them to sit on his knee while he touched them inappropriately.
Another victim told police he reported the abuse to his mother who said: "You shouldn't have been sent to his office in the first place, it's your fault."
Crown prosecutor Sean Hughes said the assaults were "brazen", "witnessed by other students" and that "during the time of his offending... the trust in the clergy was most substantial".
"He had a commitment to enrich the lives of these boys, he did quite the opposite - he's caused substantial damage," Mr Hughes said of O'Sullivan's actions.
O'Sullivan had been out on bail during the trial, but it was revoked last month when Judge Traill indicated a full-time custodial sentence would be imposed.
At the time, several of the men assaulted when they were young boys watched as he was taken into custody by corrective services officials and said they were "delighted" at the outcome.
O'Sullivan will be eligible for parole in 2019.
Earlier this month, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse examined the response of the Marist Brothers to allegations of sexual abuse made against several staff over decades.
One victim identified as CNQ described being assaulted by O'Sullivan after being sent to him to receive the cane in 1977.
He also told of another incident: "It hurt a lot and I screamed."
"Afterwards I was dazed and was wandering around the lunch area."
O'Sullivan will be eligible for parole in 2019.
Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, sexual-offences, community-and-society, religion-and-beliefs, casino-2470, nsw, newcastle-2300
First postedWhat if we didn’t own cars anymore, but cabins instead? This was the question that the New Work-based architect studio Oiio investigated. Today’s cars are – simply speaking – composed of an engine, a passenger cabin, and a trunk. Without the other, each of the three pieces would be useless.
But if you design a car in a way that the passenger cabin can be removed from the other parts, then the most maintenance intensive part – the engine – can be rented and used for other clients while your own cabin is parked outside the office or home.
The cabin – designed by Oiio and named Oto-Pod – could be attached to different drive units and be moved vertically or horizontally.
The electric drive unit would be controlled by an AI-system and drives autonomously. The video can be found here:
This article has also been published in German.We are currently looking to fill 2 new (remote) developer roles at Company 0:
a UI/UX developer that will focus on building native Windows and OSX GUIs on top of btcwallet
a web designer that will create cross-platform websites that use mainly HTML, CSS and light Javascript
In the past few months, btcwallet has made significant strides forward in terms of security and usability, and it is past due to create a native GUI for both Windows and OSX. All the RPC calls required to create, sign and send transactions have been working without event for over a year. The GUI on Windows and OSX will connect to the btcwallet daemon using RPC, render the data the user needs to see in the GUI, and then issue a series of RPC commands to the the daemon.
The UI/UX developer requirements are
Experience coding native GUIs for Windows (.Net C#/C++) and OSX (ObjC, Swift preferred)
Obsessed with crafting simple, intuitive, and delightful user experiences
Able to clearly articulate the rationale for your designs
Able to work effectively on remote
Able to work on a team and independently when needed
Obsessive attention to detail
Familiarity with Bitcoin and wallets a plus
The web developer requirements are
Able to write clean HTML and CSS
Able to write simple Javascript and incorporate existing Javascript, e.g. jquery, into a site
Familiarity with bootstrap or other frontend frameworks
Able to create simple artwork from scratch
Able to work effectively on remote
Able to work on a team and independently when needed
Minimal and intuitive designs preferred
If you are interested in either of these positions, please contact us at jobs >at< companyzero.com. Please submit your resume or CV as a PDF, we will not read resumes in other formats or on any site requiring a login.It’s like The Hunger Games: the Capital City, and its hangers-on, flourish, while the provinces starve.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Photo11: Christof Stache, AFP/Getty Images)
Global elites, Peggy Noonan notes, no longer seem to care about their countrymen. They’ve cashed out into a separate world, where consequences don’t apply to them, and where loyalty to other members of the global elite outweighs such petty concerns as patriotism or loyalty to one’s fellow-citizens.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Noonan notes the case of Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Without consulting the populace, Merkel opened up Germany to 800,000 refugees from the Middle East. More than a million wound up coming, and the tide hasn’t ebbed yet.
Ordinary Germans, who weren’t consulted in advance, are now dealing with the consequences: Increased crime, political divisions, a wave of rapes and sexual assaults by migrants (which the authorities covered up for political reasons) and numerous other downsides that Merkel and her associates won’t have to deal with. As Noonan writes:
But there was a fundamental problem with the decision that you can see rippling now throughout the West. Ms. Merkel had put the entire burden of a huge cultural change not on herself and those like her but on regular people who live closer to the edge, who do not have the resources to meet the burden, who have no particular protection or money or connections. Ms. Merkel, her cabinet and government, the media and cultural apparatus that lauded her decision were not in the least affected by it and likely never would be. Nothing in their lives will get worse. The challenge of integrating different cultures, negotiating daily tensions, dealing with crime and extremism and fearfulness on the street — that was put on those with comparatively little, whom I’ve called the unprotected. They were left to struggle, not gradually and over the years but suddenly and in an air of ongoing crisis that shows no signs of ending — because nobody cares about them enough to stop it. The powerful show no particular sign of worrying about any of this. When the working and middle class pushed back in shocked indignation, the people on top called them “xenophobic,” “narrow-minded,” “racist.” The detached, who made the decisions and bore none of the costs, got to be called “humanist,” “compassionate,” and “hero of human rights.”
Germany is, alas, just one such example. In the United States |
to dissect!
Emily Asher-Perrin is really not cool with how droids are treated. She has written essays for the newly released Doctor Who and Race and Queers Dig Time Lords. You can bug her on Twitter and read more of her work here and elsewhere.Ever wonder what it would be like if the trucking industry just stopped? What if every truck driver just woke up tomorrow morning and decided they didn’t feel like driving anymore? Could we survive?
Below we will walk through all the advantages truck drivers provide our world and what it might look like if they were gone. By the time you finish reading, you will have what you need to decide whether you think we could make it or not.
Economic Collapse
Trucking has a massive impact on the economy. In the U.S. alone, $700.4 billion worth of goods are transported by truck. If truck drivers were to just stop working one day, the following problems would arise:
Deplinished Goods. Retail stores and manufacturers would quickly run low on merchandise and supplies. These companies rely on just-in-time delivery. In the absence of truckers, products, equipment and supplies would be gone within hours.
Food Shortages. In as little as three days, the nation’s food supply would be depleted. Not only would food shortages lead to mass hunger, fear would exasperate the problem. People would begin hoarding food and purchasing essential items in mass quantities, resulting in civil unrest.
Dwindling Drinkable Water Supplies. Within two to four weeks, consumer drinking water would be completely drained. Trucks typically deliver chemicals to water treatment plants every 14 days. Without these chemicals, water supplies would be unsafe to drink.
Declining Health Conditions
The trucking industry also has a significant impact on our nation’s healthcare. Without trucks, the medical world would be drastically impacted.
Hospital Supplies Shortages. Medical professionals need regular medical supplies and medication to effectively treat patients. Medical supplies would be unavailable if truck drivers transporting goods weren’t available. Furthermore, many hospitals have moved to just-in-time delivery, in which they wait until essential items are gone before ordering more. Without trucks, doctors could not provide the proper medical treatment to patients.
Pharmaceutical Drugs Gone. All 55,000 pharmacies in the nation receive goods and drugs daily. Without trucks to deliver these products, pharmacy subscriptions would quickly run low.
Environmental Contamination
An estimated 236 million tons of waste are generated by Americans annually. With no trucks to remove waste, the environment would become toxic.
Buried in Trash. Americans go through 4.6 pounds of trash per person per day. It wouldn’t take long before we were all buried in a heap of trash because truck drivers wouldn’t be there to ship the waste to dump sites. In addition, many waste facilities would be unable to operate efficiently without proper equipment.
Hazardous Materials. With trash piling up everywhere, hazardous microorganisms, insects and other vermins would begin to breed. This would lead to toxins and infectious disease across the world.
So, could we survive? Probably not.
We Believe in Trucking
At M&W Logistics, we believe in trucking. We believe trucking makes the world a healthier, cleaner and better place to live. Without truck drivers, we wouldn’t enjoy all the modern conveniences we have today.
So, next time you see a truck driver, make sure to thank them; because just imagine what life would be like without him or her. If you would like to join the M&W family in making the world a better place, contact us today. We have many truck driver jobs available for experienced and dedicated drivers.Earlier this month, the last broadcast television network ended its Saturday Morning Cartoon line-up. CW’s Vortex was great, even though it was a dumping ground for older cartoons from other networks. I was amazed with them replaying DragonBall Z. It was heavily edited, but at least it was something.
Then, suddenly, they ended it and replaced it with less expensive educational programming destined to put kids asleep with boredom. We could lay the blame on a whole bunch of things, but my disdain for Saved By The Bell is not the purpose of this article. This is an assembly of what in my opinion would be the BEST DANG SATURDAY CARTOON LINE-UP EVER.
I was sent a link from a friend that listed the big three networks Saturday morning tv schedules from 1979 to 1991. Reading these listings brought back memories of Saturdays spent in front of the TV. I’d fight with my brother over what we watched. Of course, my dad would settle that and we’d have to watch what he wanted. This list also brought a weird realization, like some shows I thought went on for years (example: Pole Position) but only lasted one year. Regardless, I got to thinking: what would be my dream Saturday morning watch list?
This list is based on a 4 hour Saturday morning schedule from 8:00am to 12:00pm. Each show gets one half hour that corresponds to the EXACT TIME it aired on either CBS, NBC, or ABC. The site I pulled my listing info from is New England region specific, so if you were from another part of the country these shows may have aired at a different hour.
NOTE: This list only features cartoons that aired on Saturday morning. GI Joe, Transformers, Voltron, He-Man, etc. aired in syndication and not Saturday mornings, so these could not be on this list. I challenge everyone to make up your own list, unless of course, mine is perfect to you. Ok, here we go:
8:00am- Superfriends (ABC)
Hanna Barbera had a Justice League show in different forms from 1973 to 1985. The original was meh because of Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog. They were the comic relief to the adventures of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, and the underrated Aquaman.
The version in my line up would not feature them, but the later versions. Definitely The Challenge of the Superfriends (which was essentially 13 supervillians versus the JLA) and The World’s Greatest Superfriends. Yes, the latter had Zan, Jayna and Gleek, but the stories were awesome. The episode I want to find someday is the JLA versus their evil counterparts.
BEST MOMENT: Kaze no Yo Hayaku! and Eh-neeek-chock!
WORST MOMENT: Wendy, Marvin & Wonder Dog.
8:30am- Thundarr The Barbarian (ABC)
“The year is 1994. A runaway planet comes between the earth and the moon unleashing cosmic destruction.” That opening had me waiting to see if it would happen in real life. And that was just the beginning.
Thundarr, Princess Ariel and Ookla the Mok would ride to a different adventure every week. Ookla reminded me of Chewie from Star Wars and Ariel was always the voice of reason to Thundarr. Added plus, in later years I found out that comics legendJack “The King” Kirby did the character designs.
BEST MOMENT: The guy in the opening with the rotating head.
WORST MOMENT: ’94 came and went. Where’s the cosmic destruction?
9:00am- The Mighty Orbots (ABC)
The Orbots were based on the Japanese anime robot series God Mars. Six robots formed Mighty Orbots to battle the super computer planet Umbra. I can hear the roll call in the theme in my head of them. Ohno! Tor! Bort! Bo! Boo! Crunch!
Back in 97, my friend mentioned them to me. I couldn’t remember them. It sounded familiar, but my brain drew a blank. I was shown a picture, then the memories of them forming Mighty Orbots flooded my mind. I would love to see a reboot of this series.
BEST MOMENT: Bo & Boo.. They were cute.
WORST MOMENT: It lasted one season.
9:30am- Muppet Babies (CBS)
Spun off a short musical number from Muppets Take Manhattan, Jim Henson took some of the cast of the Muppet Show and made them toddlers with extremely overactive imagination. The first season of this show was the best.
Seriously, though, their caregiver, Nanny, really had some lapses in parental control. One episode had Kermy and the gang imagining themselves waking up on the Sulaco from the movie Aliens. Hope Child Services never hear about this.
BEST MOMENT: The Star Wars Episode. Stormtroopers fall like bowling pins.
WORST MOMENT: Skeeter. WHAT IN THE FLAMIN’ HELL? Skeeter.. twin to Scooter. What? Janice wasn’t good enough? Ugh. I won’t get started..
10:00am- Pee-Wee’s Playhouse (CBS)
Insane. Crazy. Over the top. All these could describe Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. That first season (again) was the best. Pee-Wee Herman brought the live action children playhouse format back from the 50s & 60s and gave it a shot of espresso.
It wasn’t all morals and lessons. It was taping your face.. Ice Cream Soup. Lawrence FIshburne as Cowboy Curtis. Phil Hartman as cranky but lovable Capt. Carl. I could go on and on.
BEST MOMENT: “CONNECT THE DOTS!! LA LA LALA!! CONNECT THE DOTS!! LA LALA LA!!”
WORST MOMENT: Season 2 and later cast changes made the Playhouse feel diminished. Dixie, Mrs. Steve, Capt. Carl, heck even the original Playhouse Gang were gone. By the last season, it felt empty.
10:30am- Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends (NBC)
I love this show. It aired at 11:00am in my area and was followed by The Hulk. You never knew what super villian was gonna show up. Matter of fact, you never knew what superhero was gonna show up either! Whether it be the X-Men (one episode had Wolverine, the other didn’t) or Captain America, it was a surprise until you saw that episode title.
I’m gonna add this. I liked Miss Lion. If it wasn’t for her, the Spider-Man, Ice Man, Firestar, Namor, Dr. Strange, Capt America or Shanna the Jungle Queen would’ve died on The Chameleon’s island in “7 Little Superheroes”.
BEST MOMENT: The origins of all three heroes and how they became a team. Plus, Stan Lee’s narration.
WORST MOMENT: Not bringing Video Man into the comics.
11:00am- Space Stars (NBC)
Hanna-Barbera not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, brought 60s properties Space Ghost & The Herculoids back after the success of Star Wars. They added 2 new teams to this show, Teen Force ( a group of kids riding space cycles and that could turn into comets) and Astro & the Space Mutts ( the Jetsons dog joining with other space dogs.
While I don’t remember Astro’s cartoon, the other three I did. I loved The Herculoids. Their animal companions were so cool.
BEST MOMENT: The opening gave me chills with how cool it was.
WORST MOMENT: Those 2 little alien midgets on the Teen Force short. Annoying.
11:30am- The Incredible Hulk (NBC)
The Hulk cartoon was wild. The best telling of his origin out of all the interpretations of his time on the big screen or tv. It followed the comic pretty closely. again like Spider-Man, you never knew who was gonna show up.
The episode with the Puppetmaster sadly, was the only time you saw Wolverine in the series, and then he was a statue.
BEST MOMENT: Changing into the Hulk.
WORST MOMENT: General Ross & Talbot were douchebags.
And there you have it, my Saturday morning dream line up. So much time was spent in front of that tube watching these shows so long ago. I’ve started watching some on YouTube trying to see what I remember. It makes me feel young again. I’d love to hear what would be on your list, so grab a bowl of Lucky Charms and comment below. Catch you on the flipside!Don't look now, but online scammers are already hard at work taking advantage of newly signed legislation that allows Internet Service Providers to sell your online privacy, including your web browser history, to the highest bidder without your consent.
I received an email yesterday from a purported Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider called MySafeVPN claiming to be affiliated with Plex, the streaming media startup that I've written about many times in the past. The email led with ominous marketing speak alluding to "recent changes to US privacy bills, UK privacy laws, and more," asserting that Plex users concerned about their ISP gaining access to their download history should, you know, sign up for their VPN service. How convenient.
The phony Plex email. Screenshot: Nicholas Deleon/Motherboard
Intrigued by the email— Wait, Plex is getting into the VPN business? That seems… fake, and so does this email—I immediately forwarded the email to Scott Olechowski, Plex's co-founder and Chief Product Officer.
"I assume this isn't you guys?" I asked.
Olechowski replied two minutes later.
"This is *absolutely not* a Plex affiliated service or offering," he said. "If anything, it suggests that mysafevpn.com is super sketchy and we would recommend using almost any other VPN service with your Plex Media Server."
*
All of this got even more interesting when I discovered that former Boxee users (Plex and Boxee were rivals in the late 2000s; Samsung eventually bought and then shuttered Boxee in 2015) have received similar emails from MySafeVPN, this time claiming that Boxee was "back" as the VPN service, according to screenshots of these emails posted in the Plex message board.
The phony Boxee email. Image: kinoCharlino/Plex message board
What links Plex and Boxee, besides the fact that they were, once upon a time, rivals? Both of these services' message boards were hacked, Boxee's in April 2014 and Plex's in July 2015, exposing users' email addresses (and other data) to hackers.
Satnam Narang, Senior Security Response Manager, Norton by Symantec, told me that it's likely that MySafeVPN used the data from the hacked message boards to contact current and former Plex and Boxee users.
"Because it's being sent to current or former Plex users, it presents itself as credible even though it is not," Narang told me. "This could possibly convince users to provide personally identifiable information, financial information (credit cards) or result in direct financial loss (signing up for a'subscription' and having their accounts debited but not being provided this VPN service)."
Read more: Scammers Peddle Phony Nintendo Switch Emulator
The story gets even weirder when I attempted to contact MySafeVPN, whose website, according to WHOIS records, was only created on March 30 and whose Twitter account has only two measly tweets. (If that's not suspicious enough, visiting the website also triggers an anti-virus warning, according to a user on the Plex message board.) An email sent April 3 to support@mysafevpn.com seeking comment went unanswered so on the morning of April 4 I picked up the phone (well, used a VoIP app on my PC) and started making some calls.
A man answered the listed MySafeVPN phone number (877-745-1560) and we began a brief and strange conversation, which culminated in me asking how MySafeVPN was affiliated with Plex when Plex's co-founder and chief product officer said there was no affiliation. The man on the phone said there wasn't an official affiliation per se, but that "Plex devs" had built the service. Which, well, is completely the opposite of what the email said ("Plex media server has now released a new service called MySafeVPN.com.") Bizarrely, the man then claimed that if Plex didn't want its developers moonlighting as VPN engineers it should "take care of them better."
When I later relayed the above conversation to Olechowski, the Plex co-founder and chief product officer, he could only reply with one word: "Douchecanoes." Sad!
Now, a member of the Plex message board who goes by the handle tiefel did, in fact, try to subscribe to MySafeVPN, handing over $24.99 via PayPal for a three-month subscription. But, as he later told me via email, he "started to suspect the validity of MySafeVPN" when he couldn't find the actual VPN server to connect to. How about that? A company selling VPN service that doesn't actually offer a VPN server to connect to. That's some business model!
MySafeVPN invoice. Image:tiefel/Plex message board
The MySafeVPN invoice, which tiefel shared with me (seen above), lists the main website as well as two additional pieces of juicy info: a second website (myhappiness.com) and an email address (pav@myhappiness.guru). The email, asking if Pav was also involved with MySafeVPN, went unanswered for about 30 minutes, while a phone number listed on myhappiness.com went straight to the voicemail of a woman named Emily. I left a message.
A short 30 minutes later a reply from pav@myhappiness.guru arrived in my inbox.
"Yes I am [involved with MySafeVPN], how can I help you?" read the email.
That's when my phone rang.
"Who do you think you are?" the man on the other end of the phone asked.
"Uh, what?" I stammered. "Wait, are you Pavel? Are you the same guy running MySafeVPN?"
"MySafe-What? What are you talking about?"
"MySafeVPN. A source who attempted to buy the VPN service sent me an invoice and it had your contact information on it. Are you the same guy? Are you sister companies or something?"
The man then claimed that I was breaking up, but I persisted.
"I'm curious as to why you're pretending to be affiliated with both Plex and Boxee, when Plex outright denies having anything to do with you and Boxee has been dead for two years."
The man proceeded to insult me, calling me all sorts of names including a "shit disturber," which I said didn't make any sense. He then asked me why I was even writing this story.
"Because you're trying to steal money from people by claiming to be something that you're not, that's why."
At this point, the man went ballistic, asking if I was bullied in middle school (I told him that I was bullied in elementary school but didn't see how that was relevant) and saying that the only reason I was writing the story was because the "Plex owner" would "wank me off" in exchange for some press. I laughed out loud because that was a baseless accusation. He then called me a "nerd in front of a computer," a charge I readily agreed with.
My new friend "Pav" then hung up on me.
But back to tiefel. After he contacted PayPal to get his money back, someone calling himself "Nick" from MySafeVPN texted him, according to a copy of the conversation that he sent me, saying he was happy to return his money—but not before trying the hard sell one last time.
"Are you sure you do not want to try the service?" Nick asked. "I have no problem refunding you but I don't want you to miss out because of some bad talk from corporate suits at plex."
Tiefel wasn't buying what Nick was selling, and PayPal processed the refund.
*
That online scammers are now attempting to piggyback on the confusion caused by the Donald Trump and the Republican Party's wholesale selling out of your online privacy shouldn't be too surprising: in the days after Congress passed the legislation, numerous outlets, including Motherboard, published guides on how to select and properly configure a VPN to minimize the risk of your private data being sold to the highest bidder (even if they can sometimes be difficult to use).
Satnam Narang, the Norton by Symantec security response manager, told me that "users should be skeptical on social media and via email of scammers looking to capitalize on their interest in VPNs." For a list of VPNs trusted by Motherboard, you can check out our guide here.
If you receive any scammy-looking VPN invitations, send them over to us at editors@motherboard.tv, nicholas.deleon@motherboard.tv, or tweet at me @nicholasadeleon, and we will look into them.
Stay vigilant, friends.
Update: April 6, 2017: VPN provider TunnelBear threatened MySafeVPN with a cease and desist after falsely claiming an association and email marketing provider MailChimp closed at least one of MySafeVPN's accounts. Read more here.
Update: April 7, 2017: MySafeVPN is no longer online.
Subscribe to pluspluspodcast, Motherboard's new show about the people and machines that are building our future.Recently by Robert Wenzel: Karl Rove Sends Out Marching Orders toRepublicans
David Andolfatto, Vice President in the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, makes one of the most ludicrous arguments against Ron Paul’s attack on the Fed that one could make. I mean even for a Fed apologist, it is off the wall.
He attacks this paragraph in Ron Paul’s book End the Fed:
One only needs to reflect on the dramatic decline in the value of the dollar that has taken place since the Fed was established in 1913. The goods and services you could buy for $1.00 in 1913 now cost nearly $21.00. Another way to look at this is from the perspective of the purchasing power of the dollar itself. It has fallen to less than $0.05 of its 1913 value. We might say that the government and its banking cartel have together stolen $0.95 of every dollar as they have pursued a relentlessly inflationary policy.
What are the details of the attack?
He starts out this way:
The guy can be a real pinhead at times. And this is never so evident as in his persistent attacks against the Fed…Now, of course, I work at the Fed, so maybe you think Im just complaining for the sake of defending my employer. If you think that, I can understand why you do. It is because you do not know me.
There are legitimate arguments one could make against the Fed as an institution and/or about the conduct of Fed policy. And then there are the stupid arguments, for example, the one contained on pg. 25 of his book End the Fed.
So what is at the heart of Andolfatto’s defense of the Fed destroying 95% of the value of the dollar and calling Ron Paul’s argument stupid? Here it is:
There is this old idea in monetary theory called money neutrality. Money neutrality means that larger quantities of money ultimately manifest themselves in the form of higher nominal prices (and wages), and not on real quantities. No serious economist disputes the idea of long-run money neutrality.
Yes, what cost $1 in 1913 now costs $20. But so what? Money neutrality states that if you were earning $1 per hour in 1913, you are now earning $20 per hour (and even more, if labor productivity is higher).
Read the rest of the article
2011 Economic Policy Journal
The Best of Robert WenzelWhen War broke out in September 1939, Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minster. Winston Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, and was also a member of the War Cabinet.
On the 10th May 1940, in recognition of the fact that he had for many years seen Hitler as a threat, George VI invited Winston Churchill to Buckingham Palace, and asked him to form a government and become Prime Minster.
In his first speech to the House of Commons after becoming Prime Minister, on the 10th May 1940, Churchill set out the truth as he saw it.
Churchill was a man whose hour had come. He had been irrelevant in politics in the 1920s and 30s, but cometh the hour, cometh the man, and Churchill became the great war leader.
Churchill offered no magic bullets, no miracle solutions, and no false hope. Instead, as he himself said on 13th May, shortly after forming his government:
I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."
Perversely, this seemed to cheer the population up a bit. Someone was telling it to them as it was, and that didn't seem all bad.
Speech in the House of Commons, 13th June 1940:
...the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.
Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be freed and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands.
But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.
Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour.
And on 4th June 1940:
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender....Countries have different way of ordering their own provinces and capital cities, and how they choose to do so may sometimes say a lot about what sort of politics they have. Where countries’ capital cities are concerned, there is usually something akin to one of the following four set-ups:
The Argentine model: the country’s capital city serves as its own unique administrative district and is surrounded on all sides by a single province that it influences to a large degree. The American model: the capital city serves as its own unique administrative district but is not surrounded by a single province (or state, etc.), but rather by two or more provinces. The Saudi model: the capital city is not its own unique administrative district, but is part of an important province that is named after itself. The Canadian model: the capital city is sometimes annoyingly full of bureaucrats, but is otherwise more or less a normal place. It is not its own administrative district.
The Argentine Model
Examples of the Argentine model include, of course, Buenos Aires, which is surrounded by the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina’s recent presidential election, in fact, was between the mayor of Buenos Aires and the governor of Buenos Aires province); Berlin, which is surrounded by Brandenburg (see map below); Moscow, which is surrounded by the Moscow oblast; the Australian Capital Area, which is surrounded by New South Wales (see map below), Vienna, which is surrounded by Lower Austria; Brussels, which is surrounded by Brabant (though Brussels does not directly border Walloon Brabant, which is several km to the south of Brussels); Prague, which is surrounded by the Central Bohemian Region; and Addis Ababba, which is surrounded by Oromia.
Beijing probably also belongs in this category: it is surrounded mostly by the province of Hebei but in two spots also by the city of Tianjin, which like Beijing is one of China’s four “direct-controlled municipalities” (the other two are Shanghai and Chongqing). Tianjin was temporarily made part of Hebei province in the 1960s, and in recent years there has been much talk of increasing integration and cooperation between Beijing, Hebei, and Tianjin in order to form a sort of capital city macro-region, which is often referred to by the acronym Jingjinji.
Seoul in South Korea has a similar set-up to Beijing. It is surrounded almost entirely by the province of Gyeonggi, but also touches the coastal city-province of Incheon, in the same way that Beijing does the city-province of Tianjin:
Note by the way that South Korea has a number of city-provinces. Of these, only Gwangju, in the southwest, conforms fully to the “Argentine model”.
Paris too may be included in this list; Paris is not itself a province, but it is surrounded on all sides by Ile de France, one of France’s 13 regions. (Prior to the beginning of this year Ile de France was one of France’s 22 regions, but these have since been reordered and reduced).
The American Model
Capitals which are their own unique administrative districts but lack their own single encircling province include Washington D.C. (which is surrounded by both Virginia and Maryland), Tokyo, London, Delhi; Mexico City, Bangkok, Tehran; Hanoi, Abuja (though Nigeria’s largest city by far, Lagos, which was the capital until 1991, is an example of the Argentine model), Baghdad (which is surrounded by four other provinces), Manila, Jakarta, Madrid, Islamabad, Brasilia (though just barely …and the capital of Brazil prior to 1960 was Rio de Janeiro), Kinshasa, and Bogota (though in a relatively weird way; see map below, Bogota is the sliver between the departments of Cundinamarca – which Bogota is also the capital of – and Meta).
One feature that a number of these have in common is that, while the capital city’s administrative district often borders two other provinces, it is usually surrounded much more by the less populous of the two other provinces. Notable examples of this include Washington D.C., which is surrounded much more by Maryland (population 5.9 million) than by Virginia (population 8.3 million); Delhi, which is surrounded much more by Haryana (25 million) than by Uttar Pradesh (205 million); and Brasilia, which is surrounded much more by Goias (6.5 million) than by Minas Gerais 21 million.
Capitals which do not fit this pattern, however, are Mexico City, where the federal capital district is surrounded much more by the state of Mexico (population 16 million) than by the state of Morelos (population 1.9 million); and Islamabad, which is surrounded much more by Punjab (population 91 million) than by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (population 27 million).
A number of non-capital cities, meanwhile, such as Hamburg, which is the most populous city in Germany apart from Berlin, fit into this category as well.
The Saudi Model
A capital city which is not its own unique province, but rather is part of an important province named after itself. Examples may include Riyadh, Stockholm, Dhaka, Santiago, and Ankara. Bern also could probably be on this list, but Bern is only the de facto capital of Switzerland; Switzerland has no de jure capital city.
The Canadian Model
Examples of countries in which the capital city is not its own unique independent unit may include Ottawa, Amsterdam, Rome, and Warsaw.
According to Wikipedia “two national capitals in federal countries are neither federal units [like provinces, states, etc.], special capital districts, nor capitals of federal units: Ottawa, the capital of Canada [because Toronto is the capital of Ontario, the province in which Ottawa is located], and Palikir, the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia“. Ottawa is situated entirely within the province of Ontario, but also directly borders French-speaking Quebec.
—
Please let me know if I’ve made a mistake on any of these; administrative divisions can be a bit complicated – and I can be a bit lazy.
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Feb. 10, 2015, 4:04 PM GMT / Updated Feb. 10, 2015, 4:36 PM GMT
Kayla Mueller's parents said Tuesday they had received confirmation that the 26-year-old American ISIS hostage is dead. Mueller was kidnapped by ISIS in August 2013 and her family has released a copy of an unpublished letter she wrote to her loved ones in the spring of 2014 while in captivity. Below is a transcription of the letter:
"Everyone, If you are receiving this letter it means I am still detained but my cell mates (starting from 11/2/2014) have been released. I have asked them to contact you + send you this letter. It’s hard to know what to say. Please know that I am in a safe location, completely unharmed + healthy (put on weight in fact); I have been treated w/ the utmost respect + kindness.
I wanted to write you all a well thought out letter (but I didn’t know if my cell mates would be leaving in the coming days or the coming months restricting my time but primarily) I could only but write the letter a paragraph at a time, just the thought of you all sends me into a fit of tears.
If you could say I have “suffered” at all throughout this whole experience it is only in knowing how much suffering I have put you all through; I will never ask you to forgive me as I do not deserve forgiveness.
I remember mom always telling me that all in all in the end the only one you really have is God. I have come to a place in experience where, in every sense of the word, I have surrendered myself to our creator b/c literally there was no else…. + by God + by your prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall.
I have been shown in darkness, light + have learned that even in prison, one can be free. I am grateful. I have come to see that there is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look for it. I pray each each day that if nothing else, you have felt a certain closeness + surrender to God as well + have formed a bond of love + support amongst one another…
I miss you all as if it has been a decade of forced separation. I have had many a long hour to think, to think of all the things I will do w/ Lex, our first family camping trip, the first meeting @ the airport. I have had many hours to think how only in your absence have I finally @ 25 years old come to realize your place in my life. The gift that is each one of you + the person I could + could not be if you were not a part of my life, my family, my support.
I DO NOT want the negotiations for my release to be your duty, if there is any other option take it, even if it takes more time. This should never have become your burden. I have asked these women to support you; please seek their advice. If you have not done so already, [REDACTED] can contact [REDACTED] who may have a certain level of experience with these people.
None of us could have known it would be this long but know I am also fighting from my side in the ways I am able + I have a lot of fight left inside of me. I am not breaking down + I will not give in no matter how long it takes. I wrote a song some months ago that says, “The part of me that pains the most also gets me out of bed, w/out your hope there would be nothing left…” aka-‐The thought of your pain is the source of my own, simultaneously the hope of our reunion is the source of my strength.
Please be patient, give your pain to God. I know you would want me to remain strong. That is exactly what I am doing. Do not fear for me, continue to pray as will I + by God’s will we will be together soon.
All my everything, KaylaQuote: Originally Posted by hallstevenson Originally Posted by Source for what? I'm new to Samsung devices, but not Android, and they only have to release source for the kernel. This recent update didn't include a new kernel, did it? If Samsung uses other open-source code, I didn't know.
Quote: Originally Posted by DigitalMD Originally Posted by I'm not sure what the OP is talking about. The radio/modem is not open source, its Verizon proprietary. So unless the bug is in the Samsung portion open source does not apply
Kernel source, there's a new kernel with each update. At least there is when referencing the date it was compiled. I won't claim to say I read code/source but there's definitely a few adjustments between one compiled OTA kernel and the next.The modem being proprietary isn't the main concern. If what OP has posted is true, Samsung is just withholding VRBMD3 kernel source to push another OTA after which they'll provide kernel source for that newer OTA.Llstarks just wants source and there's nothing wrong with that. Just means we have to wait a little longer is all.Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 BetaDetails of the email exchange came on Wednesday as Corbyn faced questions over whether he supported Britain retaining single market access following Brexit. They will add to criticism from Labour rebels that he was ambivalent to the EU and obstructed the Remain side during the referendum campaign.
"Neither LOTO [leader of the opposition] nor STT [shadow Treasury team] are happy to support this," Andrew Fisher's brief email concluded.
But in an email seen by BuzzFeed News, Corbyn's head of policy intervened to make clear that both the leader and shadow chancellor John McDonnell "don't politically support" the research and therefore opposed the briefing.
On 14 June, nine days before the vote, Labour officials wanted to promote a speech the following day by deputy leader Tom Watson with research showing that staying in the single market could create 1.3 million jobs in Britain.
Jeremy Corbyn refused to support a planned Labour press briefing on the benefits of staying in the single market during the referendum campaign, leaked emails seen by BuzzFeed News reveal.
Labour source repeatedly refuses to say that Jeremy Corbyn wants Britain to remain a member of the single market
The figures Labour staff wanted to promote drew on research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), which had established in October 2015 that staying in the single market and the EU would bring 790,000 new |
did they do it?
Walid Muhammad Hajj: Once, when I was sleeping – on the floor, not on a bed – I suddenly felt that a cat was trying to penetrate me. It tried to penetrate me again and again. I recited the kursi verse again and again until the cat left.
Interviewer: But there wasn’t really any cat there?
Walid Muhammad Hajj: Absolutely not.Dispatcher tells brother: 'They're not going to go around shooting people'
Kyle Miller (Courtesy photo)
BROOMFIELD -- A 911 call recorded just before Kyle Miller was shot to death by Broomfield police officers last week shows that his family warned dispatchers the 21-year-old was armed with an Airsoft pellet gun -- not a real handgun.
In response, a dispatcher assured the victim's brother, "Officers are trained in this kind of thing. They're not going to go around shooting people."
Broomfield police received a 911 call around 7:20 a.m. June 28 about a "mentally distraught" man in the Aspen Creek subdivision. While officers were en route, they encountered Miller near the intersection of Aspen Street and Durango Avenue. Miller pointed the pellet gun at police and was shot by officers.
The 911 tape shows that Miller's younger brother, Alex Miller, told police about the Airsoft gun in an attempt to avoid a dangerous confrontation.
"My brother is having a breakdown," Alex Miller told the dispatcher, adding that he woke up to his mother's screams because Kyle Miller was trying to cut himself with a pocket knife. Screams can be heard in the background throughout the 911 call.
On the recording, Alex Miller repeatedly said his brother was carrying an Airsoft gun.
"Can you tell them he has a gun in his hands? Is there any way you can let them know he's got the gun in his hands?" Alex Miller said. "It's not real."
"I know," the dispatcher replied. "The officers are trained in this kind of thing. They're not going to go around shooting people."
Officials from the Broomfield Police Department said they cannot legally discuss Kyle Miller's death while the shooting investigation is under way.
Sgt. Steve Griebel said there is no set timeline for when the department will be able to release details of the case, which is being handled by the Adams/ Broomfield Critical Incident Team, an independent inter-agency "shoot team."
"When they present the findings to us, we'll make a decision on whether or not charges should be filed," said Krista Flannigan, spokeswoman for the Adams and Broomfield County District Attorney's Office.
For now, the involved officers are on administrative leave, which is a standard policy, officials said.
Broomfield police will not say how many officers were on scene, how many fired their weapons or how many times Kyle Miller was shot.
Cheryl Miller, his mother, said her son was shot multiple times.
Kyle Miller's family said he struggled with schizo-affective bipolar disorder for most of his life. He recently was certified as an EMT, but mental health issues contributed to him losing his first job after just a few weeks.
Cheryl Miller said the bad news may have caused him to hurt himself.
"He was in a tormented place mentally," she said.
A funeral service for Kyle Miller was held Friday morning at Flatirons Community Church in Lafayette.Want to play PAYDAY 2 as it was before Crimefest? Read this!
Introduction:
For those who legitimately own the game:
Instructions to downgrade:
First off, download the archive from one of the following links:
Mediafire: {LINK REMOVED} http://www.mediafire.com/download/c97q321lb7ci9g9/PAYDAY_2.rar
MEGA: {LINK REMOVED} https://mega.nz/#!OtU0kRYJ!34oVgGuhdjdNcwnezyxMxjsd752dqLtVzODCGIA85Lc
Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9s3qzUnfCUNdWtjQ1BPbEhtaTA/view?usp=sharing
Click here for file hashes! [dl.dropboxusercontent.com] (VirusTotal will not take files larger than 128MB, so feel free to pass up if you want.)
Make sure you have PAYDAY 2 installed on Steam. This is the ONLY WAY to play this properly, as the game is completely legitimate and unmodified.
Navigate to your "steamapps" folder, then "common", then "PAYDAY 2".
Delete any loose files sitting here (careful of any mods you might have), as well as the "assets" folder. (You might be able to get away with just deleting the exe, but I wouldn't chance it.)
Extract the contents of "PAYDAY 2.rar" directly into this folder! Do not make another folder in there. When done, you should see some loose files, and the "assets" folder back in place.
Instructions to prevent ANY updates to the game:
First, navigate to PAYDAY 2 in your Steam Library. Right click it, and choose Properties.
Select the "Updates" tab, and set Automatic Updates to "Only update this game when I launch it". Of course, that's not going to stop it from updating on exit. For that, you'll need to go a bit deeper.
Navigate to your "steamapps" folder again, then "downloading".
If you see a folder in there labeled "218620", enter it and delete everything from it. If it's not there, create the folder.
If you had the folder "218620" there as asked in step 4, you may also see a file named "state_218620_218621.patch", or similar next to it. Delete that file, so long as it starts with "state_218620".
Right click the folder labeled "218620" and select "Properties", then navigate to the "Security" tab. Click "Edit" under the first list.
Choose "Users" from the upper list, and then check the first box under "Deny" in the second list, to the right of "Full control".
(If you do not see "Users" listed in the security box, I apologize. I cannot go into enough detail in this post to cover every single thing that might not work perfectly during this process.)
Select "OK" at the bottom, and then "OK" again. Congratulations. PAYDAY 2 will forever fail to update through Steam.
Caveats:
DISK WRITE ERROR: If you receive this message, it means one of two things. First, you may have forgotten to delete the "state_218620_218621.patch" file! Go back and delete that as explained in steps 4-5 of update prevention! Second, you may have tried to launch PAYDAY 2 through Steam the normal way! For this to work, you must launch "payday2_win32_release.exe" either directly, through a shortcut, or by adding it as a non-Steam game! Don't worry, Steam will still know you're playing PAYDAY 2, so label the launch shortcut whatever you want.
If you receive this message, it means one of two things. First, you may have forgotten to delete the "state_218620_218621.patch" file! Go back and delete that as explained in steps 4-5 of update prevention! Second, you may have tried to launch PAYDAY 2 through Steam the normal way! For this to work, you must launch "payday2_win32_release.exe" either directly, through a shortcut, or by adding it as a non-Steam game! Don't worry, Steam will still know you're playing PAYDAY 2, so label the launch shortcut whatever you want. Multiplayer works! As I assumed, the matchmaking system isn't version-limited, but the client does only display games using the same version as you. You should have no problem seeing games pop up on Crimenet (or fast.net) if there are others playing. Just be sure to widen your search filter settings!
As I assumed, the matchmaking system isn't version-limited, but the client does only display games using the same version as you. You should have no problem seeing games pop up on Crimenet (or fast.net) if there are others playing. Just be sure to widen your search filter settings! Save games from newer versions of the game DO WORK! Any masks added to the game during Crimefest will disappear from your inventory, and I cannot be sure what happens to any specially-skinned weapons. I would like more feedback on that.
Any masks added to the game during Crimefest will disappear from your inventory, and I cannot be sure what happens to any specially-skinned weapons. I would like more feedback on that. Again, this is NOT a modified, cracked or pirated copy, this will ONLY work if you are able to launch PAYDAY 2 on Steam! It may work for everyone during Crimefest, but it will not work after unless you own the game.
a modified, cracked or pirated copy, this will work if you are able to launch PAYDAY 2 on Steam! It may work for everyone during Crimefest, but it work after unless you I am a busy individual, and as such, I may not be around to answer any questions pertaining to this post immediately, or at all. Please be kind to each other, and help each other as necessary. I am not responsible for any of the bigotry or harassment that this fine community has shown some of over the past couple days. I am simply a gentleman who enjoys heisting with other gentlemen.
community has shown some of over the past couple days. I am simply a gentleman who enjoys heisting with other gentlemen. As a side note, if anyone does have access to VirusTotal's large file scanning API call, please let me know. I would love to have that extra level of comfort listed here for all concerned.
PLEASE help keep this thread visible! There are many, many people who I'm sure would love to play the game again WITHOUT all the things that have been added since update 79!
Greetings to all community members, both disgruntled and not! As you all undoubtedly know, there is a fairly large controversy surrounding the first Crimefest "reward", as well as the lack of communication between Overkill, Starbreeze and the community as a whole. Avoiding too much explanation, I am particularly unhappy with the way that this whole business has been conducted, and I feel personally slighted at the broken promises and bold lack of explanation from anyone in any actual power.That being said, I did enjoy PAYDAY 2 quite a lot; I may not have as many hours in it as some, but I have played it on and off since launch, and have bought every single DLC up to this point. I had trust in Overkill, as shaky as it was, but now it has finally been broken. At the same time, Overkill trusts the community to take every single update as it comes, for better or worse. I shall break that trust right now, myself. I have refused to update my game purely on the hunch that it may be playable in its beloved no-microtransactions state at some point in the future. Only just tonight did I realize that starting up the EXE directlyI have packaged all the game files as of Update 78 (just before Crimefest), andthe ones required to run the game. No soundtracks, no mods, no files changed about to unlock extra content - simply the game in its state just before all this madness. This is not piracy; for all of us who have bought this gameversion of the game should be perfectly fine to play, as long as it is unmodified. If for any reason you don't like the new update, whether that be the skins, the weapon "rebalancing", or simply the breach of trust, you will soon be able to enjoy the game without any of it. The trade-off is that you will set yourself apart from the undoubted masses that will see you playing the game and assume you have the latest version. You will be hanging on to something that will go no further, and it is a sad fact to accept. Personally, I'd much rather have this than the two remaining options: shove it, and play as OVK says, or don't play at all.That's it! Now you can enjoy PAYDAY 2 the way we remember it. Simply run "payday2_win32_release.exe", and the game shall hook into Steam and run! You may want to choose "Add a Non-Steam Game" within Steam to make this easier. Name it as you want; the game will always show as PAYDAY 2 when playing. Of course, as soon as you exit, the game will attempt to update itself. Below are further instructions to prevent that from happening.If you want to be able to launch the game any time, without worrying about cancelling the update, follow these instructions:Please see below if you are at all interested in this effort.Japan's government has announced that it will increase the amount of money it's providing to the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to step up cleanup and reconstruction efforts.
According to government-adopted guidelines announced Friday, the interest-free loans provided to Tokyo Electric Power Co. will be increased to 9 trillion yen ($90 billion), up from 5 trillion yen. The government also said it would try to recoup 3.6 trillion yen through the sale of TEPCO shares or other schemes.
Originally, TEPCO was to be liable for all costs stemming from the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. But in September, the government decided to step in and provide financial help after contaminated water leaks and other mishaps triggered public concern about TEPCO's ability to manage the situation.Citizens, not taxpayers
Brad Wall sees us only as “taxpayers,” he does not see us as “citizens.” His approach is the essence of conservative ideology and we are the worse for it.
We are much more than just “taxpayers” and the current provincial budget has left us reeling from its destructive force.
We have to resist in every way we can. We are “citizens,” we are a community of people, we are dependent on each other. The taxes we pay provide the base for our universal health care, public education and library systems, social security, public transportation, bridges and roads, clean water treatments, garbage collections, centres for the arts, police protection and courts of law, among other benefits.
Reducing the tax rates of those with the highest incomes and those of the big corporations is quite the wrong way to go. The fairest way to collect money from, and for, a civilized society is by a graduated income tax base, a concept which seems to have been lost but which still holds as much validity as it did years ago.
Brad Wall may be proud of himself for leaving a legacy of ever lower taxes but, like the Grant Devine years which shaped his beliefs, he will leave us only this surge of meanness and a huge deficit. His government has proven to be a menace.
Anne Smart
SaskatoonToday, words are exceedingly lightweight. You can say whatever you like because words are as substantive as foam to us. That’s no more than a reflection of how empty our reality has become. And yet even now, the truth is that words are power. It’s just that we’re meaninglessly drowning in a sea of powerless, vacuous words.
-Hayao Miyazaki, 1999 – Director’s notes for Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki is an animation adept, and his masterpiece is Spirited Away. The writer/director fully flexes his world-building muscles in this film, and crafts a wondrous world of spirits for his protagonist Chihiro. Amidst this fantastic world, Miyazaki tells a stunningly realistic story: that of the burgeoning personality of a young girl. Simultaneously, Miyazaki hides multiple thematic messages in the film, which range from economic commentary to the power of words. The film is also technically impeccable, featuring gorgeous animation that is especially eye-catching during the moments when the traditional 2D cel animation is augmented by CGI. The soundtrack doesn’t fall far behind either; it controls and comments on the onscreen action, like something out of an opera. These attributes transform Spirited Away from a fanciful distraction for children into a full-fledged cinematic masterpiece, both aesthetically and thematically. It is rare to glimpse such sublime cohesion.
Spirited Away begins with a languid 10-year-old girl named Chihiro (Rumi Hiiragi) laying across the backseat of a car, mired in the middle of a move to a new town. Chihiro is not interested at all in the move, and paws over a farewell note from a friend and some wilting goodbye flowers that she holds a little too tightly. On the way to their new home, the family stumbles upon an abandoned theme park built in the late 1990s. Chihiro’s father finds an untended smorgasbord and suggests that the family eat. Chihiro is nervous, afraid that they are doing something wrong, but the parents gorge themselves.
Chihiro goes exploring, and eventually runs into an older boy named Haku (Miyu Irino). They are startled to see each other, and Haku immediately warns her that this is not a place for humans, that she must cross the riverbed before the sun sets. Alas, she is much too late. Not only has the sun set, revealing the amusement part to be a bazaar populated by fantastic spirits of all shapes and sizes, but Chihiro’s parents have been transformed into pigs!
As she reels from this revelation, Haku hides Chihiro, feeds her some spirit food to stop her from disappearing, and tells her exactly what she must do survive: ask for a job. With a job in the bathhouse, she can’t be kicked out of the Spirit World. No matter what the Sorceress Yubaba (Mari Natsuki) says to trick her – Chihiro just keeps asking for a job. Eventually, she signs a contract with Yubaba, trading her name for a new one, “Sen”, and the right to work. Thus, after a slightly circuitous journey to meet Yubaba, Chihiro begins working in this bathhouse for spirits.
From here, Chihiro is challenged with bizarre customers, prejudiced spirits who don’t like how humans smell, and wondrous magic that she can’t quite understand. She must tend to her duties, but is also on the lookout for some way to rescue her parents and escape the spirit world once-and-for-all. Haku will assist her, but he has his own problems to deal with also.
The world-building displayed in Spirited Away is unparalleled. It is at once fanciful and grotesque, yet seems to follow some internal logic. It has a feel reminiscent of Western classics like Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, but less absurd and more mythical; or The Wizard of Oz, but less linear and more free-floating in its narrative. Most of what occurs in the bathhouse is left unexplained in any explicit way. Mostly, Miyazaki is content to simply show the audience the wonderment of the world and let it unfold in weird ways. It is a master class in the “Show, Don’t Tell” philosophy of storytelling, and leaves much open to the imagination of the viewer. It’s spectacular.
Then the animation. With all apologies to the experts over at Disney, Spirited Away boasts perfect animation, perhaps the greatest cel animation ever seen in a feature-length film. (I will entertain arguments for Beauty and the Beast and Pinocchio from Disney, and Miyazaki’s own My Neighbor Totoro, but that is beyond the scope of this piece). The technique is flawless, the aesthetic vibrant, and the visuals are spellbinding. Whether you’re taking in the gorgeous backgrounds or focusing on the smallest detail, the animation is simply impeccable. Miyazaki also employs CG animation at certain points (see below), and it somehow manages to inject the film with an additional sense of wonder.
This is also a story that can only be told through animation – live-action simply wouldn’t work here unless it was heavily augmented by CGI, and even that could be dodgy. The denizens of the spirit world are brought to life by the astounding animation, and much of the magical nature of the story also looks fantastic. Obviously, it is possible to do amazing things with CGI now, but I think it would be almost impossible to succeed with a live-action Spirited Away. The whimsy and beauty of the film simply lends itself to animation too perfectly.
On another technical note, you will not find many animated films with such powerful and important music. True, many of Disney’s masterpieces are musicals, but sometimes they lean a little bit on the strength of the actual songs. Spirited Away contains no songs per se, but it uses musical cues straight out of an episode of Merrie Melodies. As a modest example, when Chihiro is walking down the long flight of stairs to the furnace, each step is accompanied by a musical note. It is almost as if Chihiro needs the musical tones to encourage her along. Other sequences, most notably the “stink spirit” encounter, also exhibit an expert control over the soundtrack. It’s that little addition that you wouldn’t notice if it was missing, but because it is done so well, it improves the film quietly.
All of this technical prowess is in service of a beautiful and under-represented story about a young girl. Long before Inside Out concerned itself with the burgeoning personality of a preteen girl, Spirited Away explored this wonderful story about a ten-year-old girl transitioning from a disinterested, gloomy child into a self-directed, fully capable individual. Ultimately, this is the overarching theme of Spirited Away: growing up, accepting responsibility, and taking volition over one’s own direction in life. As is so often the case with these kinds of transitions, this happens gradually to Chihiro and slowly builds into a bursting floodgate by the end of the film. Chihiro has grown into a sovereign individual mature enough to make important choices, and eager to grow into her personality. It is for this reason that she is able to effortlessly recognize that her parents are not among the pigs in the film’s finale. She has learned, grown, matured. With her newfound experiences and worldview, Yubaba’s trick is obvious.
Equally impressive are the myriad subthemes that Miyazaki sneaks into this masked coming-of-age tale. There are multiple references to the “Bubble economy” of the late 1990s and representations of the greed that Miyazaki attributes to the economic struggles. The very first of these occurs in the first ten minutes of the film as Chihiro’s father explains that the boom was responsible for the production of many of these theme parks – and the bust responsible for their abandonment. Chihiro’s parents transforming into pigs is a clear metaphor for greed, excessive consumption, and short-term pleasure seeking, all of which are vices that accompany a bubble economy. These kinds of vices are not reserved for the humans either, as the spirits working in the bathhouse also succumb to material pursuits, most notably in relation to the gold nuggets offered by the No Face.
Another subtheme should be immediately apparent to fans familiar with the other works of Miyazaki: the ruination of nature in its pristine state by humans. But, instead of the directness with which Miyazaki approached this theme in films like Princess Mononoke and My Neighbor Totoro, here he simply takes a single sequence and leaves the interpretation to the audience. When Chihiro finds the bike handlebar lodged in the stink spirit and Yubaba springs to action after recognizing that he is actually a spirit of an old river, you get a profound marriage of subject and theme. Once the workers at the bathhouse free the river spirit of all of its refuse, there is no heavy-handed reference to, “wasteful humans” or littering or anything like that. It is just left there for the audience to ponder. Such restraint is welcome and wonderful to behold.
The last subtheme I will mention that Miyazaki throws into this story is referenced in the quotation which led this piece: the power of words, especially for control over others. In Spirited Away, this takes the form of Yubaba’s magic contracts, which literally control a person by taking their name and giving them a new one. This has happened to Haku in the past, and we see it happen to Chihiro when she becomes “Sen”. It should be noted that Miyazaki places this concept front-and-center in the Japanese title of the film, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, which translates to “Sen and Chihiro’s Spiriting Away”. Clearly, Miyazaki means to place importance on this name changing, as there are also multiple plot points that ensure that Chihiro remembers her name, and she also is able to remind Haku of his original name.
There are multiple subtle ideas at work here simultaneously. There is the basal concept that words can have power over a person (especially a person’s name; see: Rumpelstiltskin), but there is also the idea that one cannot hold sovereignty over one’s own life if their name is taken. This kind of thing has been explored in pieces like Roots, where Kunta Kinte becomes Toby, and thus has his cultural identity replaced by abject subservience. Nothing quite so bad happens to Yubaba’s workers, but the argument is the exact same: there is power in names, and those in control can exploit that power. It is impressive stuff for a “kid’s movie”, and further confirms that Spirited Away is a cut above.
Taken together, these attributes result in an unqualified masterpiece. Spirited Away isn’t just beautiful animation. It isn’t just a piquant setting with a necessary story. It isn’t just perfect music, world-building, and voice acting. It is all of those things simultaneously, relevant themes in a gorgeous package. Most crucially, at the end there is no good and evil. There is no titanic struggle for Chihiro to overcome in a blaze of glory. Much like the challenges we face every day, there is no celebration and precious little fanfare. At the end, Chihiro has simply learned a small but poignant truth about herself and the world she lives in. Her magnificent journey is complete, and she is better for it.Drummer, occasional keyboardist, and co-founder of Deerhunter, Moses Archuleta has been teasing us with the thought of a full-length solo album since releasing an ambient three-track EP back in 2015 as part of Geographic North’s cassette series.
His debut album, Lifetime Of Love strikes us as surprisingly atmospheric and shadowy in comparison to his crisp and generally uplifting indie-rock as part of Deerhunter, arriving as a collection of a decade of work made behind the scenes during Deerhunter’s rise to fame.
The album is a product of three separate creative bursts, the first between Deerhunter’s Cryptograms and Microcastle albums, the second around the collapse of Archuleta’s marriage from 2012 to 2015, and the third holed up in the Michelberger Hotel after an isolated stint in Berlin.
As the final member of Deerhunter to come out with a solo record, Archuleta opened up to us about finding a life outside of the band, calling a prostitute in Berlin, and of course, the long-term relationship that directly and indirectly inspired most of the album.
What made you want to start another project at the same time you were so busy with Deerhunter? And why did it take three separate periods over the course of ten years to put together?
Moses Archuletta: I never wanted to be a solo musician. I like being in a band. I like my role. I enjoy collaborating with others - it’s very satisfying for me. Now, with all that stated, life doesn’t always play along in a linear fashion, and that’s what this is an example of. For starters, I was always more of the organisational, sonic, aesthetic type of contributor when it came to Deerhunter. Conversely, my weaknesses as a musician and collaborator are as a traditional songwriter. I was an avid, obsessive music listener, but never imagined myself as much of a musician. Deerhunter is still my first band. I learned to play drums in the band. Over time, we got older, individual romantic pursuits developed, and we began to spend more time apart in between constant touring activity and what not. This led to the songwriting process for the group becoming more about individual demoing than jamming. So, at some point, I decided to give it a shot with whatever musical skills I had. The whole idea was that it was good for the band. I had no intentions of stepping out on my own.
My attempts didn’t really go well. I was unable to shape efforts into a specific direction. It was just random splatter and largely instrumental, often formless. Over the years I got a little more structured and evolved, but it started to become clear after about three albums and attempts at writing for them, that I was kind of on my own path that didn’t completely gel with the group, so nothing was ever really used.
So yeah, there’s a lot of story to get into about motivating factors over the years for creating the material, but in summation: attempts at Deerhunter songs, trying to polish discarded songs to figure out what my own individual creative instincts could be, going on tour with Ariel Pink in 2012, trying to find out what my life could be made of outside of Deerhunter and my relationship/subsequent marriage (those being the two things that were most time consuming), doing some music for Rodarte, Geographic North asking if I’d like to put out a cassette, Chrome Sparks’ tour last year and, last but not least, my failed marriage and eventual divorce.
This album comes across to me as a lot more intimate and yearning than a lot of the Deerhunter stuff. Were there specific incidents in your life that prompted you to write for this separate project? And is there any inspirational overlap or broader theme between the different periods in which you wrote it?
MA: A lot of it has to do with love - which feels so, so tacky to say - even if it’s just in my own head and ambient stuff. Once you go through any life crisis, such as a divorce, I think it’s natural to re-evaluate everything. Your belief systems… your motivations… your direction... both the direction that led you to that very point and what direction you want to make for yourself from then on out. So, while taking stock of a lot of things, I looked back at a lot of music I had lying around and finally detected a clear narrative, both sonically and emotionally, that made sense of what was once a fractured tapestry of demos. It was only about three-quarters of the way finished once I cobbled it together, so I then spent 2015 and 2016 trying to find the way out, so to speak, by rounding out the material with the new directions I saw.
The inspirational overlap is simple. It’s me. It is a solo album after all. So it’s all pieces of me (as opposed to Jewel’s 'Pieces Of You’), large and small, arranged just so and the finished product is an embodiment of that. I’ve just been following this weird thread when I can and it’s gotten me here and I'm pleased to report that it feels worthwhile after so many moments of questioning and wondering where the meandering was leading. But, I’m a believer that everything moves forward and it all collects into whatever your current moment is and there’s something beautiful about that, whether it’s happy or sad moments in life.
For example, when I was trying to finish the album, I decided a good place to find inspiration was Berlin. I found myself estranged from my family, marriage exploded, and was feeling lost around the holidays. I had enough SkyMiles to fly somewhere and decided to go to Berlin. Instead of getting bogged down in a lot of those dark realities, I wanted to exercise the freedom I had that most of my friends don’t. It was meant to be the perfect set-up to me writing and recording the last bits. Instead of being productive in all the ways I intended... I was floating and disorientated: jet lagged, up at all odd hours, wandering the city, watching TV and movies, reading in the lobby of the Michelberger Hotel, unmotivated every time I opened up my suitcase of music equipment, self-loathing. So, sometimes I like to push my own limits in ways that surprise myself. This time it came in the form of calling a prostitute, which was a completely alien experience. I don’t know what I imagined would happen and I got really worked up about my decision and then, the moment she arrived, I had a full blown panic attack, just gave her her money, feebly apologised and explained to her that everything was fine and it was me and she shrugged and left. I lay on the floor afterwards, room spinning, and just beat myself up all night over the whole thing. Just overwhelmed with a strange mixture of despondence and freedom. The entire trip was a study in those contrasts.
Fast-forward a few days later and I’m heading back home... I continued to beat myself up over how I didn’t accomplish anything of note, wasted time and energy and money and that I was a total failure. Next thing I know, plagued by jet lag, I finished the album in a flurry of activity over three days. So, the trip was inspiring and did lead to something, just not in the way I had expected at all.
What inspired the name 'Moon Diagrams'?
MA: A combination of it being phonetically pleasing and the moon being a fascinating astral force. It’s like the barely visible hand constantly affecting the planet’s rhythms. There’s a metaphor for the subconscious and its different permutations somewhere in there, I’m sure.
What are your goals for Moon Diagrams? Can we look forward to a solo tour? And will there be future albums or is this a one-time deal?
MA: My goal was for it to come out on double 12” 45rpm. So, now that that’s happening I can hang it up now.
Kidding, of course. No real goals I can articulate, because this music has been in my head and largely only existed in my world and then among a few friends and label folks. I think once I experience other people hearing it and some kind of psychic dialectic is established between myself and listeners it’ll be cathartic and affect how I feel about what’s next. I’m just putting myself out into the universe and I’ll have to wait and see what comes back in due time.
I have a sprinkling of solo dates planned for the States in July. Some shows with Algiers, Shigeto, Hiro Kone, Atlas Sound, so I’m excited and terrified to be doing that. I have vague ideas for another album or two, but I’m taking things one step at a time and seeing what comes up. I’m like a half meticulous planner and half improviser. I like to be well informed and appreciate when a good plan comes together, but I equally love identifying side paths to take when the moment is right, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Lifetime of Love will be released on June 30 via Sonic Cathedral and Geographic North. You can pre-order the album here or hereNo. 11 Story in 2015
The Vogele SB 300 Fixed-Width Screed in the TP1 version built a the high-quality pavement across a width of over 50 feet (Photos from Vogele)
Vogele machines were used to pave the widest path of asphalt ever accomplished. (Photos from Vogele)
A high compaction screed was used for the first time to pave asphalt across a width of 50-feet, 10-inches. Photos from Vogele.
The heating system for the conveyor belt in the Vogele PowerFeeder MT 3000-2i Offset prevents mix from sticking to the belt. (Photos from Vogele)
At more than 50 feet wide, the asphalt being poured on Germany’s A 10 motorway recently was a first for the world.
Machines from the Wirten Group, including the world’s largest paver in the Vogele Super 3000-2, were commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Transport to pave a 50-feet-wide portion of the Berlin Ring. The Vogele paver and a WMH Werwie Maschinen-Handels GmbH laid down more than 2.5 miles of jointless pavement.
According to the Wirten Group, the Vogele 3000-2 can place layers of up to nearly 19 inches thick in a single pass. The machine also has a laydown rate of 1,600 tons per hour.
“The issue bothering the paving team from the outset was: can we achieve a homogeneous pavement quality over the full width of 15.5 meters (50-feet, 10.24 inches)?” Heijmans Oevermann GmbH senior site manager Dirk Lohne said.
But the crew was able to accomplish the massive feat. A press release from the Wirten Group said “their concern was not unfounded, for this was the first time that such a pave width was to be realized with a high compaction screed.”The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a "life-threatening condition."
"We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.
Crawford, a retired judge who served as general counsel for the Army during the Reagan administration and as Pentagon inspector general when Dick Cheney was secretary of defense, is the first senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo to publicly state that a detainee was tortured.
Crawford, 61, said the combination of the interrogation techniques, their duration and the impact on Qahtani's health led to her conclusion. "The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent.... You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual. This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for. And coercive. Clearly coercive. It was that medical impact that pushed me over the edge" to call it torture, she said.
Military prosecutors said in November that they would seek to refile charges against Qahtani, 30, based on subsequent interrogations that did not employ harsh techniques. |
30); and/or (ii) applicable requirements to make pre-opening indications in a security (Rules 15 and 123D(1)).
(c) A suspension under section (b) of this Rule is subject to the following provisions:
(1)(A) Before declaring an extreme market volatility condition, the qualified Exchange officer shall consider the facts and circumstances that are likely to have Floor-wide impact for a particular trading session, including volatility in the previous day's trading session, trading in foreign markets before the open, substantial activity in the futures market before the open, the volume of pre-opening indications of interest, evidence of pre-opening significant order imbalances across the market, government announcements, news and corporate events, and such other market conditions that could impact Floor-wide trading conditions.
(B) Such review shall be undertaken in consultation with relevant officers of NYSE Market and NYSE Regulation, as appropriate. Following the review, the qualified Exchange officer or his or her designee shall document the basis for declaring an extreme market volatility condition.
(2) The qualified Exchange officer will, as promptly as practicable in the circumstances, inform the Securities and Exchange Commission staff that an extreme market volatility condition has been declared, the basis for such declaration, and what relief has been granted.
(3) An extreme market volatility condition may only be declared before the scheduled opening or reopening following a market-wide halt of securities at the Exchange.
(4) A declaration of an extreme market volatility condition shall be in effect only for the particular opening or reopening for the trading session on the particular day that the extreme market volatility condition is determined to exist. The Exchange may declare a separate extreme market volatility condition on subsequent days subject to sections (b)(1) through (b)(3) above.
(5) A declaration of extreme market volatility shall not relieve DMMs from the obligation to make pre-opening indications in situations where the opening of a security is delayed for reasons unrelated to the extreme market volatility condition.
(d) For purposes of this Rule, a "qualified Exchange officer" means the Chief Executive Officer of ICE, or his or her designee, or the Chief Executive Officer of NYSE Regulation, Inc., or his or her designee.With a backhoe and some shovels officials broke ground Tuesday on Marietta's Franklin Gateway Sports Complex.
To Marietta’s soccer fans, it could mean a home. The city doesn’t have a soccer facility.
It cost about $3.9 million to buy and raze the Preston Chase apartments that once stood on the land, and about $7 million to build the complex.
The master rendering for the Franklin Gateway Sports Complex in Marietta. Photo: City of Marietta
The money to buy the apartments came from a 2009 bond. There will be three turf fields.
This complex will be down the road from the Atlanta United training facility that broke ground earlier this year.
Team owner Arthur Blank has said he hopes Atlanta will become a top destination for soccer in America.
On Tuesday, October 18, 2016, Marietta held a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the future home of Franklin Gateway Sports Complex. Photo courtesy the City of Marietta. Photo: Lindsey Wiles/City of Marietta
The city was given a $45,000 grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation for lighting at the new complex in April.
The groundbreaking capped a busy couple of days for soccer, as Atlanta United earned the top pick of the Major League Soccer expansion draft with the flip of a coin.
Check out more pictures from the groundbreaking event and watch a short video, both from the city of Marietta:Formation Edit
Activities Edit
A special project code-named Maruta used human beings for experiments. Test subjects were gathered from the surrounding population and were sometimes referred to euphemistically as "logs" (丸太, maruta), used in such contexts as "How many logs fell?". This term originated as a joke on the part of the staff because the official cover story for the facility given to the local authorities was that it was a lumber mill. However, in an account by a man who worked as a junior uniformed civilian employee of the Imperial Japanese Army in Unit 731, the project was internally called "Holzklotz", which is a German word for log.[14] In a further parallel, the corpses of "sacrificed" subjects were disposed of by incineration.[15] Researchers in Unit 731 also published some of their results in peer-reviewed journals, writing as though the research had been conducted on non-human primates called "Manchurian monkeys" or "long-tailed monkeys".[16] The test subjects were selected to give a wide cross-section of the population and included common criminals, captured bandits and anti-Japanese partisans, political prisoners and also people rounded up by the Kempeitai military police for alleged "suspicious activities". They included infants, the elderly, and pregnant women. The members of the unit, approximately three hundred researchers, included doctors and bacteriologists; most were Japanese, although some were Chinese and Korean collaborators.[17] Many had been desensitized to performing unpleasant experiments from experience in animal research.[18] Vivisection Edit Thousands of men, women, children, and infants interned at prisoner of war camps were subjected to vivisection, often without anesthesia and usually ending with the death of the victim.[19][20] Vivisections were performed on prisoners after infecting them with various diseases. Researchers performed invasive surgery on prisoners, removing organs to study the effects of disease on the human body. These were conducted while the patients were alive because it was thought that the death of the subject would affect the results.[21] Prisoners had limbs amputated in order to study blood loss. Those limbs that were removed were sometimes re-attached to the opposite sides of the body. Some prisoners had their stomachs surgically removed and the esophagus reattached to the intestines. Parts of organs, such as the brain, lungs, and liver, were removed from some prisoners.[20] Imperial Japanese Army surgeon Ken Yuasa suggests that the practice of vivisection on human subjects (mostly Chinese communists) was widespread even outside Unit 731,[22] estimating that at least 1,000 Japanese personnel were involved in the practice in mainland China.[23] Germ warfare attacks Edit Prisoners were injected with diseases, disguised as vaccinations,[24] to study their effects. To study the effects of untreated venereal diseases, male and female prisoners were deliberately infected with syphilis and gonorrhoea, then studied. Prisoners were also repeatedly subject to rape by guards.[25] Plague fleas, infected clothing and infected supplies encased in bombs were dropped on various targets. The resulting cholera, anthrax, and plague were estimated to have killed at least 400,000 Chinese civilians.[26] Tularemia was tested on Chinese civilians.[27] Unit 731 and its affiliated units (Unit 1644 and Unit 100 among others) were involved in research, development and experimental deployment of epidemic-creating biowarfare weapons in assaults against the Chinese populace (both civilian and military) throughout World War II. Plague-infected fleas, bred in the laboratories of Unit 731 and Unit 1644, were spread by low-flying airplanes upon Chinese cities, including coastal Ningbo in 1940, and Changde, Hunan Province, in 1941. This military aerial spraying killed thousands of people with bubonic plague epidemics.[28] It is possible that Unit 731's methods and objectives were also followed in Indonesia, in a case of a failed experiment designed to validate a synthesized tetanus toxoid vaccine.[29] Frostbite testing Edit Physiologist Yoshimura Hisato conducted experiments by taking captives outside, dipping various appendages into water, and allowing the limb to freeze. Once frozen, which testimony from a Japanese officer said "was determined after the 'frozen arms, when struck with a short stick, emitted a sound resembling that which a board gives when it is struck'",[30] ice was chipped away and the area doused in water. The effects of different water temperatures were tested by bludgeoning the victim to determine if any areas were still frozen. Syphilis Edit Doctors orchestrated forced sex acts between infected and non-infected prisoners to transmit the disease, as the testimony of a prison guard on the subject of devising a method for transmission of syphilis between patients shows: "Infection of venereal disease by injection was abandoned, and the researchers started forcing the prisoners into sexual acts with each other. Four or five unit members, dressed in white laboratory clothing completely covering the body with only eyes and mouth visible, handled the tests. A male and female, one infected with syphilis, would be brought together in a cell and forced into sex with each other. It was made clear that anyone resisting would be shot."[31] After victims were infected, they were vivisected at different stages of infection, so that internal and external organs could be observed as the disease progressed. Testimony from multiple guards blames the female victims as being hosts of the diseases, even as they were forcibly infected. Genitals of female prisoners that were infected with syphilis were called "jam filled buns" by guards.[32] Some children grew up inside the walls of Unit 731, infected with syphilis. A Youth Corps member deployed to train at Unit 731 recalled viewing a batch of subjects that would undergo syphilis testing: "one was a Chinese woman holding an infant, one was a White Russian woman with a daughter of four or five years of age, and the last was a White Russian woman with a boy of about six or seven."[32] The children of these women were tested in ways similar to their parents, with specific emphasis on determining how longer infection periods affected the effectiveness of treatments. Rape and forced pregnancy Edit Female prisoners were forced to become pregnant for use in experiments. The hypothetical possibility of vertical transmission (from mother to child) of diseases, particularly syphilis, was the stated reason for the torture. Fetal survival and damage to mother's reproductive organs were objects of interest. Though "a large number of babies were born in captivity", there have been no accounts of any survivors of Unit 731, children included. It is suspected that the children of female prisoners were killed after birth or aborted.[32] While male prisoners were often used in single studies, so that the results of the experimentation on them would not be clouded by other variables, women were sometimes used in bacteriological or physiological experiments, sex experiments, and as the victims of sex crimes. The testimony of a unit member that served as guard graphically demonstrated this reality: "One of the former researchers I located told me that one day he had a human experiment scheduled, but there was still time to kill. So he and another unit member took the keys to the cells and opened one that housed a Chinese woman. One of the unit members raped her; the other member took the keys and opened another cell. There was a Chinese woman in there who had been used in a frostbite experiment. She had several fingers missing and her bones were black, with gangrene set in. He was about to rape her anyway, then he saw that her sex organ was festering, with pus oozing to the surface. He gave up the idea, left and locked the door, then later went on to his experimental work."[32] Weapon testing Edit Human targets were used to test grenades positioned at various distances and in different positions. Flamethrowers were tested on humans. Humans were also tied to stakes and used as targets to test germ-releasing bombs, chemical weapons, and explosive bombs.[33][34] Other experiments Edit In other tests, subjects were deprived of food and water to determine the length of time until death; placed into high-pressure chambers until death; experimented upon to determine the relationship between temperature, burns, and human survival; placed into centrifuges and spun until death; injected with animal blood; exposed to lethal doses of x-rays; subjected to various chemical weapons inside gas chambers; injected with sea water; and burned or buried alive.[35]
Biological warfare Edit
Prisoners and victims Edit
Known unit members Edit
Divisions Edit
Unit 731 was divided into eight divisions: Division 1: Research on bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax, typhoid, and tuberculosis using live human subjects. For this purpose, a prison was constructed to contain around three to four hundred people.
Division 2: Research for biological weapons used in the field, in particular the production of devices to spread germs and parasites.
Division 3: Production of shells containing biological agents. Stationed in Harbin.
Division 4: Bacteria mass production and storage. [53]
Division 5: Training of personnel.
Divisions 6–8: Equipment, medical and administrative units.
Facilities Edit
Surrender and immunity Edit
Information sign at the site today Operations and experiments continued until the end of the war. Ishii had wanted to use biological weapons in the Pacific War since May 1944, but his attempts were repeatedly snubbed. Destruction of evidence Edit With the coming of the Red Army in August 1945, the unit had to abandon their work in haste. The members and their families fled to Japan. Ishii ordered every member of the group "to take the secret to the grave", threatening to find them if they failed, and prohibiting any of them from going into public work back in Japan. Potassium cyanide vials were issued for use in the event that the remaining personnel were captured. Skeleton crews of Ishii's Japanese troops blew up the compound in the final days of the war to destroy evidence of their activities, but most were so well constructed that they survived somewhat intact. American grant of immunity Edit Among the individuals in Japan after its 1945 surrender was Lieutenant Colonel Murray Sanders, who arrived in Yokohama via the American ship Sturgess in September 1945. Sanders was a highly regarded microbiologist and a member of America's military center for biological weapons. Sanders' duty was to investigate Japanese biological warfare activity. At the time of his arrival in Japan he had no knowledge of what Unit 731 was.[32] Until Sanders finally threatened the Japanese with bringing the Soviets into the picture, little information about biological warfare was being shared with the Americans. The Japanese wanted to avoid prosecution under the Soviet legal system, so the next morning after he made his threat, Sanders received a manuscript describing Japan's involvement in biological warfare.[57] Sanders took this information to General Douglas MacArthur, who was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers responsible for rebuilding Japan during the Allied occupations. MacArthur struck a deal with Japanese informants:[58] he secretly granted immunity to the physicians of Unit 731, including their leader, in exchange for providing America, but not the other wartime allies, with their research on biological warfare and data from human experimentation.[5] American occupation authorities monitored the activities of former unit members, including reading and censoring their mail.[59] The U.S. believed that the research data was valuable, and did not want other nations, particularly the Soviet Union, to acquire data on biological weapons.[60] The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal heard only one reference to Japanese experiments with "poisonous serums" on Chinese civilians. This took place in August 1946 and was instigated by David Sutton, assistant to the Chinese prosecutor. The Japanese defense counsel argued that the claim was vague and uncorroborated and it was dismissed by the tribunal president, Sir William Webb, for lack of evidence. The subject was not pursued further by Sutton, who was probably unaware of Unit 731's activities. His reference to it at the trial is believed to have been accidental. Separate Soviet trials Edit Although publicly silent on the issue at the Tokyo Trials, the Soviet Union pursued the case and prosecuted twelve top military leaders and scientists from Unit 731 and its affiliated biological-war prisons Unit 1644 in Nanjing, and Unit 100 in Changchun, in the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials. Included among those prosecuted for war crimes, including germ warfare, was General Otozō Yamada, the commander-in-chief of the million-man Kwantung Army occupying Manchuria. The trial of those captured Japanese perpetrators was held in Khabarovsk in December 1949. A lengthy partial transcript of the trial proceedings was published in different languages the following year by a Moscow foreign languages press, including an English language edition.[61] The lead prosecuting attorney at the Khabarovsk trial was Lev Smirnov, who had been one of the top Soviet prosecutors at the Nuremberg Trials. The Japanese doctors and army commanders who had perpetrated the Unit 731 experiments received sentences from the Khabarovsk court ranging from two to 25 years in a Siberian labor camp. The U.S. refused to acknowledge the trials, branding them communist propaganda.[62] The sentences doled out to the Japanese perpetrators were unusually lenient for Soviet standards, and all but one of the defendants returned to Japan by the 1950s (with the remaining prisoner committing suicide inside his cell). In addition to the accusations of propaganda, the US also asserted that the trials were to only serve as a distraction from the Soviet treatment of several hundred thousand Japanese prisoners of war; meanwhile, the USSR asserted that the US had given the Japanese diplomatic leniency in exchange for information regarding their human experimentation. The accusations of both the US and the USSR were true, and it is believed that they had also given information to the Soviets regarding their biological experimentation for judicial leniency.[63] This was evidenced by the Soviet Union building a biological weapons facility in Sverdlovsk using documentation captured from Unit 731 in Manchuria.[64]
After World War II Edit
See also Edit
References EditKonami is sponsoring Deck Videos in tandem with popular Japanese YouTubers to hype the release of LINK VRAINS Pack. Three more lists will be revealed later (Burning Abyss, Prophecy and Invoked).
みさわ船長’s Shaddoll Deck Recipe
2 Shaddoll Falcon
3 Shaddoll Hedgehog
2 Shaddoll Squamata
2 Shaddoll Dragon
2 Shaddoll Beast
3 Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio
2 Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra
1 Predaplant Chlamydosundew
3 Lonefire Blossom
2 Dandylion
1 Glow-Up Bulb
3 Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
3 Shaddoll Fusion
1 El Shaddoll Fusion
1 Super Polymerization
1 Foolish Burial
2 Pot of Avarice
1 Dark Hole
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
2 Sinister Shadow Games
2 Paleozoic Dinomischus
2 Shaddoll Construct
1 Cherubini, Black Angel of the Burning Abyss
1 Aromaseraphy Jasmine
2 El Shaddoll Shekhinaga
1 El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis
1 El Shaddoll Grysta
1 El Shaddoll Wendigo
2 El Shaddoll Winda
1 Starving Venom Fusion Dragon
1 Predaplant Chimerafflesia
1 Predaplant Dragostapelia
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
U-STATION’s Lightsworn Deck Recipe
3 Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn
1 Felis, Lightsworn Archer
3 Wulf, Lightsworn Beast
1 Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior
1 Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
1 Ehren, Lightsworn Monk
1 Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden
3 Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
2 Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman
3 Judgment Dragon
2 Goblindbergh
1 Heroic Challenger – Thousand Blades
1 Performage Trick Clown
1 Fairy Tail – Snow
1 Eclipse Wyvern
1 Electromagnetic Turtle
1 Glow-Up Bulb
2 Maxx “C”
3 Charge of the Light Brigade
3 Solar Recharge
1 Foolish Burial
1 Monster Reborn
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
2 Breakthrough Skill
2 Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion
1 Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 PSY-Framelord Omega
1 Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend
1 Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon
1 Black Rose Dragon
2 Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn
1 Leviair, the Sea Dragon
1 Tornado Dragon
1 Evilswarm Exciton Knight
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number S39: Utopia the Lightning
じゃじゃーん菊池’s Crystron Deck
1 Crystron Quan
2 Crystron Citree
1 Crystron Rion
1 Crystron Prasiortle
3 Crystron Smiger
3 Crystron Thystvern
1 Crystron Rosenix
3 Crystron Sulfefnir
3 Genex Undine
2 Genex Controller
1 Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
3 Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
3 Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit
2 Different Dimension Deepsea Trench
3 Smoke Grenade of the Thief
1 Foolish Burial
1 Monster Reborn
1 Soul Charge
3 Crystron Impact
1 Crystron Entry
2 Crystron Glassfiber
1 Link Spider
1 Crystron Ametrix
1 Crystron Quariongandrax
1 Formula Synchron
1 Lifestream Dragon
1 Hi-Speedroid Chanbara
1 Superheavy Samurai Swordmaster Musashi
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Powered Inzektron
1 White Aura Whale
1 Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Cosmic Blazar Dragon
Masuo Games Metalfoes Deck
2 Metalfoes Volflame
3 Metalfoes Goldriver
3 Metalfoes Silverd
3 Metalfoes Steelen
3 Raremetalfoes Bismugear
2 Zefraath
3 Zefraniu, Secret of the Yang Zing
1 Zefraxi, Treasure of the Yang Zing
2 Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing
3 Rescue Rabbit
1 Metalfoes Fusion
1 Fullmetalfoes Fusion
1 Super Polymerization
1 Zefra Providence
1 Oracle of Zefra
1 Yang Zing Path
2 Painful Decision
1 Monster Reborn
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
2 Metalfoes Counter
1 Metalfoes Combination
1 Zefra Divine Strike
1 Nine Pillars of Yang Zing
2 Heavymetalfoes Electrumite
1 Crystron Glassfiber
1 Metalfoes Crimsonite
2 Metalfoes Orichalc
2 Metalfoes Mithrilium
1 Metalfoes Adamantine
1 Fullmetalfoes Alkahest
1 Mudragon of the Swamp
1 Denglong, First of the Yang Zing
1 Coral Dragon
1 PSY-Framelord Omega
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
みさわ’s Inzektor Deck
3 Inzektor Dragonfly
3 Inzektor Centipede
2 Inzektor Hornet
3 Inzektor Ladybug
1 Inzektor Giga-Mantis
1 Inzektor Giga-Weevil
1 Metamorphosed Insect Queen
2 Parasite Paranoid
1 Gadarla, the Mystery Dust Kaiju
1 Kumongous, the Sticky Thread Kaiju
2 Maxx “C”
3 Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
2 Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit
1 Inzektor Sword – Zektkaliber
3 Ultra Cocoon of Evolution
2 Insect Imitation
1 Multiplication of Ants
1 Foolish Burial
1 Monster Reborn
1 Soul Charge
2 Twin Twisters
1 Vanity’s Emptiness
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
2 Inzektor Picofalena
1 Cherubini, Black Angel of the Burning Abyss
1 Borrload Dragon
2 Inzektor Exa-Stag
1 Digital Bug Rhinosebus
1 Digital Bug Corebage
1 Number 20: Giga-Brilliant
1 The Phantom Knights of Break Sword
1 Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse
1 Number 61: Volcasaurus
1 Shark Fortress
1 Coral Dragon
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
ココロマンちゃんねる’s Evilswarm Deck
3 Evilswarm Heliotrope
3 Evilswarm Kerykeion
3 Evilswarm Castor
3 Evilswarm Mandragora
3 Evilswarm Thunderbird
3 Rescue Rabbit
2 Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
2 Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit
3 Infestation Pandemic
2 Unexpected Dai
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Reinforcement of the Army
2 Scapegoat
2 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
1 Infestation Infection
2 Torrential Tribute
2 Solemn Strike
2 Steelswarm Origin
1 Linkuriboh
1 Link Spider
1 Proxy Dragon
1 Security Dragon
1 Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow
1 Firewall Dragon
1 Borreload Dragon
1 Topologic Bomber Dragon
1 Skulldeat, the Chained Dracoserpent
2 Evilswarm Ophin
1 Evilswarm Bahamut
1 Evilswrm Exciton Knight
ぽこにゃん’s Madolche Deck
2 Madolche Puddingcess
3 Madolche Magileine
3 Madolche Messengelato
3 Madolche Anjelly
3 Madolche Hootcake
2 Madolche Mewfeuille
3 Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio
2 Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra
2 Lonefire Blossom
1 Glow-Up Bilb
1 Balancer Lord
1 Electromagnetic Turtle
2 Gem-Knight Garnet
2 Madolche Chataeu
1 Madolche Ticket
2 Brilliant Fusion
1 Double Summon
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
1 Evenly Matched
2 Solemn Strike
2 Madolche Fresh Sistart
1 Missus Radiant
1 Decode Talker
1 Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow
2 Madolche Queen Tiaramisu
1 Madolche Puddingcess Chocolat-a-la-Mode
1 M-X-Saber Invoker
1 Leviair, the Sea Dragon
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number S39: Utopia Prime
1 Number S39: Utopia the Lightning
1 Naturia Barkion
1 Gem-Knight Seraphinite
SOURCEOccasional self-knowledge reality checks are every bit as important as health checks. This set of self-help exercises will guide you though the process.
1. Identify your current level of self-knowledge
The Personality Test at http://www.learnmyself.com will give you a clear picture of what you think about yourself. You will do the test in about six minutes. And get an email report in seconds. Your answer will show just how much you know about yourself.
Exercise:
a. Note the areas you scored highest in the test since these are probably your areas of greatest certainty.
b. Reflect on the range and depth of your self-knowledge and how it extends into each area of your life.
2. Highlight areas of self-knowledge you need to focus on
You need to focus on the most important areas in your life. Since these change from time to time you need to adjust your list of them accordingly. Then you need to work at bringing your self-knowledge of these areas up to speed.
Exercise:
a. Reflect on the key areas in your life at present.
b. Select seven of these to think more clearly about.
For example, the seven I choose are: 1. Strengths; 2. Weaknesses that inhibit my use of strengths; 3. Relationships; 4. Health; 5. Personal Development; 6. Happiness; 7. Work/Life Balance.
3. How accurate is your self-knowledge?
We distort our self-knowledge. We do so to show ourselves in the best possible light. Which leads us to think more highly of ourselves than other people do. We all distort how we think about ourselves in this way. And since our need for the good opinion of others makes us wary of criticism we edit out comments that could give us a more balanced view.
Even very successful business people fall into this trap claims Marshal Goldsmith in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. They make the great mistake of attributing their success solely to their own ability. Which in many cases leads to their downfall and the failure of their enterprise.
We need to become more aware of how well we think of ourselves. Our first step should be to accept how we distort our abilities. Then we should question our judgement and sense of certainty. We should also check the accuracy of our information. And we should consult people whose judgement we can rely on.
Exercise:
a. Learn to accept the short-comings of our self-knowledge.
b. Always seek other people’s opinions.
c. Find new and more effective ways of doing this.
4. Get other people’s views
Well formed self-knowledge reflects how other people see us. So it makes sense to consult people we work with and close to. As does checking things out with bosses, spouses, and major clients. It also helps to consider how organisations we are members of view these issues.
Exercise:
a. Reflect on how well you consult each of the above three sources at present.
b. Identify better ways of doing so in the future.
References and URLS
Burkeman, O. (2011) HELP! How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done
Goldsmith, M. (2008) What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
http://www.learnmyself.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Discrepancy_Theory
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TwitterHave you ever tried explaining the concept of neuroplasticity to a novice? No? Then, have you ever tried explaining how intermittent fasting works to someone who just couldn’t get it? You know, you tell your friend how insulin levels drop, the body eventually shifts to a state of ketosis and starts using fatty acids as its main source of energy instead of glucose, and how this gradually decreases body fat percentage…
But still your friend doesn’t seem to quite get it.
Why is this?
It’s because you suffer from the curse of knowledge.
What is the Curse of Knowledge?
You are suffering from the curse of knowledge when you know things that the other person does not and you have forgotten what it’s like to not have this knowledge. This makes it harder for you to identify with the other person’s situation and explain things in a manner that is easily understandable to someone who is a novice.
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When you suffer from the curse of knowledge you assume that other people know the things that you do, and this cognitive bias causes you to believe that people understand you a lot better than they really do.
In a famous psychological experiment, a group of subjects was divided in two: tappers and listeners. The tappers were asked to think of a song and try to rhythmically tap the song on a table, while the listeners were asked to listen and figure out which song the tappers were tapping along to.
The tappers were 50% certain that the listeners would be able to identify the song they had had in mind while tapping, but the results of the experiment were shocking: only 2.5% of the listeners were able to figure out the song! In other words: the tappers overestimated their success ratio of being understood 20 times above how many times they actually were being understood.
When we suffer from the curse of knowledge, we are like the tappers: just because we know the melody of the song we’re tapping to we inaccurately assume that others will know it too. But often, the other person—the listener—doesn’t draw the same conclusions that we do because this person doesn’t have the same information as we do. In the case of the listeners, they weren’t able to identify the tapping as a song, they only heard a series of discordant tappings.
If we extrapolate these results to communication in general, it means that we think people understand what we’re saying a hell of a lot more often than they actually do—because we’re so used to knowing the things we know that we expect others to know it as well.
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What are the implications?
Let’s have a quick Q&A:
One major implication of the curse of knowledge is that the right people aren’t being listened to.
Q: What do you mean?
A: I mean that the people who are being listened to usually aren’t those in the best position to give advice. We tend to listen to those people whom we perceive have authority. We use social proof as a means to establish the credibility of these authorities. And often that works well, but not always.
Q: Why doesn’t it always work, and why wouldn’t I want to take the advice of someone who has a clear track record of success?
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A: The reason it doesn’t always work out that well is due to what I call the student-master dilemma. This dilemma often occurs when a person who is highly skilled in a particular field of knowledge is trying to teach, inform, or instruct beginners about what they should do to get better.
In theory it’s a sure thing that you’d want to be instructed by one of these “masters,” but in practice it might not be the best thing because the master tends to suffer from the curse of knowledge.
Q: So what? I would still prefer to have Bill Gates teach me how to get rich over my economics professor.
A: Yes, I probably would, too. But the counterargument would be that Bill Gates is too far removed from the situation of being a student to understand what the next step in your learning curve towards success is. Bill Gates has moved through the competence ladder far too many times to be able to accurately explain to you about all the things that he’s doing that contribute to his overall success.
Q: I see. So you’re saying that due to the curse of knowledge Gates would just assume that I’d know how to start a business, write a business plan, and all of those other fundamental things?
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A: Yes, exactly. Another famous example is that of an extremely successful salesman for IBM who was asked by an interviewer why he was so good at sales, to which he responded, “It’s because I stopped coughing!”
A couple of experts in sales were so confounded by his answer that they decided to examine him more closely. After a while they found that he was actually doing a lot of things really well—he was using a ton of sales tactics brilliantly, he just wasn’t aware of it. He was naturally talented at sales.
The moral of this little story is that the IBM sales guy falsely attributed the reasons for why he was so successful.
So, to go along with the student-master analogy: Would you have the IBM salesman as your master—telling you that you’ll be a successful salesman if you “just stop coughing”—or would you rather have a less successful master who could explain to you exactly what it is that you’re doing wrong and direct you toward the next step in your journey towards success?
I know who I’d choose…newcastle railway, save our rail
Work to transform the Newcastle rail corridor is continuing, with little more than a month left before a Supreme Court hearing that could determine the fate of the disused train line. The hearing on July 15 and 16 will involve appeals and counter appeals over the state government’s decision to remove the heavy rail line between Wickham and Newcastle stations. Contractors have removed several pieces of rail infrastructure since the Supreme Court ruled in December that the rail line could not be removed without an act of Parliament, but no tracks have been removed. Fairfax Media reported this week that a drilling rig had been brought into the rail corridor. Many Mercury readers have expressed concern in recent months that the plan would leave them with inferior and complicated public transport options into the city. But supporters of the plan say a new transport interchange at Wickham and a light rail network into Newcastle’s CBD will be a key part of the city’s renewal.
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/storypad-33FVAk7YxZ786YcQSXi4WkS/d86e7cef-fdc5-41fd-a169-b2ff3d449ce3.jpg/r3_3_1198_678_w1200_h678_fmax.jpgOn Media Blog Archives Select Date… December, 2015 November, 2015 October, 2015 September, 2015 August, 2015 July, 2015 June, 2015 May, 2015 April, 2015 March, 2015 February, 2015 January, 2015
Harvey Levin blasted some traditional media outlets, saying they are being "ruined" by the administration and their own deeds and he finds their "bullying" unbelievable. | Getty TMZ founder Harvey Levin blasts critics of his Trump meeting
TMZ founder Harvey Levin opened up this week about his meetings with President Donald Trump, chiding the media for criticizing him while pretending to be objective reporters.
Levin, a lawyer who went on to found the celebrity gossip and news website and television show, defended his hourlong meeting with Trump last month, saying they were discussing future opportunities and other projects. (Levin featured Trump on a special called "Objectified," which aired on Fox News last year.)
“It is hilarious to me and kind of sad, that I was in the waiting room in the West Wing for a half hour before I walked in there. And probably saw a hundred people, including reporters. So, nothing happened until a week later, and then people were furious that I got in there and actually I was in Washington for something different and went in there," he said.
Speaking Monday at a conference of the National Association of Broadcasters, Levin bemoaned the fact that he, Steve Harvey and Kanye West were all blasted for meeting with Trump.
"I guess the solution is that nobody should see him; it should be a boycott,” he said. “That is so stupid."
Levin, who said he's known Trump for 12 years, said he also asked Hillary Clinton to participate in the "Objectified" special, but she declined.
Morning Media Your guide to the media circus — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
In their White House meeting, Levin said he expressed his opinion on certain issues and that he disagreed with some of Trump's positions and opinions.
"I'm not sure some of the stuff he does is stuff he believes," Levin said. "I went in there and I voiced an opinion on some things, and why would you not get in that |
angle,[4] which is perhaps part of the reason why DC Comics decided not to further run with the character and limited him to light-hearted jibes made by other comic book heroes.
The character has often been ridiculed, such as in an article on Cracked.com which listed the character as one of the "7 crappiest super heroes in comic book history".[5]
Madame Fatal at DC Comics [ edit ]
DC Comics acquired the rights to all the former Quality Comics characters in 1956, but Madame Fatal has rarely surfaced.
Outside of regular DC Universe continuity, comix writer Kim Deitch (Hollywoodland) did a story in 1972 that purported to be about Madame Fatal.[6]
James Robinson and Paul Smith featured Madame Fatal in a cameo in 1993's The Golden Age #4. The character appears in a panel surrounded by the Fiddler, and the Gambler, who all appear to be courting the cross-dressing hero while other characters (including Wildfire, Harlequin, and the Psycho-Pirate) stand around giggling (apparently knowing Madame Fatal's true gender).
In a scene in JSA #1 (Aug. 1999) depicting the funeral of the first Sandman, Wildcat wonders whether his own funeral will "be like the time they buried Madame Fatal here, and no one turned up for the funeral but the touring cast of La Cage aux Folles?"[7]
James Robinson gives the character a prominent role in The Shade #4 (2012), set in 1944. In this issue Madame Fatal finally learns the location of his daughter.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]While decades of film journalism has taught us to treat Hollywood insiders as the sole source of movie rumors, there are plenty of places to go for production updates if you know where to look. Movie studios are businesses, after all, and business have to do things like file for copyrights, pull permits, and, sometimes, submit films and trailers to government agencies for review. That’s how we are able to bring you today’s update on the long-anticipated trailer for Columbia Pictures’ The Dark Tower adaptation. It didn’t come from some studio executive sending text messages on the sly; it came from the Consumer Protection agency of British Columbia.
As noted by Trailer Track (via Heroic Hollywood ), the first trailer for Dark Tower has officially been “approved for exhibition with all films,” meaning that the trailer has both a final cut and clear path to distribution. The Consumer Protection site also notes that the final runtime for the trailer is 2 minutes and 32 seconds, meaning Dark Tower fans will be rewarded for their patience by not having to slog through two or three short teasers before getting a prolonged look at the movie. This appears to be the real deal, a full-length trailer with the first footage from the film. At the risk of getting your expectations up one more time, yep, it’s happening.
Of course, Dark Tower fans have heard all this before. As we noted last month, the release date for the film was recently moved back a week, but this probably says more about the crowded summer landscape of 2017 than Columbia’s mistrust of their film. There’s still a lot of question marks surrounding the film, though. Does the adaptation do Stephen King ’s beloved franchise justice? Will the movie find its audience? Are there still plans for a television tie-in? We’ll know more once that first footage hits.
Here’s the full plot synopsis for The Dark Tower :
Jake Chambers is a young 11-year-old adventure seeker who discovers clues about another dimension called Mid-World. Upon following the mystery, he is spirited away to Mid-World where he encounters the lone frontiersman knight Roland Deschain, who is on a quest to reach the ‘Dark Tower’ that resides in End-World and reach the nexus point between time and space that he hopes will save Mid-World from extinction. But with various monsters and a vicious sorcerer named Walter Padick hot on their trail, the unlikely duo find that their quest may be difficult to complete.
The film will star Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor, and (probably?) hit theaters on August 4, 2017.As the first 50 Afghan nationals are deported to their native country, a large crowd of pro-migrant activists held a demonstration against the government’s actions at Frankfurt airport.
Several hundred left-wing activists took part in the protest Wednesday evening at terminal one of the busiest airport in Germany. The activists held signs which read, “Stop – No Deportation to Afghanistan” and “Deportation is torture, deportation is murder” as the first 50 failed asylum seekers boarded a chartered plane to Afghanistan, reports Frankfurter Rundschau.
After the initial demonstration was over, the participants walked around the busy airport chanting slogans demanding that Afghan migrants be allowed to stay in the country. Among the participants was Janine Wissler, chairman of the left-wing party Die Linke in the Hessian parliament. “Deportations to Afghanistan are irresponsible and inhuman,” she said and claimed the migrants were being deported to a war zone.
Pro-migrant NGO Pro Asyl also claimed that the deportations were “irresponsible” and demanded that they cease. “We explicitly turn to the Green Party in Hesse, Baden-Wurttemberg and Hamburg to do everything they can to ensure that these people are not deported,” said Günter Burkhardt, the managing director of the NGO.
The German Interior ministry, who is responsible for deportations, claimed that at least one-third of the migrants had criminal backgrounds. Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said that the migrants had been responsible for a variety of crimes including theft, rape, and manslaughter.
While originally 50 migrants were planned to be deported, only 34 boarded the flight to the Afghan capital of Kabul. Mr. de Maizière claimed that only men were subject to collective deportation and that the 16 rejected were women and children. He said that they would likely be placed on separate flights in the future and that new flights would occur on a weekly basis.
Despite claims from Pro Asyl that the migrants are just dropped off at Kabul airport and left to their own devices, the Interior Minister said that after the flight had landed the migrants were greeted by the Afghan Refugee Agency, the Afghan Police force, and other agencies that would help them return to normal life in their country.
Deportations have become a tense issue in Germany as the nation has faced a series of hurdles in trying to return failed asylum seekers. Despite considering many countries in North Africa as “safe countries of origin”, the governments in various countries have rejected taking back their nationals resulting in a mere 166 migrants from the region being successfully deported this year as of August.
The cost of deportation has also been an issue as it can cost the German taxpayers up to 55,000 euros per migrant to forcibly deport them. Even when the government is successful, some migrants merely walk back into the country where the process of deportation is repeated all over again.PHILADELPHIA -- The man known as Philly Jesus was arrested Monday night at an Apple Store in Center City, 6abc reports.
Police responded at 6:15 p.m. to the store, located at 16th and Walnut Streets, when the store manager asked Philly Jesus to leave, but he refused and caused a disturbance, according to the report.
Philly Jesus, whose real name is Michael Grant, was charged with defiant trespassing and disorderly conduct, the report said.
Grant is a former drug addict and rapper who was run over by a minivan driven by an ex-girlfriend. After getting hooked on opiates, then heroin, he began selling drugs, and eventually went to rehab.
Meet Philly Jesus, the recovered addict who's giving back to God Michael Grant isn't Jesus, but try telling that to his disciples.
Now Philly Jesus cites scripture and the word of God during conversations and gives public ministries.
Grant was also arrested in late 2014 on disorderly conduct charges after an argument with a police officer about accepting money for photos. Charges were later dropped.
Even Jesus checks his email at the Apple Store. A photo posted by Jen A. Miller (@jenamillerrunner) on May 2, 2016 at 3:05pm PDT
Brittany Wehner may be reached at bwehner@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @brittanymwehner. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Sir Nick already has an OBE A leading UK HIV campaigner who has strived to transform attitudes towards HIV/Aids and to the role of gay men and women in society has been knighted. Nick Partridge, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, was recognised for his 20-year service to healthcare. Knighthoods also go to Royal College of Surgeons past president Bernard Ribeiro and president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Neil Douglas. Other new Sirs include Wellcome Trust's director Dr Mark Walport. Professor Sally Davies, director of research and development at the Department of Health becomes a Dame for her services to Medicine, as does Liz Fradd, a nursing academic and fellow of the Royal College of Nursing, for her services to nursing. Dr Nigel Lightfoot, chief adviser at the Health Protection Agency, is honoured with a CBE for the crucial role he played in the polonium 210 poisoning incident in 2006, where he oversaw the professional work. HIV Sir Nick said his knighthood on the New Year list was "great recognition of the pioneering work of Terrence Higgins Trust." The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) was the first charity to be set up in response to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.
It is remarkably significant that someone who has worked so hard in the HIV sector has finally been recognised
Edwin J Bernard, editor of HIV Treatment Update
It's roots were in the gay community and, for many years, the HIV epidemic in the UK affected mainly gay men. As the shape of the epidemic changed, so did the THT, under the guidance of Sir Nick. He joined the Trust in 1985 as the office manager, one of only two full-time paid posts, and became its head in 1991. He was tasked with overcoming public anti-gay prejudice and convincing politicians about the urgency of the HIV situation. He has campaigned hard for research funding and progress and now, thanks to pioneering medical work and the discovery of antiretroviral therapy in the 1990s, the diagnosis of HIV is no longer a death sentence. Influential In 2004, Nick was appointed a Commissioner of the Healthcare Commission, the independent inspectorate responsible for reviewing the quality of healthcare in England. In 2006, he was declared one of the 100 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain by the Independent. He is also chair of INVOLVE, an advisory group promoting public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research. Sir Nick said: "I'm absolutely delighted. This is great recognition of the pioneering work of Terrence Higgins Trust, the importance of patient and public involvement in health research through INVOLVE and the impact of the health watchdog, the Healthcare Commission. I'm very privileged to work with three amazing organisations and to be honoured in this way." The THT provides a wide range of sexual health and HIV services to over 50,000 people a year. Edwin J Bernard, editor of HIV Treatment Update, said: "It is remarkably significant that someone who has worked so hard in the HIV sector has finally been recognised. "After 25 years of the Terrence Higgins Trust it is about time. "Much of the media focus has been on the international Aids problem. I hope this shines the spotlight on HIV/Aids in the UK." There are now three times as many people living with HIV as there were 10 years ago and the numbers will continue to climb. FULL HONOURS LIST
Honours list in full [490KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here Professor Mark Walport was appointed as director of the Wellcome Trust in June 2003. He heads one of the world's largest biomedical research charities, which spends some £400 million a year in pursuit of its mission to foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health. Before joining the trust, he was Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Medicine at Imperial College, London where he led a research team that focused on the immunology and genetics of rheumatic diseases.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionGod Wars introduces its three nations’ leaders
Meet Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo.
Kadokawa Games shared shared new details on God Wars, its newly announced PlayStation 4 and PS Vita tactics RPG set in ancient Japan.
Introduced today are Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo, the leaders of the nations of Fuji, Hyuuga, and Izumo, respectively. Last week, we met their children.
The press release also re-purposes old information from last week to provide new screenshots of the God Wars‘ battle system.
Get the information below.
■ Tactics RPG God Wars uses an orthodox quarter view tactical battle system. This includes fighting on maps with elevation differences, setting specific jobs for characters, and an abundance of growth elements. Players can select between 30 types of jobs, over 200 pieces of equipment, and over 600 skills to capture each stage. You can customize your party with jobs and skills of your choosing, and work over a strategy to defeat the enemy. While there are skills that only specific jobs can learn, there are also character-exclusive skills, skills that target a vast range of enemies at once, skills that strike the enemy’s weak points, and so on. Utilize your skills in the best way possible according to the situation. ■ Characters Tsukuyomi The queen of Fuji. Sakuya and Kaguya’s mother. She is a kind woman full of affection. 13 years ago, in order to quell the anger of the Gods, she offered her daughter Sakuya as a sacrifice to the crater of Fuji. She has since disappeared and entrusted the politics of the country to a man named Kitsune. Her whereabouts are unknown. Amaterasu The queen of Hyuuga. Momotaro’s mother. She is the youngest of the rulers of the three countries. She is full of vitality and has a strong interest in expanding her territory. Susanoo The king of Izumo. Ohkuninushi’s father. An unrivaled warrior, he is a hero who made Izumo the strong nation it is today. After becoming a big country, he promotes nation-building rooted in technological strength rather than in military strength. Though he is gradually approaching old age, he is not recognized as someone who once held power.
God Wars is due out worldwide for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita in 2016.
View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.In 1930, Marjorie Hillis stood in front of a large, empty house in suburban New York. It was the home where she had lived with her family. But her parents were dead, and her sister had recently remarried. She was all alone. Hillis had just returned from Venezuela, where she’d had an epiphany. Though her brother and his children lived nearby, she refused to be “an old maid aunt,” haunting the periphery of the family. She was in her mid-thirties, a successful editor at Vogue, a former flapper who frequented the best cocktail bars in Manhattan. Instead, she would pack up everything she owned and head directly to the city. The idea of a woman moving on her own wasn’t really that shocking anymore. Tens of thousands of women were doing it. Her move was radical because she planned to live alone and have a blast doing it.
During the Depression, marriage rates plummeted and thousands of women of all ages worked and lived alone, some by choice, others by necessity. It was an age when a single woman, especially one who was no longer young, was the object of pity, if not outright scorn. Newspapers from the time read, “They are all left-over ladies, biologically, racially, and in the end, personally.”
In 1936, at the age of 47, Hillis published her bestselling self-help book, How to Live Alone and Like It. The book rebranded the single lady as powerful, chic, and savvy. Living alone had benefits, she claimed, “Even going to bed alone can be alluring. There are many times, in fact, when it’s by far the most alluring way to go.” These women were not spinsters, she said, but “Live-Aloners.” America was ready for her message. The book went through six editions in its first year.
Marjorie Hillis, 1889–1971. (New York Public Library)
How to Live Alone and Like It offered mostly practical tips, such as how to entertain male friends, and how to get rid of them when they stayed too long. “There is little danger that you will have to call the elevator man or open the window and scream,” she writes. “It may happen, but don’t get your hopes up. You have to be pretty fascinating.” For loneliness, she recommended “a glass of sherry and an extra special dinner charmingly served,” and hobbies, such as collecting antiques and growing gardenias.
Should a single lady find herself afraid of the dark and convinced that a burglar is breaking in, Hillis writes, “The trick is to turn over and think furiously about something else, like your new dress or what you’d say if the good looking man who took you to the theatre proposed.” She goes on, “If this sounds a little dreary, think of the things that you, all alone, don’t have to do … You don’t have to get up in the night to fix someone else’s hot water bottle, or lie awake listening to snores. You probably have your bathroom all to yourself, which is unquestionably one of Life’s Great Blessings.”
On the important topic of the propriety of wearing one’s pajamas in front of a gentleman caller, she writes, “Assuming that she knows one pajama from another, it is entirely permissible. There are however, sleeping pajamas, beach pajamas, lounging pajamas, and hostess pajamas.”
Hillis’s writing conjures the sense of womanhood on the brink of major change. On the topic of whether a woman living alone can have a love affair, Hillis saw arguments for both sides and seemed incapable of answering the question. She was trying to fit modern life into old world social mores, and occasionally, she couldn’t. The single woman was a “Live-Aloner,” a more flattering term, but she was also an “extra woman,” meaning dispensable, a wrench thrown in otherwise perfect table seating. The world wasn’t entirely ready for the single lady.
As Joanna Scutts explains in her forthcoming book on Hillis, The Extra Woman, Hillis did not learn female independence from her mother. In 1911, Hillis’s mother had published “The American Woman and Her Home,” an advice manual on the importance of marriage. The book demonized divorce and railed against a “new kind of woman very much in evidence in the city,” a “self-centered” type. Fulfillment and happiness came through family life, she said. Despite or perhaps in reaction to Hillis’s mother’s best efforts, when she died one of her daughters was a “spinster,” the other a divorcée.
Instead Hillis learned self-reliance the hard way. As an adult, Hillis watched as one by one, the women who were closest to her were dragged down by men. In 1915, her father embroiled the family in a highly publicized financial scandal. Her sister, who was, according to Scutts, a “picture-perfect debutante,” was trapped in a bad marriage until she got divorced.
In 1939, Hillis shocked her readers once again by marrying a grocery store magnate. Her married life, at least to outsiders, appears in contrast entirely drab. Gone were her glamorous flapper days and crowded readings and appearances at department stores. “At the moment I can barely remember that I once led such a life,” she told a reporter. “What does she do all day — now that she has given up her writing, and speaking, and public appearances?” the reporter wondered. “Oh, I plan the meals … and I fix the flowers,” she responded. Scutts writes, “Whatever else it may have done for her, marriage effectively silenced Marjorie Hillis.” Not long after they were married, her husband reported that Hillis would be writing “no more books.”India's copyright office website is "best viewed in 1024 x 768 true colors, Internet Explorer version 6.0 or above."
That might sound a bit dated, but it has nothing on the country's copyright law, which was last overhauled completely in 1957. Although it was updated five times in the 1980s and 1990s, the law does not comply with numerous international treaties such as the WIPO Internet Treaties of 1996.
On April 19, another major set of Copyright Act amendments (PDF) was introduced with the explicit goal of bringing India into compliance "with the provisions of the two WIPO Internet Treaties, to the extent considered necessary and desirable." (Note that final clause; we'll return to it in a bit.)
This legal update has been in the works for years—it goes back to at least 2005. It also contains several things that the big content industries would seem to want, such as a ban on circumventing DRM and threatening both fines and jail time for those who do so.
So why are the copyright industries so upset at India's attempt to bring its copyright into the Internet era? Isn't that what they want?
Sort of, but they want it done in one particular way.
Our way or the highway
India has long been one of the few countries on the US Special 301 "Priority Watch List" (PDF) as one of the world's top offenders when it comes to piracy and copyright infringement. While the inclusion of Canada (yes, Canada) on this list has always seemed patently bizarre to us, the case for India is more easily made.
Here's how bad it is: "The piracy rate for music in the online space is estimated at 99%... India was among the top 10 countries in the world for illegal filesharing (P2P) activities... In one case, pamphlets were being distributed with the morning newspaper offering pirated software and referring readers to the website www.cd75dvd150.20m.com to place orders... It is estimated that India's cable companies declare only 20% of their subscribers and that the piracy level in this market is at 80% with significant losses... The sale of high-risk trade books at traffic junctions in New Delhi appears to be a lesson; last year it was at epidemic proportions."
All of those quotes come courtesy of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) as part of its 2010 report to the US government (PDF) on the Special 301 list of IP offenders. (The IIPA is made up of groups like the RIAA, MPAA, ESA, etc.) Once again, the IIPA demands that India stay on the highest-profile "Priority Watch List, in part because the country's law is not consistent with the WIPO Internet Treaties.
This reasoning sounds a bit odd, since India hasn't even signed the WIPO treaties and so can't be considered in breach of them. But doing things a "different" way isn't really an option for the IIPA, which wants to impose a single standard on most of the world. That standard will sound familiar to US readers:
Add statutory damages in civil cases
Add an optical disc law
Comply with the WIPO Internet Treaties
Add an anti-camcording law
The US has these laws in place already, and these provisions are also being pushed as part of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which hopes to bring the wonder of $1.92 million statutory judgments against individual file-sharers to the rest of the world.
Actually, none of these ideas is bad on its own; statutory damages can serve a useful function when they are kept within appropriate bounds. Similarly, the WIPO Internet treaties are not themselves objectionable; even their DRM anti-circumvention provisions are flexible, and allow countries great freedom in lawmaking.
India's new copyright amendments take advantage of this freedom. The bill itself tells us that its anticircumvention provisions are meant to comply with the WIPO Internet Treaties, but they do so in a way that the US attempt to comply with WIPO—the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)—never did: it would be legal to bypass DRM if the intended use is a legal one.
As India's proposed amendment puts it, bypassing DRM "with the intention of infringing" copyright is illegal, but if there's no intent to infringe, it's OK. The bill also does not appear to address devices and software (like DeCSS and other tools) that make such bypassing possible. Those would remain legal.
Commenting on a draft version of this proposal, the IIPA slammed it hard. The bill "contains an exception which would appear to permit circumvention for any purpose that would not amount to infringement under the act," says the group, "thereby almost completely eviscerating any protection."
Rather than judging actions and intentions—was that DVD DRM bypassed in order to make a home backup, or was it bypassed to make and sell copies on the street?—such a rule lays a far heavier burden on the copyright industries when it comes to policing the content. It's also arguably much fairer, since it preserves fair dealing and other exceptions and limitations to copyright that DRM can often override.
The law also does little to specifically address Internet piracy. The big content companies have settled on a basic worldwide strategy of "graduated response," preferably one that ends by booting people off the Internet. Indeed, this year's IIPA Special 301 report demands that, "before this phenomenon spins totally out of control, the Indian government should ensure that ISPs and rights holders cooperate in establishing a fair and workable 'graduated response' system."
India does not appear to agree. When the US finalizes its 2010 Special 301 list soon, we expect India to top it once again.
The Special 301 process is a certainly an odd one: where else can big entertainment companies have entire countries put on a US government blacklist over issues like graduated response—something that the US doesn't even have?
Perhaps the strangeness of the whole process can best be summed up by the very last sentences in the IIPA's 2010 report on India, where "open source software" comes in for a beating: "The industry is also concerned about moves by the government to consider mandating the use of open source software and software of only domestic origin. Though such policies have not yet been implemented, IIPA and BSA urge that this area be carefully monitored."
Open source is bad enough, but a "buy Indian" law? That would be an outrage and surely something the US government would not itself engage in as recently as last year. Err, right?Ed. Mental Floss mourns the loss of actress Estelle Getty, who passed away today after a long battle with Lewy Body Dementia. We all hope that she went to a better place than Shady Pines, and thank her for the many laughs she gave us over the years.
Have you ever threatened someone by simply saying "Shady Pines, Ma"? When you feel as jumpy as a virgin at a prison rodeo, is cheesecake the only remedy that will soothe your nerves? If so, you just might be a Golden Girls fan. The show originally ran on NBC from 1985 to 1992, and 15 years later, it still attracts an average of 16 million viewers weekly on Lifetime, despite being aired four times daily.
1. Where did the idea actually come from?
Former NBC wunderkind Brandon Tartikoff got the idea for the series while visiting an elderly aunt. His aunt's neighbor was also her best friend, and he was amused at how they constantly bickered with one another, but yet they always remained pals.
2. "Jealousy is an ugly thing, Dorothy. And so are you in anything backless."
Estelle Getty was 47 years old before she first appeared on stage, so it was no wonder that she felt intimidated by her veteran co-workers. Since Sophia was a last-minute addition as a regular character, who would've thought that she would ultimately become the most popular Golden Girl? Part of her charm was the stroke that had damaged the part of her brain that censored her speech, which allowed the writers to give her some classic cutting lines:
BLANCHE (trying to entice a suitor): I'm going to take a long, hot steamy bath, with just enough water to barely cover my perky bosoms.
SOPHIA: You're only going to sit in an inch of water?
Estelle seemed to fluff her lines more often than not, and had to resort to using cue cards or script pages taped to the kitchen table. Some of her co-stars felt a bit put out that they had to do so many re-takes because of Estelle, yet she was the cast member that received the most fan mail. As time went on, Estelle had some other odd medical problems that ultimately led to a misdiagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. Sadly, the medications she was given (in error) further exacerbated the problem. It wasn't until the mid-2000s that she was finally diagnosed as suffering from Lewy Body Dementia. Betty White kept in touch with Estelle described her current health situation as "a curtain wafting in and out" "“ she has her good days when she's active and communicative, and other days when she does nothing more than doze in her favorite chair.
3. Looking for Bea Arthur in all the Wrong Places
When casting the show, Lee Grant was first offered the role of Dorothy, but she refused to play a woman old enough to have grandchildren. Even though the original production notes describing Dorothy Zbornak listed her as "a Bea Arthur type," it took some time before the producers got the bright idea of actually offering the part to actress Beatrice Arthur.
A Golden Girls fact: Bea Arthur (Dorothy) was actually a year older than the actress who portrayed her mother on the show.
4. Why wasn't Betty White the sexy one?
This and the answers to more all after the jump...
When Rue McClanahan and Betty White were first hired for the series, it was with the intent of Betty playing man-hungry Blanche, and Rue the naïve Rose. However, both actresses felt that those roles were too similar to characters they'd recently played: Rue's Vivian on Maude and Betty's Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. They asked the producers if they could switch roles, and after the first table reading it was agreed that the change was a brilliant idea.
5. What happened to the flamboyant cook?
The pilot episode featured a flamboyantly gay cook named Coco (played by Charles Levin) who worked for the Girls. By the time the series was picked up, though, his part had been eliminated for two reasons. One was that the writers noted that in many of the proposed future scripts the main interaction between the women occurred in the kitchen while preparing and eating food, and a separate cook would distract from that camaraderie. In addition, the character of Sophia had originally been planned as an occasional guest star, but Estelle Getty had tested so strongly with preview audiences that the producers quickly made Sophia a regular character (and chief chef), which made Coco superfluous.
6. The Gay and Lesbian factor
A 2005 study by Simmons Market Research determined that more gays and lesbians watched The Golden Girls than the general population in any given week. Admittedly, the show touched on homosexuality more than once: Blanche's brother came out as gay in one episode, Dorothy's college friend was a lesbian, and then there was that time that clueless Rose was trying to prove herself on her first day on the job as a production assistant on a local Miami TV talk show"¦
7. "Cheesecake," and the real Golden Girls' appeal
A large part of the Golden Girls' appeal was that they were all women over age 50 who were still actively working, volunteering in the community, and, yes, dating and having sex. They showed the world that menopause didn't automatically equal resigning oneself to knitting afghans and baking cookies. This was brilliantly illustrated when the Girls were preparing to go on a Valentine's Day cruise with some gentlemen friends and Dorothy suggested that they should perhaps bring along some "protection." Of course, Rose got it all wrong"¦
Now is your chance to come out and admit your Golden Girls love. What is your favorite St. Olaf story? How crazy do you go trying to match the internal architecture of their house with the outside shots? And please try and explain to me the varying number and ages of the Girls' children and grandchildren.
Past 'Confessions of a TV-Holic'...
"¢ When Sitcoms Go Global
"¢ 5 Cases of Unwanted Fame
"¢ When Sitcom Stars Start Expecting
"¢ We Still Love Lucy
"¢ 6 Backdoor Pilots (and why they belong at the back door)Star Wars Celebration begins today at the Anaheim Convention Center, but fans started lining up at 5am on Wednesday morning, 29 hours before the opening ceremony for the Star Wars fan convention. The panel is expected to be a presentation featuring a trailer and possibly more for the next installment of the franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Director JJ Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy will be present alongside some unannounced “special guests” at the presentation that begins at 10:00am pacific time and will be streamed live around the world on StarWars.com. But I don’t think Lucasfilm and Abrams expected such a huge turnout on the day before the convention, and the result is an incredible show of generosity.
I arrived at Star Wars Celebration on Wednesday and spent some time waiting in the massive line with friends and fellow Star Wars fans.
At 6:00pm, Celebration moved the line indoors to the Anaheim Convention Center basement, and at that time there were about 700 fans in line. The line quickly grew, and by midnight had a packed crowd of an estimated 1,500 attendees.
I was tweeting photos live from the line at my twitter account @slashfilm and Star Wars Episode VIII director Rian Johnson responded:
@slashfilm Peter, I want you to give every single one of those folks a five minute hug for me. — Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) April 16, 2015
Around 9:30pm, it was announced to the crowd that JJ Abrams and Kathy Kennedy had bought pizza for the fans waiting overnight in line. How cool is that?
From what I’ve heard, JJ Abrams heard about the massive line of tireless Star Wars fans and wanted to reward them for their dedication. This was definitely not a publicity stunt or something that was planned in advance. Pizza was ordered, and arrived to the convention center in increments of 25 pies at a time.
Watch: Pizza from Star Wars director JJ Abrams and producer Kathy Kennedy arrives to the #celebration line A video posted by Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) on Apr 15, 2015 at 10:30pm PDT
Overheard in the Star Wars #celebration line: "But JJ Abrams should've bought us all sleeping bags…" LOL — Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) April 16, 2015
While the Convention Center’s arena supposedly fits up to 9,100 people, the configuration for a presentation of this scale cuts those numbers to something like 5,000. Fans who are unable to make it into the arena presentation will be put in other overflow rooms where the presentation will be projected on big screens.
Breaking: Lightsaber fight outside the convention center #celebration A video posted by Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) on Apr 15, 2015 at 8:18pm PDT
You will be able to stream the Force Awakens presentation live as it plays out. Check back on slashfilm.com for the video embed. Germain Lussier and I will both be at Star Wars Celebration for the entire convention. Over the next four days we’ll be posting updates and reports from all the major panels. We’ve both huge Star Wars geeks and very excited to be here. If you see us around, please come say hello.The Los Angeles Times finds the link between disposable chopsticks and China’s deadly landslides:
With summer floods devastating southern, western and northeastern China, a massive oil spill smothering the Yellow Sea off the port of Dalian, 3,000 barrels of chemicals bobbing aimlessly but threateningly in the Songhua River in the northeast, and nearly half a million newly registered cars — just since January — on Beijing roads spewing who knows how much additional carbon dioxide into the air, you may think that the government is unnecessarily overreaching in waging a war on the disposable chopstick.
But start doing the math and the disposable chopstick, made largely from birch and poplar (and, less so, from bamboo, because of its higher cost) begins to look deeply menacing — an environmental disaster not to be taken lightly. Begin with China’s 1.3 billion people. In one year, they go through roughly 45 billion pairs of the throwaway utensils; that averages out to nearly 130 million pairs of chopsticks a day. (The export market accounts for 18 billion pairs annually.)
Greenpeace China has estimated that to keep up with this demand, 100 acres of trees need to be felled every 24 hours. Think here of a forest larger than Tiananmen Square — or 100 American football fields — being sacrificed every day. That works out to roughly 16 million to 25 million felled trees a year. Deforestation is one of China’s gravest environmental problems, leading to soil erosion, famine, flooding, carbon dioxide release, desertification and species extinction.TOKYO -- With two major zombie-themed videogames taking center stage at Tokyo Game Show, the undead gave the expo's traditional booth babes a run for their money. The show floor was crawling with animated corpses earlier this month, with dozens of ghouls promoting Dead Rising 2, released Tuesday by Capcom, and upcoming zombie game Yakuza: Of the End. It wasn't all zombies at Japan's biggest videogame show, though. There was no shortage of scantily dressed "companions" to accompany attendees as they test-drove the latest games. A few "lucky" cast members even |
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Democrats, for one, hope that the growing disenchantment with the president will translate into congressional victories come 2018. But according to an analysis of more than 50,000 respondents of Vox/SurveyMonkey polling, the prospects of a midterm Democratic surge still look shaky.
Most of the decline in Trump approval, it turns out, occurred in congressional districts that are already solidly red or solidly blue. In the closest Republican districts, opinions of the president haven’t budged at all over the past six months. Overall, Americans may be growing weary of Trump’s chaotic administration — but it seems the Americans who will matter the most politically next year have yet to change their minds.
Close Republican districts are an anomaly
Over the past six months, Vox and SurveyMonkey have been polling Americans about their opinions on the president and the economy. By grouping people according to where they live, we can get a sense of Trump approval in different regions. The nation has 435 voting congressional districts, but the most important ones are those that occupy the middle of the political spectrum. These are the swing districts that determine the relative clout of the parties in the House.
In solid Democratic districts — places where the Democratic House candidate won overwhelmingly in 2016 — Trump approval slipped from an average of 32 percent in February through April to 29 percent in May through July. Likewise, in solid Republican districts, Trump approval fell from 56 percent to 53 percent. Though these are statistically significant declines, they don’t mean much politically, because these districts will practically never be in play.
In the 50 closest congressional districts on the Republican side, though, Trump’s approval rating has held steady at 47 percent. Meanwhile, among the 50 closest districts on the Democratic side, Trump approval seems to have declined from 42 percent to 39 percent (though it’s still too close to call).
This pattern becomes clearer when we focus on people who say they “strongly” approve of the president. In close Democratic districts, that percentage fell noticeably over the past six months, from 23 percent to 20 percent. But in close Republican districts, enthusiasm for the president hasn’t changed: 26 percent of people continue to strongly believe that Trump is doing a good job.
In other words, the polling suggests that Democrats might be tightening their grip on close districts they won in 2016, but they haven’t made any progress on the districts they hope to flip in 2018 — at least not if Trump’s approval is any indicator.
Most Republicans turning against Trump live in Democratic districts
Close congressional districts are close because they contain an even mix of people from both sides of the aisle. Opinions about the president are extremely polarized by political affiliation — among Republicans and right-leaning independents, the Trump approval rate remains well over 80 percent. Among Democrats and left-leaning independents, the approval rate is less than 10 percent.
Even Republicans are starting to change their minds, however. In February, 90 percent of right-leaning Americans approved of Trump. By July, that number had fallen to 86 percent.
But it seems that most of those Republicans turning against the president hail from Democratic congressional districts: In safe Democratic districts, the Republican approval rate has fallen from 86 percent to 82 percent. And in close Democratic districts, it’s fallen from 89 percent to 84 percent. These are statistically significant changes.
Here’s the bad news for Democrats: Republicans in close Republican districts remain upbeat about Trump. There, approval rates appear to have dipped from 91 to 89 percent, but it’s a difference that is too small to be statistically significant.
Again, the phenomenon is easier to see when we look at those whose are especially enthusiastic about the president. In close Democratic districts, the percentage of Republicans who say they “strongly” approve of the president fell dramatically, from 59 percent in the first three months of his term to 51 percent in the most recent three months.
But among Republicans living in close Republican districts, the rate of enthusiastic Trump supporters has held at around 56 percent. That contrasts with what’s happening in solid Republican districts, where the rate of Republicans who strongly approve of the president has fallen from 61 percent to 56 percent.
It appears that in congressional districts held by Republicans, there remains a core group of right-leaning voters who don’t seem concerned about the messy dramas emanating from the White House.
The pattern is the same when we narrow the focus to the closest 25 congressional districts on either side. (The pattern also persists when we look at close counties, which rules out gerrymandering as an explanation, since county lines are not regularly redrawn for electoral reasons.)
So what’s happening here?
It’s important to point out that the data set we’re using is massive, but not without its caveats. Our 50,000 respondents come from online surveys, and while this a nationally representative sample, it might not precisely capture the opinions of those who shun the web. Furthermore, our results end in the first week of July (our August survey is currently in the field), so they don’t reflect the latest shifts in public opinion. A lot happened in July — the Don Trump Jr. emails, the failed Senate health care bill, the brief, wondrous White House career of Anthony Scaramucci — and other polling suggests that these controversies have caused Trump approval to slip further in recent weeks.
What’s safe to say is that Trump approval has remained surprisingly resilient in the places that matter most to Democrats right now: the districts they hope to win in 2018.
Our polling data also casts a different light on the special House elections of the past few months, where Democrats have made startling gains. In the high-profile race for Georgia’s Sixth, for instance, Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff nearly defeated Republican Karen Handel, even though the district went Republican by a 62-38 margin in 2016. (For reference, GA-6 doesn’t even count as one of the 50 closest Republican districts.)
Many pundits took the close Ossoff-Handel race as a sign that backlash against Trump would trigger a Democratic surge in 2018. Overall, though, our surveys suggest that Democrats will have a tough time in vulnerable Republican districts, where opinions about Trump have been slow to change — particularly among the Republicans and swing voters that Democrats will need to rely on to win seats.
All of this seems to be another sign that Americans are divided, not only by ideology but by the information they consume and the company they keep. Trump approval might be declining across the nation, but not so much in the Republican enclaves that Democrats desperately hope to flip.VESTAL, New York/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday that America’s history of racial discrimination had contributed to a persistent economic gap between blacks and whites in the 50 years since Martin Luther King’s landmark “I have a dream” speech.
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks alongside Vice President Joe Biden at Lackawanna College in Biden's home town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 23, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed
Obama said his own story showed the “enormous strides” the United States had made since King’s speech, but as Washington commemorates the anniversary of King’s address, the disparity between black and white income remained.
“What we’ve also seen is that the legacy of discrimination, slavery, Jim Crow, has meant that some of the institutional barriers for success for a lot of groups still exist,” Obama, the first black U.S. president, said in answering a question at a town hall meeting at Binghamton University in New York state.
“You know, African-American poverty in this country is still significantly higher than other groups. Same is true for Latinos. Same is true for Native Americans,” he said.
Divisive U.S. politics is a factor in the growing gap between rich and poor in America, Obama said.
“The tendency to suggest somehow that government is taking something from you and giving it to somebody else and your problems will be solved if we just ignore them or don’t help them... is something that we have to constantly struggle against, whether we’re black or white or whatever color we are,” he said.
Data shows that five decades after King’s speech during the “March for Jobs and Freedom” in Washington on August 28, 1963, the black-white economic gap has persisted despite huge gains in education and political clout by blacks.
Black unemployment is about twice that for whites, the same as in 1963. Blacks also have been disproportionately hammered by the deep 2007-2009 recession and credit crunch.
Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, said blacks lagged whites for a number of reasons. They include slightly lower levels of education, weaker business networking and the U.S. failure to create good-paying jobs since the 1970s.
But discrimination also plays a role, she said. Studies have shown, for example, that on identical job applications those with white-sounding names are more likely to get callbacks than those with black-sounding names.
Such studies “show that discrimination is still alive and well,” she said.
In 1963, the jobless rate among blacks was 10.9 percent, more than twice that for whites, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Last month, black unemployment was 12.6 percent, compared with 6.6 percent for whites, the Labor Department said.
The income gap between black and white families has narrowed somewhat in the last half century.
Black families on average had incomes in 2011 that were two-thirds that of whites, up from 57 percent in 1963, Census Bureau data shows. The poverty rate for blacks has dropped, to 28 percent in 2011 from 42 percent in 1966.
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Census Bureau numbers show that since the recession started in 2007, average black household income has fallen 12.4 percent, compared with a 7 percent drop for whites.
Stuart Butler, director of the Center for Policy Innovation at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said black economic achievement was hampered by such factors as a high rate of out-of-wedlock births, low savings rates, poor schools and a high rate of incarceration for black men.
With all of those in place, “it’s just devastating for economic improvement,” he said.
The economic gap between the races has remained nearly unchanged even as blacks have made big gains in education and political representation.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (C) leads other civil rights leaders and marchers during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in this August 28, 1963 file photo shot by U.S. Information Agency photographer Rowland Scherman and provided to Reuters by the U.S. National Archives in Washington on August 21, 2013. REUTERS/Rowland Scherman/U.S. Information Agency/U.S. National Archives
The percentage of blacks who graduate from high school has risen more than threefold, to 85 percent last year. There are more than 10 times as many black college students now than there were 50 years ago, according to the Census Bureau.
Political gains are just as marked. There were 10,500 black elected officials in 2011, a 10-fold increase from 1970, the first year the number was compiled, Census data showed.
The current Congress has 45 black representatives, up from five in 1963, according to the House historian’s website. There is one black U.S. senator, Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina, and there were none in 1963.REMEMBER the panic over the “millennium bug”, when computers everywhere were expected to go haywire on January 1st 2000, thanks to the way a lot of old software used just two digits to represent the year instead of four? Doomsters predicted all sorts of errors in calculations involving dates when the clocks rolled over from 99 to 00. In the event, the millennium dawned without incident. That may have been because of the draconian preparations undertaken beforehand. Or perhaps, as many suspected, the problem was grossly exaggerated in the first place. Certainly, the computer industry made a packet out of all the panic-buying of new hardware and software in the months leading up to the new millennium.Well, something similar is about to happen in the months ahead. This time, the issue concerns the exhaustion of internet addresses—those four numbers ranging from 0 to 255 separated by dots that uniquely identify every device attached to the internet. According to Hurricane Electric, an internet backbone and services provider based in Fremont, California, the internet will run out of bulk IP addresses sometime next week—given the rate addresses are currently being gobbled up.The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) will then have doled out all its so-called "slash-eight" blocks of addresses to the five regional internet registries around the world. In turn, the registries are expected to have allocated all their remaining addresses to local network operators by October at the latest. After that, any organisation applying for new addresses will be told, sorry, none left.The issue is real and has been a long time in the making. The Economist first warned about it ten years ago (see " Upgrading the internet ", March 22nd 2001). The problem concerns the address space of the existing version of the internet protocol (IPv4), which is only 32 bits wide. The total number of binary addresses possible with such an arrangement is therefore two raised to the power 32—or roughly 4.3 billion in decimal terms. Back in the 1980s, when the internet connected just a couple of dozen research institutes in America, that seemed like a huge number. Besides, the internet was thought at the time to be just a temporary network anyway.But with the invention of the web in 1990 came an explosion in popular demand. It was soon clear that it was only a matter of time before the internet would exhaust its supply of addresses. Work on a replacement for IPv4 began in the early 1990s, with IPv6 finally being made available around 1998 (IPv5 was an experimental protocol for streaming audio and video that has since ceased to exist). By giving the new internet version an address space of 128 bits, the designers pretty well guaranteed that it would not run out of unique identifiers for decades, or even centuries, to come.Two raised to the 128th power is an astronomical number. In decimal terms, it is roughly 340 billion billion billion billion—or, as Martin Levy of Hurricane Electric likes to say, “more than four quadrillion addresses for every star in the observable universe.”That will come in handy when the "internet of things" becomes a reality (see “ Chattering objects ”, August 13th 2010). Already, some two billion people have access to the internet. Add all the televisions, phones, cars and household appliances that are currently being given internet access—plus, eventually, every book, pill case and item of inventory as well—and a world or two of addresses could easily be accounted for.Apart from providing locators for every person and thing on the planet and beyond, IPv6's huge address space makes routing traffic over the internet a good deal easier. Above all, it eliminates the need for network address translation (NAT), a fudge used to extend the useful life of IPv4. NAT works by allocating a single address to, say, an organisation's gateway computer to the outside world. In turn, this public access computer allocates addresses to all the other devices on the organisation's internal network, allowing them all to share the one IPv4 address.Dispensing with NAT improves the performance of networks and, in principle, makes them much easier to configure. It also goes some way towards re-establishing the overarching philosophy of “end-to-end connectivity” espoused by the internet's founding fathers. To allow the internet to evolve and meet the needs of unknown future applications, the designers wisely decided that all packets of data travelling over the internet should be treated equally, and delivered from a computer at one end to a computer at the other end without prejudice or interference. Over the years, things like NAT and firewalls—plus attempts to provide some form of "quality-of-service" preferences for speech and video—have eroded the internet's end-to-end principle considerably.
Though a vast improvement, IPv6 is not without its problems. The biggest is that it is simply not backwardly compatible with IPv4. To reduce the amount of processing the routing computers have to do as they direct packets of data over the internet, IPv6 was given a far simpler packet format. That speeds things up no end. Unfortunately, while the two internet versions can coexist on a single device, they have to function independently of one another as two separate networks. When a device on one needs to communicate with a device on the other, various relay services and tunnelling tricks have to be employed, with IPv6 packets getting wrapped inside IPv4 packets or vice versa.
By all accounts, the two separate internets will have to live side by side for the foreseeable future. That could mean putting up with interoperability hassles for decades—at least, in the United States. One reason is that network operators in America have invested heavily in NAT boxes and other address-saving technologies. Also, being the inventor and earliest user of the internet, America received the lion's share of addresses before today's rules were put in place. As a result, many large companies, universities and government agencies in the United States still have plenty of spare IPv4 addresses lying around unused. The pressure to upgrade has therefore been minimal.
That is not the case elsewhere. The biggest single demonstration of IPv6 to date was during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, when everything from live television and data feeds to security and traffic information was streamed over a vast IPv6 network. Being one of the last to embrace the internet, China has only one address for every four people. Hence the urgency in Beijing to adopt IPv6 as rapidly as possible. The same goes for Russia, South Korea and Japan. NTT, Japan's largest telecoms firm, has been offering IPv6 services to the public since 2000.
The next showcase for the new internet technology is to be “World IPv6 Day” on June 8th. While doing all he can to help, Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the internet and today chief internet evangelist at Google, warns that the day could be marred by huge configuration difficulties. But the main purpose of the event is to air precisely such difficulties and get their fixes circulated.
And not before time, too. The American Registry for Internet Numbers, which allocates blocks of IP addresses to internet service providers and other network operators throughout North America, has suggested that all websites that face the public in its region be ready to support IPv6 by January 1st 2012. The aim, as The Economist has noted before, is to turn today's few islands of IPv6 computers in a sea of IPv4 into a world with a few remaining islands of IPv4 machines in a vast ocean of IPv6.Previous studies have shown that adults and young people who are physically active have a lower risk of developing depression. But the same effect has not been studied in children - until now.
Results from a new study are showing that children receive the same beneficial effect from being active. We're talking about moderate to vigorous physical activity that leaves kids sweaty or out of breath.
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and NTNU Social Research have followed hundreds of children over four years to see if they could find a correlation between physical activity and symptoms of depression.
Healthy to roughhouse
Researchers examined just under 800 children when they were six years old, and conducted follow-up examinations with about 700 of them when they were eight and ten years old. Physical activity was measured with accelerometers, which served as a kind of advanced pedometer, and parents were interviewed about their children's mental health.
"Being active, getting sweaty and roughhousing offer more than just physical health benefits. They also protect against depression," says Tonje Zahl, a PhD candidate at NTNU. She is first author of the article on the study findings, which was recently published in the February 2017 issue of Pediatrics.
The work was conducted as part of Tidlig Trygg i Trondheim, a multi-year study of child development and mental health.
Fewer symptoms
Physically active six- and eight-year-olds showed fewer symptoms of depression when they were examined two years later. Physical activity thus seems to protect against the development of depression.
"This is important to know, because it may suggest that physical activity can be used to prevent and treat depression already in childhood," says Silje Steinsbekk, associate professor in NTNU's Department of Psychology. Steinsbekk and Professor Lars Wichstrøm are Zahl's mentors and coauthors.
Steinsbekk stresses that these results should now be tested in randomized studies where researchers increase children's physical activity and examine whether those who participate in these measures have fewer symptoms of depression over time than those who do not participate.
"We also studied whether children who have symptoms of depression are less physically active over time, but didn't find that to be the case," she says.
Facilitate activity for children
Previous findings in adolescents and adults showed that sedentary lifestyles - like watching television and computer gaming - are associated with depression, but the NTNU children's study found no correlation between depression and a sedentary lifestyle.
Depressive symptoms did not lead to greater inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle did not increase the risk of depression.
So the message to parents and health professionals is: Facilitate physical activity, which means that children get a little sweaty and breathless. Try a bike ride or outdoor play. Limiting children's TV or iPad screen time is not enough. Children need actual increased physical activity.
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Source: Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Symptoms of Major Depression in Middle Childhood. Tonje Zahl, MSC, Silje Steinsbekk, PhD, Lars Wichstrøm, PhD. Pediatrics, February 2017.Hanano Puzzle 2 is a simple puzzle game by the creator of Jelly no Puzzle.
There are colorful square stones which you can move or swap horizontally by clicking them. If one of these stones touches a flower of the same color, a new flower blooms on the stone. The objective is to bloom flowers on all colored stones.
Sounds easy? Give it a try. This might be much harder than it looks.
Note:
As the title says, this game is a sequel to another game, Hanano Puzzle, but you don't need to play the previous one.
The music may become distracting if you listen for a long time. You can mute it from the level selection screen.
Level 7 is solvable.
Programming, art, and music by Tatsunami.
Level design by Lucas Watson.Uber, the innovative ridesharing service, has recently generated a lot of anger from the taxi industry because it enabled market entry for many private drivers. In this fight taxis are indeed disadvantaged by strict industry regulation and need for licenses. Dealing with this issue is a major task for regulators. Another challenge for regulators is to create efficient regulation that takes into account the features of “sharing” economy.
Uber, a San Francisco company founded in 2009, is currently one of the fastest growing startups worldwide. In 2014 its estimated valuation reached 17 billion USD, up from 3.5 billion USD a year earlier. The idea behind Uber is simple. Potential passengers can download a smartphone app that allows them to request the nearest available Uber car. But unlike a traditional taxi company, Uber does not operate its own cars. Instead it signs up private drivers willing to provide rides to paying passengers and passes the ride requests directly to them. Effectively Uber works as a matching platform for passengers and drivers and makes money by taking a 10-20% cut from each ride. The drivers can work in their leisure time and have to maintain a good rating, which is given by passengers after each trip.
Uber was welcomed by the urban population and widely acclaimed for low prices, short waiting times, and good service, as reflected by its rapid growth. However, despite its popularity Uber faces numerous legal challenges across the world. It was recently banned in Berlin, Hamburg and eventually across all of Germany following a court decision in Frankfurt. The Brussels court banned Uber while threatening a 10,000 Euro fine for a single ride. In Seattle, New York, London, Seoul and Toronto, the company was also threatened with litigation. In some places, including Germany, the bans were lifted, but the uncertainty about Uber’s future remains.
Most of these charges were brought against Uber by the taxi industry on the grounds of non-compliance with local regulations, operating without licenses or putting taxis at an unfair disadvantage. The motivation of the taxi industry to undertake legal action is clear. The profits of taxis in cities where Uber became active decreased significantly. For example, over the past two years the cab use in San Francisco, Uber’s home city, declined by 65% according to a recent report by the Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Appealing to regulation is one way for taxis to block Uber from market entry, and thus preserve their profits.
Source: Taxis and Accessible Services Division report by SF Municipal Transportation Agency, 2014
The solution to this situation is not straightforward. Banning Uber would massively disadvantage the consumers who are enjoying lower prices and better quality due to the increased competition in taxi services. However, in many cases Uber indeed threatens not only taxis’ profits, but also their investment and assets in form of costly operating licenses. Finally, the ridesharing industry is in need of regulation that levels the playing field for it and the taxis, and protects its customers and employees.
Benefits to consumers
Ridesharing companies like Uber are strong competitors to the established taxi industry on their own, but their utilization of information technologies and innovative business model provides further benefits to consumers. For example, “surge pricing”, a temporary increase in prices during peak demand time, like Friday evening, invites a larger number of inactive drivers to offer rides. While the service comes at a higher price, this significantly increases the availability of rides and decreases waiting times. However, the companies are required to inform their customers of such practices and limit surge pricing in cases of emergency.
While elimination of information asymmetries was cited as a major motivation for taxi industry regulation, ridesharing companies’ reliance on digital technology precisely provides consumers with a better overview of quality and prices. The drivers are rated by consumers and are banned from the system if their rating falls below a certain threshold. Prices of the rides are estimated beforehand and can be easily compared across several applications, introducing greater transparency – something that taxi regulation attempted for years by requiring taxis to publish their price lists inside and outside of the cab.
Licenses
Taxi regulation differs across countries and individual cities, varying from a deregulated market in Ireland to quotas and price controls in France. Many cities limit the number of taxis on the streets by requiring drivers to hold a license to operate a taxi. Since licenses are issued rarely, entering the market often requires buying one from a current owner at a high price. In fact, growing urban populations and stagnating supply has led to skyrocketing prices for taxi medallions in some of the large cities. For example, the cost of a single-taxi medallion has varied between 700,000$ and 1,000,000$ in the large US cities like New York and Chicago.
Source: Taxicab Factbook 2014, NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission
Strict government quotas and regulation protected the industry from competition and allowed it to reap increasingly large profits, as reflected in the rising bidding prices for the licenses. In fact, a taxi license was treated as an asset which could later be sold for a similar or higher price. Its value was severely reduced by Uber’s entry. First, licenses no longer grant protection from competition. And second, becoming a driver no longer requires buying a license, since joining Uber can be done for free. As a result, the license holders can no longer monetize their asset as expected – increased competition dilutes profits and reselling a license also yields a lower price. As most cab drivers and companies have no financial protection against a sudden devaluation of their licenses, this situation can have detrimental effect on their welfare and generate a lot of bitterness among them.
The cities with tighter market controls like Barcelona, Paris and Berlin recently saw more intense protests by the taxi industry, as opposed to, say, Dublin which deregulated its taxi market and lifted restrictions on the number of taxis practically overnight in 2000 (the fares remain regulated). To deal with the problem at the time, Ireland set up a “hardship fund” with payments of up to 15,000 Euro to alleviate the financial hardships suffered by license holders due to the devaluation of their assets, although the general consensus was that the government was under no obligation to compensate the taxi industry. Liberalization in Ireland brought massive benefits for consumers – the number of taxis in Dublin increased threefold, waiting times were reduced to a minimum and service reportedly improved.
Regulation
Unlike taxis, Uber and other ridesharing companies were indeed subjected to few rules at the start of their operations, as regulations for companies of the “sharing economy” often does not exist yet. Nevertheless, such regulation is needed to protect customers and employees, and ensure a level playing field for ridesharing companies and taxis alike. However, such regulation should also take the peculiarities of Uber’s business model into account and aim to stimulate competition between companies, rather than restrict it.
As the experience of Uber and Airbnb shows, an efficient solution can be found. California was the pioneer in regulating the “sharing economy” when complex issues related to provision of insurance and taxation arose. With regards to insurance, Uber drivers initially operated under private policies, while cabs were required to purchase a more expensive commercial insurance. It was argued that passengers and drivers were at risk, as private insurance coverage could be limited or denied if the accident took place during commercial use. Although there were attempts to force Uber to provide 1 million USD blanket coverage to the drivers at all times, California legislators reached a compromise with ridesharing companies, requiring them to provide insurance of up to 200,000 USD for drivers in search of a customer and 1 million USD for drivers and passengers in the car.
Although Uber drivers are employed as independent contractors and are thus subjected to a different taxation structure than the taxi drivers, the debate around taxation of the “sharing economy” revolved mostly around Airbnb, Uber’s counterpart for sharing apartments. Airbnb’s users were criticized for not paying local hotel occupancy taxes. However, the problem was quickly resolved when Airbnb itself started to collect taxes from its users on behalf of the California government. While there still may be some disparity in requirements for background and technical checks between Uber and taxis,this can also be eliminated by closing gaps in the regulation.
However, not all regulations benefit consumers and put companies on the equal footing. The progress on regulation of “sharing economy” in California comes in stark contrast with the recent regulation passed in France, where Uber drivers were required to wait 15 minutes before picking up a passenger! This regulation was later scrapped and replaced by a prohibition for Uber drivers to share their GPS location, thus effectively disrupting Uber’s operations. While such steps indeed give the taxi industry a fighting chance, they handicap the competitor, reduce competition, deprive customers of choice and reduce service quality for passengers.
Concluding remarks
Uber’s business model is still fairly novel. Yet such new “sharing” business models use previously underutilized resources more efficiently, increase competition in the markets and provide consumers with more choice. However, as the ongoing debate shows, these innovations may strongly disrupt existing markets and their success may depend on the willingness of regulators to open markets for competition. Meanwhile, regulators will have to face several challenges, including balancing the interests of consumers and incumbents, creating efficient rules for the “sharing economy” and fostering competition.
Regulation will have to be quickly adapted to the changing realities of the market. The Internet and further developments in ICT increasingly reduce the costs of search and matching, eliminate the information asymmetries with the help of rating systems, provide greater transparency of prices via real-time auctions and enable entry by smaller entrepreneurs. These developments not only increase the competition in the markets and bring them closer to scenarios with perfect competition and information, but may also make certain regulations obsolete.
Excellent research assistance by Elena Zaurino is gratefully acknowledged.In this article, we’re going to look at different finishing methods for FDM and PolyJet 3D printed parts and the techniques and tips that can elevate the look and feel of your prototypes.
As a case study, we’re going to use a simple Apple Watch stand design, a model with pockets and internal and external features that needs to be surface finished to a standard that does the watch justice!
Our watch stand design is heavily inspired by the DODOcase stand here and the TRIO stand here - Check them out!
Here’s a quick overview of the main points this article covers:
PLA: If you’re working with a tight budget then PLA is going to be your best material choice; the results aren’t as polished but the price is cheapest.
If you’re working with a tight budget then PLA is going to be your best material choice; the results aren’t as polished but the price is cheapest. ABS: If your budget is moderate then go with ABS. It’s not as cheap as PLA but still at a low price point and the material is more reliable than PLA.
If your budget is moderate then go with ABS. It’s not as cheap as PLA but still at a low price point and the material is more reliable than PLA. VeroBlack or VeroWhite: For the highest quality parts go with VeroBlack/VeroWhite. This will give you the best dimensional accuracy and best overall polished look.
conceptual render of our demonstration piece: a simple stand for an Apple Watch. Thanks to Michael Christensen for the Apple Watch CAD off of GrabCAD!
Overview of Materials
The finishing process we’ll use on these three parts is going to involve a combination of repairing and preparing the print for post-processing, sanding, and painting.
All three models will be finished to achieve a smooth, matte black surface and each print comes with unique challenges and considerations to arrive at the best finish possible.
The process for each material is detailed separately and at the end we’ll compare the results.
ABS (Printed on a Dimension Elite)
The Dimension Elite prints are smooth, clean, and ready to sand out of the NaOH bath.
There are, however, clear stepping lines between the printed layers. If we don’t remove these stepping lines, they’ll show up in the final paint coat which will ruin our smooth finish. Thankfully, removing these will be easy thanks to ABS’s high melting point and easy sandability.
Materials Needed
The materials we’ll be using:
Sandpaper (grits 100 to 600)
Medium, fine, and extra-fine sanding sponges
XTC-3D brush-on coating (As an alternative, Bondo putty is a common solution to fill holes in parts. We chose XTC-3D for its viscosity, sandability, and ability to penetrate small perforations, which makes it desirable over Bondo putty)
Razor blade
Foam brush, mixing cups and popsicle sticks
Sandable Krylon Primer
Montana Acrylic Primer in Shock Black
Matte Acrylic Varnish
Sanding
Sanding the ABS print is simple and straightforward. First start with 100 - 200 grit sandpaper to remove stepping lines and then gradually increase up to 600 grit to achieve a smooth finish without sanding lines.
Pro Tip: Sand in small circular movements evenly across the surface of the part. Avoid sanding in one direction only, especially in the direction of the stepping lines to prevent striations or “trenches” in the print.
Beware that ABS is very easy to sand, so be careful not to overdo it. Removing as little as.010” can be enough to completely remove any stepping layers and oversanding can compromise critical dimensions.
After sanding the parts, some holes are revealed on our part left by an incomplete layer around the letters DIM. These holes can perforate through the finished paint coat to create ugly sinkholes, so we need to find a solution.
Sanding reveals the holes left by the incomplete layer and are represented in Catalyst, where black shows lacking toolpaths in the top layer.
As you can see in the Catalyst tray to the right, there are large holes between the DIM and the edge of the part. Moving the DIM up in our Solidworks model would solve this, but for now we’ll have to find a way to fill these holes with a sandable filler.
Repairing the Incomplete Layer
We’re going to use a thin, sandable epoxy called XTC-3D to fill the tiny holes and crevices in our print. XTC-3D is cheap (a 24 oz bottle costs about $25), quick, thin, and effective. Note that a small amount goes a long way (within the 10 minute pot life).
Pro Tip: Be sure to maintain a weight ratio of 100 Part A to 42 Part B. Mix thoroughly for one minute and coat your part within the 10 minute pot life. For more details, check Smooth-On’s technical bulletin here, and a great instructional example here.
Before applying the XTC-3D, wash the part with soap and dry with compressed air to ensure your part is thoroughly clean and free of any oils or sanding dust. Also make sure to wear gloves so as not to get any hand oils or sweat on your part.
Preparing the XTC-3D to fill the holes in the Dimension parts. A small amount of XTC-3D goes a long way: 12 grams was more than enough to repair the holes in the Dimension print and completely cover another PLA model.
Fill in holes or gaps in your print with a very thin (1/64”) coat; a thin layer of XTC-3D will level itself out. We used a razor blade to scrape excess XTC-3D into the unwanted holes and gaps, making sure to avoid any areas we didn’t want filled (like the letters DIM).
Allow the XTC-3D sufficient time to become tack-free dry (approximately 2 hours). Now we’re ready to continue sanding away at the excess XTC-3D layer with 300 to 600 grit to reveal the repaired surface.
A sanded and repaired ABS print. Note that some layers are still apparent on difficult-to-sand internal corners.
Then, after another thorough wash, we’re ready to begin preparing our repaired surfaces for painting.
Priming and Painting
Painting 3D printed parts is a vast world of acrylics, enamels, sprays, and airbrushes.
In this example, we’ll be using Montana spray can paints to follow a relatively straight forward process: prime, dry, paint, dry, varnish, dry.
Standard spray painting principles apply:
First make sure your surface is oil-free, dust-free and hole-free Shake your cans for at least two minutes prior to painting Ensure your cap is clean to prevent drips Be aware of how the paint is accumulating on the part and look for any pooling or dripping Paint in many light coats rather than fewer heavy coats; this is especially important for 3D printed parts with internal and obscured geometries Paint in controlled, well-ventilated and well-lit areas
The Dimension prints started with very obvious stepping |
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The following video puts together the various eyewitness reports that prove, without a shadow of doubt, that the authorities are lying about Stephen Paddock being the lone gunman who carried out the attack.
Alex Thomas is a staff writer and reporter for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up – follow Alex’s work at our Facebook or Twitter.by
College lies and the higher education bubble
Student debt in the United States is approaching $1 trillion—$25,000 per graduate on average—but more people just keep on coming. The fall 2011 semester saw a record 20 million students in American higher education, all while a quarter of retail salespeople and more than 300,000 waiters and waitresses were out working while possessing college degrees.
If that sounds confusing—people taking on debt and forgoing years of their lives so they can wait tables or be unemployed—that’s because it is. This devotion to the cult of university has perplexed me for years now. While I was on an athletic scholarship at Boston University, others were forking out well over $USD 40,000 each year, not to mention all the add-ons like text books; I could hardly believe it. I used to imagine what people could do with that money—travel the world, for starters. They could also receive a comparable education in other parts of the world at a fraction of the price.
Arvin Vohra
More recently, though, I’ve read Lies, Damned Lies, and College Admissions by Arvin Vohra, and in this book he lays waste to the state of conventional higher education in the United States. I dare any college administrator or instructor to read this book and hold onto the elitism that comes with these institutions.
An educational entrepreneur in Maryland, Vohra has also written The Equation for Excellence: How to Make Your Child Excel at Math, and I was pleased to have him on the latest episode of The Stateless Man to explain what he means when he refers to lies of higher education. We covered so much ground; do listen (41 minutes, MP3): [audio:http://thestatelessman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/TSM14Mar2012-Part1.mp3|titles=Arvin Vohra]
One of the key points was that tuition at most universities, particularly in the United States, has become expensive well beyond financial prudence. When one can hire the instructors one-on-one for the same price as the group lectures, the value for money is beyond questionable.
Even with the expense, these institutions have tended to focus on selection of students, exclusivity, rather than their treatment or teaching ability. And Vohra notes numerous ways administrators fail to utilize new innovations while tricking students into forgoing more of their money.
He highly recommends alternatives, particularly starting a business or travel, and his book even has a chapter on “Higher Education without College.” This includes easy ways to get through a degree, should it be necessary, without much of the time and expense. For example, he hardly bought a text book during his college years, relying on study guides, while still achieving near perfect grades.
James Altucher
My next guest contributed to what may have been the most inspiring episode yet. Not only did I have a friend and fellow radio host with me, Yaël Ossowski, in the second hour I had the prolific blogger, author, and investor, James Altucher, of The Altucher Confidential. This man does not mince his words, and he says outright that he does not want his children going to college (18 minutes, MP3).
[audio:http://thestatelessman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/JamesAltucher.mp3|titles=James Altucher]
“My chief problem is it just simply costs too much money and it wastes too much time.” I would add that it confines you to one place, unless you choose to study abroad, which would make it a relatively richer experience.
“What 18-year-old knows what they want to do with their life?” he says. Even in the case of becoming a medical doctor, he recommends getting some form of internship or position working in a hospital so that one can really assess whether it is worth the expense involved.
One of the most popular articles on his site is “8 Alternatives to College,” and recently Georgetown University sought to refute his criticisms. While that did little to quell Altucher’s concerns and those of his readers, it did indicate that his work is getting traction. He is not sure, though, what will happen to the bubble in higher education. He acknowledges that people are wasting money on higher education, similar to the housing bubble and others, but he would not make a prediction about when the mysticism surrounding higher education will diminish, particularly when there is so much government coercion in favor of it continuing.
“The tagline of your show is individual liberty. One by one, individuals make a society, and so each one of us has to come to terms with our individual liberty in order for society to change, and I don’t how fast that will happen in this case.”
One of his ideas that caught my attention was to write a book, rather than go to college, and he recommended CreateSpace.Com as an easy way to get started.
“You’ll learn how to observe people. Writing is a meditation on life. You’ll live each day, interpret it, write it. What a great education!”
Yaël Ossowski
If you enjoyed Yaël’s presence on the show, do check out his podcast, “Liberty In Exile.” You can hear his perspective on the military-industrial complex, the American Empire, the erosion of personal privacy, gender relations, Québec sovereignty, Canadian politics, euroscepticism, and much more.
Shane Hachey
My go-to man regarding all things Ivy League is Shane Hachey—a liberty-minded musician who lives in New Orleans. He spent five years in the army before graduating from Columbia University and then Harvard Law School. However, he ended up hating work in the legal profession and deserted.
In recent times he has had a range of work, but now he is in the band “Remedy Krewe.” When I got to know him in Louisiana, he expressed frustration with the financial challenges resulting from his college experience, and he had wisdom to share on the matter (21 minutes, MP3)
[audio:http://thestatelessman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ShaneHachey.mp3|titles=Shane Hachey]
He does believe he received an excellent education, particularly because he was eager to learn, but the cost was not justified.
“[Others] should emulate me [by pursuing elite universities], if they have parents who can afford to pay for most of it, or if they can get a free or mostly free ride. And if not, I think they’d be better off finding a trade and learning a job skill.”The writer is an economist.
I SPEAK as a layperson not as an expert on the subject and so may be missing a lot but I have a strong feeling something is very wrong with the way terrorism is being combated in the country. If I am mistaken, and I fervently wish I am, I would really appreciate someone explaining what might be going on.
Ever since the recent spate of suicide bombings a feverish campaign has been launched against terrorists and if reports are to be believed over a 100 were eliminated in just a couple of days.
What puzzles me is how the terrorists who have been eliminated were identified and located so quickly. Did we always know where they were but were letting them be for some reason? If we were letting them be was it because we did not have enough evidence they were involved in terrorism? If that is indeed the case, how could we just go ahead and eliminate them without conclusive evidence? And, if we did have the evidence and knew where they were, why did we not arrest them and establish their involvement in some sort of a normal civilised manner?
It is quite hard to believe that our enemies convinced us to create these monsters.
These questions, as I have said, are very confusing and I cannot help but think that we are not being told the truth. Either that or our rulers have attained such a unique state of incompetence that they too do not know what they are doing. Both alternatives are frightening and frankly unacceptable. Once again we are faced with what we might call our enduring condition, the Bin Laden phenomenon — did we know or didn’t we? Neither answer does us any honour.
It seems to me that the frenzy of maniacal activity is just intended to convey an impression of steely determination and purposeful action in order to placate the public and buy time. Who knows how many innocent people are being sacrificed to keep up this charade. In the meanwhile, we are subjected to inane statements that the opening of the new Islamabad airport would promote the soft image of Pakistan and holding a cricket match would convince the world that the country is safe from terrorism and bring superstars flocking back to the country.
I fail to understand how spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to bribe a handful of foreigners to play a game in a nuclear bunker can be convincing proof that the country is back to normal. Or how announcing that a permanent force of 15,000 military personnel needs to be deployed to protect a trade corridor would reassure investors that the country is safe for business. This is self-delusion carried to absurdity.
And what should one make of the resolve that terrorists would now be pursued into other countries? How would one respond if some other country takes that as a licence to pursue terrorists into our country? This is jumping from the frying pan into the fire, potentially pushing the entire region towards a conflagration. Is there someone thinking before shooting off at the mouth?
Add to that the spate of accusations that our enemies are exacerbating our problems because they do not wish us to succeed or even to hold a cricket match.
Much as one would like to swallow this line it is really hard to believe that it was our enemies who convinced us to create these monsters in the first place.
Or that it is our enemies who are forcing us to discriminate between good terrorists and bad, between real terrorists and mere sectarian killers, and between terrorists and philanthropists who rush to help the poor and needy in times of floods and earthquakes when the state fails to do what it is supposed to do.
Is it all that difficult to comprehend that people can be philanthropists and terrorists at the same time if an ideology can be made to seem ‘compatible’ with both activities?
It is hard to understand why we can’t approach these matters with the normal process of state-to-state collaboration to eliminate terrorism from the region which would be a win-win outcome for all.
Or maybe it would not. Otherwise why do we seem to be in this game of ranking terrorists along some scale of goodness or usefulness? If that is indeed the case, could someone have the courtesy of taking the nation into confidence, explaining how some terrorists are better than others and what we are aiming to do with the good ones?
And while we are being made wise to that could we also be told if we are succeeding or not and how far we are from the grand objective we have set for ourselves, whatever it is?
A failure to provide convincing answers can only lead to one conclusion: We have met the enemy and he is us.
The writer is an economist.
Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2017“We’ve all got a better idea. But pretty soon we’re going to have to make a decision on a single bill," Sen. John Cornyn said. | Getty Senate GOP finds a new problem for every one resolved on Obamacare repeal
Senate Republicans hoping to get the bulk of an Obamacare repeal bill done within the next few days keep finding a new problem for every old one they get closer to resolving.
A burst of optimism that they could agree on a more generous version of the House-passed repeal bill was quickly doused by concerns over the cost. An emerging consensus on subsidies to stabilize shaky insurance markets was countered by a threat that crucial abortion restrictions could derail the effort altogether.
Story Continued Below
And looming over it all, lawmakers are still struggling to bridge the deep divide over the future of Medicaid.
“Building consensus is hard,” Sen. John Cornyn, the chamber's No. 2 Republican, said earlier this week. “We’ve all got a better idea. But pretty soon, we’re going to have to make a decision on a single bill.”
Senate Republicans are trying to hammer out all the disputes in the next couple of weeks, as they aim to write a bill that can pass with a razor-thin majority by the end of June. But already, lawmakers are finding themselves bogged down in negotiations that the GOP hoped to speed through during a series of closed-door meetings.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell aimed to finalize a draft of the repeal plan within the next few days. But senators are only starting to grapple with potentially painful trade-offs that could make or break the GOP’s seven-year promise to repeal Obamacare.
Navigating the hurdles could soon get even tougher: Republicans are increasingly concerned that prohibitions on abortion coverage tucked into the bill could violate the strict Senate reconciliation rules that the GOP hopes to use to pass a bill with just 50 “yes” votes. That could force senators back to the drawing board on a central element of the repeal plan.
POLITICO Pulse newsletter Get the latest on the health care fight, every weekday morning — in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
The central difficulty remains trying to find common ground between the GOP’s conservative and moderate wings. The Senate is expected to boost the House-passed Obamacare repeal bill’s subsidies for people purchasing individual insurance coverage — especially those between the ages of 50 and 64 who are just shy of Medicare eligibility — and potentially slow the phase-out of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
The moves are aimed at mollifying swing-state Republicans worried about leaving millions more of their constituents uninsured. But keeping more people covered could mean delaying the elimination of Obamacare’s taxes — a prospect that would trigger heated protests from the Senate’s hard-line conservatives.
“There are areas where there’s agreement, there are areas where discussion continues,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, who’s among those eager to eliminate as much of the health law as possible. “The central objective of these discussions is that we want to honor our commitment to repeal Obamacare.”
Sens. Pat Toomey and Rand Paul are also arguing for rolling back the bulk of the taxes tied to Obamacare.
The factions remain similarly dug in on how to tackle Medicaid, a program that Republicans want to drastically overhaul — once they figure out how and when to do it. McConnell has pitched senators on a three-year phase-out of enhanced funding for Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
But Sens. Rob Portman and Dean Heller — both representing states that have benefited from the expansion — countered with a seven-year timeline. During a congressional hearing on Thursday, Heller grumbled to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price that he’s yet to receive clarity from his colleagues about how much money his state might expect under a Republican bill that ends Medicaid’s entitlement status and caps its federal funding.
“I’m just trying to find an answer to this question, and I can’t get it out of our meetings,” Heller said, pressing Price on whether the funding might keep up with health care costs. “I just want to make sure that medical inflation as it increases over the next 10 years, the funding mechanism we have isn’t below that.”
McConnell pledged to bring a bill to a vote by the July 4 recess, a target that likely forces the Republicans to send portions of their legislation to the CBO for scoring as soon as this weekend.
Outside calls for clarity into Republicans’ still-secret talks are likely to come even sooner: Insurers in the Obamacare markets are staring at a June 21 deadline to decide whether they’ll participate for 2018. Already, several have signaled plans to exit because of the uncertainty, leaving counties across the nation with potentially no options on the Obamacare exchanges.
The situation could get even worse if the White House decides against funding key Obamacare subsidies — a decision the administration increasingly favors, a senior official with knowledge of the deliberations told POLITICO. That risks turning the trickle of insurer exits into a flood, and in the interim is heaping even more pressure on the Senate’s already-fraught negotiations.
“We know there’s going to have to be an infusion in some form,” Sen. John Thune said. “What form that takes is still kind of an open question, which we haven’t settled on yet.”
Dan Diamond contributed to this report.You've got your social media strategy outlined, aligned and implemented - Check.
You've got your target audience defined and identified -Check.
But now comes the hard part: forging ahead of your competition, the elusive goal of marketing.
In 2016, this is achievable but not without careful strategizing and deliberate planning with regards to social ad targeting. At agency:2, we believe that implementing generic social ad targeting is not enough; it must now be fine-tuned and optimized for efficacy. Enhanced social ad targeting uses a collection of enriched, real-time social data to help you reach larger, more relevant, more precise audiences, who are more likely to engage.
A recent report revealed that Facebook ad spend has more than doubled, year-over-year. This illustrates both the growing challenge of a crowded marketplace as well as the necessity to participate in this form of social media marketing to stay competitive.
How does one put social ad targeting into practice?
The most effective way of hyper-targeting through social advertising is becoming increasingly dependent upon using Audience Insights to:
Connect with a fan's emotional side
Understand an audience's motivations and drives toward purchasing
Engage with the audience's wider interests to spark a connection
Break through the extensive noise of internet traffic and create meaningful associations
It is no longer sufficient to simply get people to 'Like' your brand. Marketers have to be smarter than ever and comprehensively understand their brand's customer habits, beliefs and personal buying preferences, as laid out above.
It's also imperative when targeting to be hyperaware of who to proactively exclude - by excluding the right audience, negative sentiment can be kept to a minimum to elevate your campaign beyond expectations.
We have seen an unparalleled rate of growth of innovation, with new technologies evolving at a faster pace than ever before. Not only do marketers have to keep pace, but they now need to anticipate what's next. Rather than focusing exclusively on ROI for current campaigns, marketers need to monitor the cost per engagement in real time, and integrate data-driven, quantifiable components of user journeys to provide more definable, actionable insights.
Combining these tricks of the trade to hyper-target a defined audience will not only facilitate growth in reach, but it'll also reduce the cost per action.
Main image via ShutterstockArmenia’s top military official in charge of arms procurements will fly to Moscow on Tuesday to meet with representatives of Russia’s Defense Ministry and state intermediary agency for Russian arms exports.
The Defense Ministry in Yerevan announced on Monday that its delegation headed by Deputy Defense Minister Alik Mirzabekian will pay a four-day visit to Moscow and the nearby town of Kubinka, which is home to a Russian air base, an aircraft maintenance facility and a tank museum. Mirzabekian heads the ministry’s Department on Material-Technical Procurements charged with supplying Armenia’s Armed Forces with weapons and ammunition.
A ministry statement said Armenian defense officials led by Mirzabekian will “participate in bilateral Armenian-Russian negotiations” and hold “discussions” with top executives of the Rosoboronexport arms exporter regarding “supplies of items designed for military use.” They will also take part in a multilateral meeting of defense officials from ex-Soviet states, added the statement.
The ministry gave no details of the agenda of the planned Russian-Armenian talks. It is thus not clear whether it includes concrete arms deals between Russia and Armenia, its main regional ally.
Russia has long been the principal source of military hardware delivered to Armenia. A military alliance with Moscow and membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) entitles Yerevan to receiving Russian-made weapons at discounted prices or even free of charge.
These mostly unpublicized deliveries have enabled Armenia to partly or fully offset a massive military build-up which its arch-foe Azerbaijan began more than a decade ago. Russia alone has sold Azerbaijan more than $4 billion worth of offensive weaponry since 2010, a fact increasingly criticized by Armenian government officials, politicians and pundits.
Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian assured reporters last month that Moscow is addressing Armenian concerns about its lucrative arms deals with Baku. But he did not elaborate.The Obama administration pondered deploying armed federal agents to polling places last November to counter any potential cyberattacks targeting the U.S. election system, according to a newly released playbook prepared during last year’s race.
“In almost all potential cases of malicious cyber activity impacting election infrastructure, state, local, tribal and territorial governments, to include their law enforcement agencies, will have primary jurisdiction to respond,” the document said.
In the event of a “significant incident,” however, the document said the federal government was prepared to activate a range of “enhanced procedures,” including possible domestic military deployment.
“The Department of Defense (DOD) may support civil authorities in response to cyber incidents based upon a request from a federal agency and the direction of the secretary of defense or the president,” the document said. Available forces include “active and reserve components,” as well as the National Guard, it said.
Federal law enforcement would keep an eye on the election for three days afterwards “in order to be ready to address any post-election cyber incidents (e.g., planted stories calling into question the results),” the report added.
The 15-page plan was drafted by the White House last October and obtained by Time magazine ahead of an article published Thursday by journalists investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The U.S. government believes Russia’s military intelligence agency mounted a multi-pronged campaign aimed at influencing the outcome of last year’s race, the likes of which involved targeting U.S. political targets with state-sponsored hackers.
In addition to successfully breaching email accounts associated with the Democratic National Committee and the party’s candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, Russian hackers also attempted to penetrate election-related computer systems in 21 states ahead of last year’s contest, the Trump administration’s acting deputy undersecretary of cybersecurity testified last month.
Congressional and federal law enforcement officials are currently conducting multiple investigations into the Russian government and its role in last year’s race, including whether any Russian operatives colluded with individuals associated with the election’s ultimate winner, President Trump.
Russian government officials including President Vladimir Putin have denied meddling in last year’s race, and Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied the existence of any ties between his administration and Moscow. Mr. Trump’s eldest son, former campaign manager and senior advisor, meanwhile, are all slated to testify on Capitol Hill next week about a meeting they had at Trump Tower last summer with a Kremlin-connected attorney and a former Soviet intelligence officer, among others.
Mr. Trump has publicly expressed doubts regarding Russia’s role in last year’s election and has claimed without evidence that voter fraud resulted in millions of illegal ballots being cast for Mrs. Clinton. Those allegations are currently being investigated by a presidential commission.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.My compadre Ed Bott does a fine job of digging under the surface of Microsoft's annual report to find that Microsoft no longer considers Linux a serious threat. Who does Microsoft think they're kidding?
Sure, on the desktop, it's a Windows world, but guess what Sherlock; the desktop is declining in importance. The mobile, server, Web and cloud worlds are where the twenty-teens' billionaires will come from, not the desktop. And, guess, who's already in all those spaces large and in charge? Yes, that's right, Linux.
Let's start from the top on where Linux beats Microsoft.
Mobile
The mobile computing world is a dog-fight between Apple iOS and Google's Linux-based Android. Windows Phone 7 is much of a non-player on smartphone as Linux is on the conventional PC desktop. While Apple owns the high-end of smartphones, Android is cleaning up everywhere else.
Until recently, you could argue that nobody, but nobody, really sold tablets except for Apple. That argument doesn't hold water any more. Android now has 20% of the tablet market. I wonder, I really do, if that's why Apple launched its legal attack on the Samsung Galaxy Tab's design in Europe, Is Apple that insecure? Maybe.
Until the last few days, you might also have been concerned about how Google could fight off the endless legal challenges to Android. You need worry no more about that. Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility has given Google all the ammo it needs to win in the mobile patent wars.
Of course, it's always possible that another mobile operating system will win out. Like say HP's webOS, which is, ah, Linux based. Or, there's Intel MeeGo, which is, wow, what do you know, Linux based. You get the picture. One way or the other, tomorrow's mobile operating systems are likely to be Linux operating systems.
Servers and the Web
There are a lot of Windows Servers instances humming away in offices. It's hard to say exactly how many Linux servers are out there since you don't need to buy a Linux server, you can download one, or a hundred and one, for free. Sure, Red Hat, which primarily makes its money from its server offering, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), is well on its way to being the first billion dollar open-source company, but there are probably far more CentOS, openSUSE, Debian, etc, Linux servers quietly and invisibly running. We just don't know. What we can count though are Web servers.
According to Netcraft, Microsoft has only 15.86% of the Web server market in August 2011. Apache leads the pack with 65.18%. In third place, you'll find ngnix with 6.54% and Google takes last place with 4.38%. And what operating system are you most likely to find Apache, ngnix, and Google running on? Yes, you're right in one, it's Linux.
It's not just Web servers though. Supercomputers, the fastest of the fast, run Linux almost exclusively. Cutting edge computing platforms like IBM's Jeopardy champ Watson? Linux again. It's not just computing engineers that turn to Linux though. The world's major stock exchanges also run Linux. Once you're away from the desktop, you're living in a Linux world.
The Cloud
I was privileged to speak recently at a small cloud conference in my hometown of Asheville, NC. Two things surprised me there. First, how many new businesses were already actively using the cloud's scalability to create new business models and, second, how everyone was using Linux on their cloud businesses.
I shouldn't have been surprised. Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), the most popular of the public clouds, doesn't report on what operating system images people use on it, but The Cloud Market, does scan Amazon EC2 for operating system and other information. According to The Cloud Market's numbers, as of August 15th 2011, Ubuntu Linux had 38.4% of all images; that was followed by generic Linux with 31.5% and then Windows with 13.5%. After Windows, there were numerous other Linux variants. Adding it all up and we're left pretty much with Linux was being used by 86.1% of all cloud users.
So, victory over Linux Microsoft? I think not.
Indeed, even on the desktop, as we turn more and more to using Web browsers for everything, I see Linux winning out in the long run. You've had a great run Microsoft, and you'll still be a power for the rest of this decade, but victory? No, you're just sliding into a long decline and, at the end of it, Linux will still be behind the scenes running everyone's back-room services, their tablets, their phones, and, yes, even their Web browser-based PCs ala Google Chrome OS with Linux-powered clouds keeping it all going.
Related Stories:
Microsoft declares victory over Linux, names Apple and Google main rivals
Windows' Endgame. Desktop Linux's Failure
The one big move Microsoft could still make in mobile
Google and Motorola Mobility: It's all about the patents
Google's Chrome operating system gets a much needed updateWeek one, Planetshakers. Week two, the Quakers. Week three, and in the final instalment of my interrogating-reality triptych, I sat through Sunday Mass on the same pew I grew up on at my childhood parish. But this time with my atheist sons. How did they become atheists? That's the way they were born.
Entering the cathedral of misogyny, deception, manipulation, chauvinism, hypocrisy and bigotry, all wrapped up in "If you don't swallow this hook, line and sinker you're going to hell", felt like coming home. I'm not bitter, just being descriptive and honest. Going back was fabulous because it reminded me I'd escaped.
Under the same roof where I'd been baptised, confirmed and brainwashed, my six-year-old asked: "Where's the Pope?" I laughed. Until the 11-year-old said: "Here he comes."
The priest, obviously drawn by the unusual sight of new people, approached us to welcome us to his flock. I shot out my hand. "Hi, I'm Catherine."
All the blood drained from his face. "You're that writer?" "Yes," I replied. I happily introduced my sons, who, in an uncharacteristic display of manners, shook the priest's hand and said, "Nice to meet you." The priest wandered off in a daze. Or was it a trance? Maybe it was religious melancholy.Today’s Belize Photo of the day is the Century Plant and its scientifically known as the Agave Americana. The Century Plant is originally from Mexico but is cultivated as an ornamental plant globally. It has been naturalized in many regions and grows wild in Europe, South America, India, and Australia.
The above picture was taken near the Chaa Creek Natural History Museum.
This plant is the “granddaddy” of all agaves as it is relatively fast-growing reaching up to 6 feet tall by 8-10 feet wide. Its wide grey-green leaves have sharp spines along the margins and tips which yield fibres known as “pita” which can be used for making rope and mats.
The Century Plant, as its name suggests takes one hundred years to bloom. However, if cultivated in warm regions, it may take only 10 years while in colder climates it may take about 60 years. The century plant also uses all of its energy to produce a once in a life time bloom of lovely yellow flowers and after it finishes flowering, the plant dies.
Medicinal Purposes: The sap of the Agave Americana is used as a diuretic and laxative. The juice of the leaves is applied to bruises and can be taken internally for relief of indigestion, flatulence, constipation, jaundice and dysentery. Steroid hormone precursors are also obtained from the leaves.
Interested in learning more about Medicinal Plants? Visit the Chaa Creek Rainforest Medicine Trail to learn more about healing plants the Ancient Maya civilization used thousands of years ago.
Picture taken by Naturalist Guide: Meshack EliahThe President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, will make an official visit to Cuban this coming March 20-22.
This will be the second time a U.S. President comes to our archipelago. Previously having done so was Calvin Coolidge, who landed in Havana in January of 1928. He arrived aboard a warship to attend the 6th Pan American Conference, which was held at that time under the sponsorship of a local figure recalled as infamous, Gerardo Machado.
This will be the first time a President of the United States comes to a Cuba in full possession of her sovereignty and with a Revolution in power, headed by its historic leadership.
This event is part of the process initiated December 17, 2014, when the President of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and President Barack Obama simultaneously announced the decision to reestablish diplomatic relations, broken by the United States almost 54 years ago. It is part of the complex process of normalization of bilateral ties, which has barely begun, and has advanced on the only grounds that are possible and just: respect, equality, reciprocity, and the recognition of our government’s legitimacy.
This point has been reached, in the very first place, as a result of the Cuban people’s heroic resistance and loyalty to principles, the defense of national independence and sovereignty. Such values, which have not been negotiable for 50 years, led the United States government to admit the severe damage the blockade has caused our population, and recognize the failure of the openly hostile policy toward the Revolution. Not with force, economic coercion, or isolation were they able to impose conditions on Cuba which were contrary to our aspirations, forged over almost 150 years of heroic struggle.
The current process undertaken with the United States has been possible also thanks to unwavering international solidarity, in particular from the governments and peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, who put the United States in an unsustainable position of isolation. Strongly united, “like silver in the bedrock of the Andes,” as our national hero José Martí said in his essay “Our America,” Latin America and the Caribbean demanded a change in policy toward Cuba. This regional demand was made unequivocally clear at the Summits of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in 2009, and in Cartagena, Colombia, in 2012, when all countries of the region unanimously and categorically demanded the lifting of the blockade, and our country’s participation in the 7th hemispheric meeting in Panama, in 2015, to which a Cuban delegation, led by Raúl, attended, for the first time.
Since the announcements of December, 2014, Cuba and the United States have taken steps toward improving the bilateral context.
On July 20, 2015, diplomatic relations were officially reestablished, along with the commitment to develop them on the basis of respect, cooperation, and observance of the principles of international law.
Two meetings between the Presidents of the countries have taken place, in addition to the exchange of visits by ministers and other contacts between high ranking officials. Cooperation in various areas of mutual benefit are advancing, and new opportunities for discussion have opened up, allowing for dialogue on issues of bilateral and multi-lateral interest, including those about which we have different conceptions.
The U.S. President will be welcomed by the government of Cuba and its people with the hospitality which distinguishes us, and will be treated with all consideration and respect, as befits a head of state.
This will be an opportunity for the President to directly observe a nation immersed in its economic and social development, and in improving its citizens’ wellbeing. This people enjoys rights, and can exhibit achievements which are only dreams for many of the world’s countries, despite the limitations derived from our condition as an underdeveloped, blockaded country - which has earned us international recognition and respect.
Figures of international renown such as Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill described this island, in their joint statement released in Havana in February, as “a symbol of hope of the New World.” French President François Hollande recently affirmed, “Cuba is respected and heard throughout Latin America,” and praised the country’s capacity for resistance in the face of the most difficult tests. South African leader Nelson Mandela always had words of profound gratitude for Cuba. In Matanzas, on July 26, 1991, he said, “Those of us in Africa are accustomed to being victims of other countries who want to seize our territory or subvert our sovereignty. In the history of Africa, there is no other example of a people (like the Cuban) who have come to the defense of one of us.”
Obama will find himself in a country which actively contributes to regional and world peace and stability, and which shares with other peoples not what we have left over, but the modest resources we possess, making solidarity an essential element of our identity, and humanity’s wellbeing - one of the fundamental objectives of our international policy, as Martí imparted to us.
He will also have the opportunity to meet a noble, friendly, dignified people with an elevated sense of patriotism and national unity, who have always struggled for a better future, despite the adversities we have been obliged to face.
The President of the United States will be received by a revolutionary people with a deeply-rooted political culture, which is the result of a long tradition of struggle for its true, definitive independence, first against Spanish colonialism and later against imperialist domination by the United States – a struggle in which our best sons and daughters have shed their blood and faced all manner of risks. A people who will never renounce the defense of their principles and the vast work of the Revolution, following without vacillation the examples of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, José Martí, Antonio Maceo, Julio Antonio Mella, Rubén Martínez Villena, Antonio Guiteras and Ernesto Che Guevara, among many others.
This is also a people united by historical, cultural and affective ties with that of the United States, whose emblematic figure, the writer Ernest Hemingway, received the Nobel Prize for literature for a novel set in Cuba. A people which shows its gratitude to those from the United States who, like Thomas Jordan [1], Henry Reeve, Winchester Osgood [2] and Frederick Funston [3], fought with the Liberation Army in our wars of independence against Spain; and those who in the more recent era have opposed aggression against Cuba, like Reverend Lucius Walker who defied the blockade to bring solidarity and help to our people, and supported the return to the homeland of the boy Elián González and the Cuban Five. We learned from Martí to admire the homeland of Lincoln and repudiate Cutting [4].
Worth recalling are the words of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, on September 11, 2001, when he affirmed, “Today is a day of tragedy for the United States. You know very well that hate for the U.S. people has never been sowed here. Perhaps, precisely because of its culture, and lack of complexes, feeling fully free, with a homeland and no master, Cuba is the country where U.S. citizens are treated with more respect. We have never preached any kind of national hate, or things that seem fanatical, that is why we are so strong, because we base our conduct on principles, on ideas, and treat every U.S. citizens who visits us with great respect – and they perceive this.”
This is the people who will receive President Obama, proud of their history, their roots, their national culture, and confident that a better future is possible. A nation that assumes with serenity and determination the current stage of relations with the United States, that |
be different. All they know is something needs to be.
A frustration bubbled to the surface in the postgame of the demoralizing 13-9 defeat Thursday, completing two games without a touchdown.
“We are playing like sh-- right now,” Green said, not stopping there. "We got to find a way to get our playmakers the ball. That's it. It's a superstar-driven league. You are not going to win without them."
The last time the Bengals went back-to-back games without a touchdown was the 2008 season. Those teams could blame the loss of starting quarterback Carson Palmer. This group is figuring out who to blame. There are many targets.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) paces the sideline between drives in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 2 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. (Photo: Sam Greene)
Dalton continued to miss throws and though he didn’t have a turnover -- unlike his five-turnover debacle in Sunday’s shutout – the problems inevitably start with him. It wasn’t but two years ago Dalton was in the MVP conversation. The offensive line continued to struggle, but the quarterback of the first two weeks barely resembles the 2015 version.
As for a move to AJ McCarron, Marvin Lewis stood behind Dalton after the game.
“No, I’m not worried about Andy,” Lewis said, before stating specifically the quarterback’s job is secure at this point. He was then asked if Dalton has taken a step back. “No, I don’t think he’s taken a step back. I think we have to continue to let Andy do his thing.”
From there the arrow points directly to offensive coordinator Ken Zampese. One year finishing 24th in points per game and spending on offseason trying to fix red zone woes, the Bengals are 0-for-6 inside the 20, with three no scores against Baltimore.
The Bengals have never fired a coordinator mid-year in their 50 seasons. The only moves at either coordinator spot came due to head coach firings forcing upward movement.
OC Bruce Coslet took over as head coach when Dave Shula was fired in 1996. DC Dick LeBeau was promoted to head coach in 2000 upon Coslet quitting three games in.
After the game, Lewis didn’t want to touch that direction.
“We’re not going to sit here tonight and (harp) on that and talk about that right now,” Lewis said.
Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Ken Zampese, left, is reviewing how he can help the team score more points in 2017. (Photo: Kareem Elgazzar)
What will be talked about was Green at his locker after the game rightly wondering why the ball never made it his way on the final drive, or much at all after halftime.
Green provided the lone explosive play of the game, a 50-yard reception over triple coverage in the second quarter. Yet, in the second half of a one-score game he was targeted four times, with two completions for three yards.
“Being one of the leaders of the offense I feel like – no disrespect to nobody else – that ball should be mine somewhere somehow,” Green said of the team's final drive. “That’s my mentality. In those situations, I want the ball. As the leader of the offense, you should be like that. I wanted that ball.”
On Sunday, the game ended with Green throwing his helmet in frustration. This one ended watching Alex Erickson targeted three times.
“Obviously, you want the ball in his hands as much as possible,” Dalton said. “You have your best player out there you want him to be a focal point. We are going to have to look at it and see what we can do differently.”
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green pulls down a 50-yard completion on Sept. 14 against Houston. (Photo: Kareem Elgazzar)
Between often repeating that “it’s tough,” going through this drought, Green dropped in that he can only run the plays that are called. He’s not going to be pounding his chest demanding anything.
“That’s not me, personally,” Green said. “My body of work speaks for itself, I don’t feel like I have to go beg for the ball.”
He put the onus on his group and offered suggestions. Typically, when Green talks everyone listens.
“This offense doesn’t go without us, we have to be involved more early," Green said. "Get (Brandon LaFell) the ball early, get John (Ross) the ball earlier. As one of the leaders of the offense, I feel we need a spark and need the ball in my hands somewhere, somehow. You have to find a way to get me the ball and we are not doing that right now.”
Fans who spent the last 120 minutes of play booing this group are frothing to read into any comments in regards to the coordinator or even further up the ladder. Changes to coordinators are unique but not rare across the league midseason. Six offensive coordinators have been fired mid-year in the past two seasons.
Year, Team: Old OC -- when move made -- new OC
2015, Rams: Frank Cignetti – 13 games -- Rob Boras
2015, Dolphins: Bill Lazor – 11 games -- Zac Taylor
2015, Lions: Joe Lombardi – 8 games – Jim Bob Cooter
2016, Bills: Greg Roman – 2 games – Anthony Lynn
2016, Ravens: Marc Trestman -- 5 games -- Marty Mornhinweg
2016, Jaguars: Greg Olson – 8 games – Nathaniel Hackett
Oddly, last year the Buffalo Bills fired OC Greg Roman after one season plus two games, his last a loss on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.
Those places are not Cincinnati. A move being made is without precedent for this organization. Of course, so is going two games without a touchdown to start the season in the Marvin Lewis Era.
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Whether in the coaching staff, simplifying the bevy of rotations at skill positions, altering the plan of attack or just listening to Green and getting him the ball, there’s little doubt assessing necessary changes were on the top of the mind of everyone associated with this offensive group as they walked to the parking lot on Thursday night.
We shall see how many come.
“I don’t really have the answers,” said tight end Tyler Eifert, targeted once in the opener and not until the final two minutes of the second quarter Thursday. “But we have to find a way. We are just too good for this. We got to find a way to make it work because it would be terrible to see this season go all for naught if we don’t find a way to get it right. We all have to look in the mirror and be accountable. The performance tonight was unacceptable and we have to find a way to be better.”Family Portrait, 2004. Thomas Holton
Thomas Holton, born to a Chinese mother and an American father, began his photographic look at a family living in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood as a way to feel more connected to his Chinese heritage. Holton met the Lam family in 2003, and much like the 350-square-foot apartment in which they lived, he envisioned creating a small-scale documentary about their lives in a tenement building on Ludlow Street. Thirteen years later, Holton’s work has become a book, The Lams of Ludlow Street, published this month by Kehrer Verlag.
When he began working on the series, Holton said he was thrilled to simply get behind “the proverbial closed door and meet a neighborhood family who welcomed me into their lives.”
The earliest images focus on the family and their physical surroundings. But as he got to know them and understand their routines, picking the kids up from school and sharing meals, he became more observant and deliberate about what he photographed.
Passport Photos, 2003. Thomas Holton
Bath Time, 2004. Thomas Holton
Chinese Soap Opera, 2004. Thomas Holton
“Once this more intimate and personal aspect of our relationship developed, I became less and less interested in their small apartment and became much more curious about their family life, the relationships with one another and what was happening in their lives,” he wrote via email. “As a result, my images changed too; I feel they became much more nuanced and subtle.”
How Holton interacted with the Lams changed as well. He said part of that happened when he took “creative pauses” that would last a year or more. He continued to see the Lams but felt the pause was important to allow the Lams’ story to evolve. It also informed the editing process of what became The Lams of Ludlow Street.
“Editing the photographs down to a manageable number was daunting, but I had always been my own worst critic, so I kept a pretty tight edit as I kept working,” he wrote.
Spring Break, 2010. Thomas Holton
Bored, 2011. Thomas Holton
Napping After Work, 2012. Thomas Holton
A Father’s Touch, 2012. Thomas Holton
Holton said that although he became a “strange uncle who always has a camera” to the Lams, he never quite made the same connection with Chinatown.
“I am still looked upon as an outsider or visitor because I still do not fluently speak Chinese or live there,” he wrote. “I don’t think that by simply visiting the Lams for all this time gives me an insight into what it must be like to leave one’s home country and to start fresh in a foreign land to begin a family.”
Holton is a working parent who teaches photography full time at Trinity School in Manhattan and said he feels his work speaks to life’s challenges, regardless of race or religion.
“I think the work has resonated with many people is because even though the work is about a specific family in a specific city and neighborhood, people feel that they can relate to the story because it is about life and making the best with what you have,” he said. “Life is full of surprises and cannot be easily scripted. In fact, it can be very messy, but at least it’s ours.”
Five Days Before College, 2014. Thomas Holton
After School Karaoke, 2014. Thomas HoltonPeople are usually surprised to hear I don't vote. I think many have an initial reaction of curiosity and disapproval. People who vote are often self-righteous. I have heard instructors say they give their students extra points if they vote in the election. On voting day, those who say they voted are often congratulated and praised, as if they had donated blood or something.
That seems silly to me. Voting is a privilege, not a duty or an obligation. Getting more people to vote does not produce any obvious improvement in the of the outcome. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 set all-time records for voting, but those were hardly the best decisions ever made in the history of our republic.
But I digress. My reasons for not voting differ from those of the typical nonvoter, whose inaction may be motivated by apathy, laziness, or preoccupation. I do care about having good.
I refrain from voting in order to do my work better. I am a social scientist, specifically a social psychologist. I also want to understand the big picture, how all the specific facts we study and research fit together. Political allegiances make it harder to be open-minded in seeking the truth.
When growing up, I was exposed to very, morally sensitive people at both ends of the political spectrum. I realized during college that many of the political views I had been taught were wrong, but some were right (so I couldn't just reject everything). Early in my college studies I encountered facts that challenged many of my most important beliefs and values. I started looking for them.
I decided then that what I wanted most was to know the truth, whatever it might turn out to be. This has often meant parting with cherished beliefs. It still does. I had to take the view that none of my beliefs or opinions was sacred. Everything was in play.
Over the years, I came to lose my to my opinions. So many have bitten the dust in the face of facts that it hardly seems worth getting attached to them any more. I like knowing the facts. I just want to know what the current best evidence favors. Toward that end, it's best not to get sentimentally attached to particular views. Having feelings that favor some political opinion makes you reluctant to give it up when the facts go against it.
Most people I know, including very smart people, look mainly for facts that fit their preferred political views. As a result, they can give a very persuasive, fact-based, well-reasoned argument in favor of their position. But most haven't really tried to make the best case for the opposite view. It's hard to do that, when you care about the issues. It's fine for them to care. But I just want to know, so I'd prefer not to care.
Many of my colleagues fight for their ideas and their ideals. When someone brings up contrary arguments, they pull out their best ammunition to defend what they believe. I don't. At least I try not to. I prefer to listen to their side and see what their facts are. I don't want to be a sucker who changes to agree with whoever is talking to me. But I want to consider both sides, both sympathetically and critically (these are usually separate steps), and then try to choose as might one who had no stake or interest in the matter. A referee, an alien from outer space, a robot.
Voting, and everything that goes with it, requires you to want one side to be better. Wanting introduces. My goal is to see the truth without bias, and toward that end, it is best not to want. It is helpful not to take sides.
I want to know the truth more than I want to change the world. At bottom I am not out to change the world - I am just intensely curious. The way I look at it, life is too short for me to waste any time clinging to opinions once they are shown to be wrong.
My goal would be to do research without any preference at all for how the data will turn out. It is best not to want a winner.
But you can't vote in an election without wanting one side to win. At least I can't.
I can foresee that some of my colleagues could be angry at my saying that voting introduces bias into our work. They want to vote and not be suspected of bias. Among social scientists, saying that someone has bias is a dirty word, a strong insult. Let me say straight out, therefore, that I am not saying that others should do as I do.
My reasons for not voting and for not wanting to take sides on political issues, would not apply to a great many researchers. Many people study highly specific questions and problems, and political issues are often not relevant. For others, their work may have some political implications, but again focused on one narrow issue.
Unlike most social psychologists, I am a generalist. I want to understand the big picture. I want to see how everything fits together. Hence political concerns interfere over and over, in many ways.
My curiosity is another reason I loathe political correctness, even though I respect many of the ideals, values, and positive sentiments that motivate it. Political correctness designates many ideas, theories, hypotheses, perspectives as off-limits - not allowed to be considered. To me, political correctness means I probably can't find out what is the truth there. The battle of ideas and evidence is not a fair fight if there are political pressures. Maybe the politically correct conclusions are right, and maybe they aren't. We'll never know.
John Maynard Keynes, the influential economist, was once reproached for changing his view on something. He responded, "When the facts change, I change my opinions. What do you do, sir?" This is more than a clever retort or justification. As I see it, that expresses a way of life, an attitude. It's a useful stance for a generalist in the social sciences.It-ala
Jori Virtanen
Etelä-Karjalan sosiaali- ja terveyspiirillä eli Eksotella meni lopullisesti hermot Tiedon palvelujen käyttökatkoksiin ja jatkuvaan hitauteen. Etelä-Karjala päättikin maksaa miljoona euroa päästäkseen Tiedosta eroon.
Eksoten tietohallintojohtaja Toni Suihkon mukaan Tiedon tuottamissa palveluissa on ollut erittäin suuria, ja vain pahemmaksi äityneitä laatuongelmia. Myös sähköisiin resepteihin siirtyminen on aiheuttanut harmaita hiuksia.
Etelä-Saimaan mukaan Eksote on tämän vuoksi päättänyt siirtää palvelunsa paikalliselle Saitalle. Siirrosta johtuviin kustannuksiin on varattava yli 800 000 euroa.
ES kertoo, että yleistyneiden käyttökatkosten aikana henkilökunta on tyhjän päällä eikä pääse käsiksi potilashistoriaan, lääkitystietoihin tai laboratorio- tai röntgentuloksiin. Edes ajanvaraussysteemi ei toimi.
Sairaanhoitopiirien mukaan käyttökatkosten ja hitauden vuoksi vastaanottoajat venyvät, hoitovirheiden ja päällekäisyyksien riski kasvaa, ja potilasturvallisuus vaarantuu.
Etelä-Karjalan keskussairaalan ylilääkäri Afra Prokkin mukaan tietokatkojen sattuessa on sairaaloiden pakko turvautua paperiin.
”Tehdään hidasta tuplatyötä. Tieto kulkee paperilla. Esimerkiksi laboratoriovastaukset tulevat paperilla ja röntgenkuvat pitää käydä katsomassa muualla. On selvää, että kun järjestelmät takkuavat, päivystyksen ruuhka pahenee.”
Ole hyvä ja kytke Javascript päälle nähdäksesi kommentit.We grabbed one of the semi-finalists Kevin "kRYSTAL" Amend to talk about PENTA changing two players a few weeks before the PGL Minor, their triple comeback on the three maps that they won, and expectations going into playoffs.
PENTA started off with a comeback on de_cache against LDLC White, who were up 12-6 at one point, but they couldn't match up E-frag.net's speed in the winners' match afterwards.
Then they faced off against what was the surprise of the tournament at that time already, CG, and lost de_overpass in a one-sided affair. They were facing multiple match points on de_cache, but managed to pull through in the end, and topped it off with a huge comeback from a 5-14 deficit on the decider, de_dust2.
In the following interview Kevin "kRYSTAL" Amend talks about PENTA changing a couple of players only weeks before the tournament, their overall preparation, the six maps they have played so far, and the semi-finals ahead.
You can find the rest of HLTV.org's videos by going to our YouTube channel here.If we take the chart at face value, it would appear that the first and second rounds of sanctions, imposed in March and April 2014, had little impact. World oil prices were little changed from March to July, yet even in the face of sanctions, the REER of the ruble appreciated by about 6 percent. July saw a tougher round of sanctions, however, targeting not just individuals but major banks and nonfinancial corporations. From July to November, the price of oil fell by about 30 percent. In response, based on the relationship of oil prices to the exchange rate over the whole period of 2000-2014, we would have expected the real effective exchange rate to depreciate by about 15 percent, compared to an actual depreciation of about 19 percent. By mid-December, oil prices had fallen below their November average by enough to cause a further expected depreciation of about 8 percent. Instead, the observed depreciation was about double the predicted amount. However, the data for December are preliminary. Although these observations are consistent with the hypothesis that sanctions are working, we should take them as no more than suggestive.The man behind the most influential pro-Islamic State Twitter account tells Channel 4 News he is “ready to surrender” after Indian police report they are investigating him.
He told Channel 4 News today that he feared police would kill him and that he did not keep guns in his home in a bid for his safety.
The man, whose real name is Mehdi, however, said he would not resist arrest and would willingly surrender.
The investigation revealed the man operating the Shami Witness account was an executive in Bangalore working for an Indian conglomerate.
Mehdi: I have a suspicion when that the police, when they come to arrest to me, they might try to kill me then they would say I tried to attack them.
I want to state clearly that I won't resist arrest when the time comes. I don't have any sort of weapons with me. I have no intention of resisting.
Simon Israel: Why do you think they might come to arrest you?
M: They are saying in the media there's an actual manhunt right now. They might take more than 24 hours.
SI: But do you think you have done anything wrong?
M: No I haven't done anything wrong. I haven't harmed anybody, I haven't broken any laws of the country. I haven't raised any war or any violence against the public of India. So no.
I haven't waged war against any allies of India. They might try to bring that charge. I haven't waged war against anybody. I just said stuff, people followed me, then I followed them back and then we talked. I only knew what the IS fighters or sympathisers said in public tweets.
SI: But your story is trending all over the world?
M: I thought it would die down in the first one or two hours but it's still raging. I can't believe this
SI: Why do you think that is?
M: I think for the first time there's a Muslim who can actually enunciate in English and get the message across and which has really pissed off our enemies, enemies of Muslims.
Reports from Indian media suggest that police in Bengaluru had already been alerted and verifications began before the Channel 4 News investigation.
Bangalore’s police commissioner, MN Reddi told a press conference that the city’s “crime branch is carrying out investigation in the case”.
‘Punishment by trial’
Dr Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in Delhi, told Channel 4 News that India’s legal system is “extremely formalistic”.
He added that the entire process is “punishment by trial” and that the prospects of conviction were slim.
It could take 10 to 15 years just going through the courts. Dr Ajai Sahni
“The trial process is extremely arduous. It could take 10 to 15 years just going through the courts,” Dr Sahni said.
“It would all depend on how he involved he is and whether the tweets demonstrate incitement to hatred.
“There is a law of waging a war against a friendly country, but IS is not a banned group in India.”
‘My family needs me here’
Mehdi said he would have gone to join Islamic State himself, but his family were financially dependent on him: “If I had a chance to leave everything and join them I might have.. my family needs me here.”
Channel 4 News chose not to reveal his full name as he says his life would be in danger if his true identity was made public.
However, there were reports today that other Islamic State follower accounts have closed down as a result of the Shami Witness interview:
After seeing what happened to ShamiWitness, the ISIS fanboys are getting scared & shutting down their accounts!!! pic.twitter.com/IdEk0ZTX5X — Hamo (@KekHamo) December 11, 2014
A number of Islamic State fanboy accounts in the West are now closing down after Shami Witness was outed! — Shiraz Maher (@ShirazMaher) December 11, 2014
Two thirds of all foreign fighters on Twitter followed him. When a fighter’s Twitter account is suspended, he often promoted the new one and urged people to follow it.
He spoke to British jihadis regularly, before they leave to join the Islamic State, after they arrived, and if they died he praised them as martyrs.
After being contacted by Channel 4 News, Mehdi shut down the Shami Witness account."El Vicentillo" being presented to the media in Mexico City on March 19, 2009. REUTERS/Daniel Aguilar An investigation by El Universal found that between the years 2000 and 2012, the U.S. government had an arrangement with Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel that allowed the organization to smuggle billions of dollars of drugs while Sinaloa provided information on rival cartels.
Sinaloa, led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, supplies 80% of the drugs entering the Chicago area and has a presence in cities across the U.S.
There have long been allegations that Guzman, considered to be "the world's most powerful drug trafficker," coordinates with American authorities.
But the El Universal investigation is the first to publish court documents that include corroborating testimony from a DEA agent and a Justice Department official.
The written statements were made to the U.S. District Court in Chicago in relation to the arrest of Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, the son of Sinaloa leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and allegedly the Sinaloa cartel's "logistics coordinator."
Here's what DEA agent Manuel Castanon told the Chicago court:
"On March 17, 2009, I met for approximately 30 minutes in a hotel room in Mexico City with Vincente Zambada-Niebla and two other individuals — DEA agent David Herrod and a cooperating source [Sinaloa lawyer Loya Castro] with whom I had worked since 2005.... I did all of the talking on behalf of [the] DEA."
A few hours later, Mexican Marines arrested Zambada-Niebla (a.k.a. "El Vicentillo") on charges of trafficking more than a billion dollars in cocaine and heroin. Castanon and three other agents then visited Zambada-Niebla in prison, where the Sinaloa officer "reiterated his desire to cooperate," according to Castanon.
El Universal, citing court documents, reports that DEA agents met with high-level Sinaloa officials such as Castro more than 50 times since 2000.
Then-Justice Department prosecutor Patrick Hearn told the Chicago court that, according to DEA special agent Steve Fraga, Castro "provided information leading to a 23-ton cocaine seizure, other seizures related to" various drug trafficking organizations, and that "El Mayo" Zambada wanted his son to cooperate with the U.S.
A screenshot from the documents published by El Universal. El Universal
"The DEA agents met with members of the cartel in Mexico to obtain information about their rivals and simultaneously built a network of informants who sign drug cooperation agreements, subject to results, to enable them to obtain future benefits, including cancellation of charges in the U.S.," reports El Universal, which also interviewed more than one hundred active and retired police officers as well as prisoners and experts.
Zambada-Niebla's lawyer claimed to the court that in the late 1990s, Castro struck a deal with U.S. agents in which Sinaloa would provide information about rival drug trafficking organizations while the U.S. would dismiss its case against the Sinaloa lawyer and refrain from interfering with Sinaloa drug trafficking activities or actively prosecuting Sinaloa leadership.
"The agents stated that this arrangement had been approved by high-ranking officials and federal prosecutors," Zambada-Niebla lawyer wrote.
After being extradited to Chicago in February 2010, Zambada-Niebla argued that he was also "immune from arrest or prosecution" because he actively provided information to U.S. federal agents.
Zambada-Niebla also alleged that Operation Fast and Furious was part of an agreement to finance and arm the cartel in exchange for information used to take down its rivals. (If true, that re-raises the issue regarding what Attorney General Eric Holder knew about the gun-running arrangements.)
A Mexican foreign service officer told Stratfor in April 2010 that the U.S. seemed to have sided with the Sinaloa cartel in an attempt to limit the violence in Mexico.
El Universal reported that the coordination between the U.S. and Sinaloa, as well as other cartels, peaked between 2006 and 2012, which is when drug traffickers consolidated their grip on Mexico. The paper concluded by saying that it is unclear whether the arrangements continue.
The DEA and other U.S. agencies declined to comment to El Universal.
[UPDATE 1/14] This post has caused many to interpret that the U.S. government is actively supporting Sinaloa. That has not been established, despite claims by Zambada-Niebla's lawyer and Stratfor's source. What El Universal's investigation and the newly published court documents reveal is that there was a strong correlation from 2005 and 2009 between the rise of the Sinaloa cartel and the DEA's relatively regular contact with a top Sinaloa lawyer.Every morning before breakfast, Rabbi Rafoel Franklin, 60, an Orthodox Jew living in Swan Lake, N.Y., puts on tefillin, says his morning prayers, and then heads outside to milk his 30 cows. Three decades ago Franklin and his wife, Naomi, left Monsey, N.Y., the ultra-Orthodox hamlet outside New York City, to start their farm in the Catskills. Franklin, who became religious as an adult, had spent his childhood in Montana and once worked as a wildlife biologist. He moved out of Monsey because he wanted to live a life that reflected his love of the natural world as well as his devotion to the Torah. “In Monsey I was working as a shochet”—a ritual slaughterer—“and I was dissatisfied by what I saw,” Franklin told me.
His more satisfied life in Swan Lake is filled with feathers, hay, and farm chores. The farm, which he runs with his son, Eliezer, houses a sustainable kosher-chicken company, Pelleh Poultry, that processes 4,000 chickens each week. (Industrial slaughterhouses, in contrast, often handle tens of thousands of chickens every day.) And in November he launched Bethel Creamery, the country’s only organic, Chalav Yisrael (a strictly kosher designation endorsed by Hasidim) dairy—selling the milk to customers in Monsey and Brooklyn.
Franklin’s move to his farm can seem prophetic. Today, the country’s growing obsession with local, traceable food has increased the demand for products like his and lured some young people away from office jobs and toward the farm. This holds true for the Jewish world as well. There are programs like Adamah, an agricultural fellowship in Connecticut, which brings together Jewish twentysomethings to live on a farm, tend its eight acres of organic crops, and milk goats, make pickles, and celebrate Shabbat. This summer, Adamah’s founder, Adam Berman, launched Urban Adamah—a similar program in Berkeley, Calif., that focuses on increasing food access for low-income residents, as well as sustainable farming. Meanwhile, synagogues and JCCs across the country are launching a number of farm-to-shul initiatives, from community-supported agriculture projects to parking-lot gardens.
But with all this new interest in Jewish farming, Jewish Americans’ agricultural history remains largely unknown. In the decades prior to World War II, upstate New York was dotted with egg, dairy, and produce farms owned and run by Jews. Petaluma, Calif., in Sonoma County, boasted a thriving community of chicken ranchers from the 1920s through the 1960s. Indeed, Franklin’s street in Swan Lake was once home to four Jewish farming families whose rousing post-Shabbat gatherings, he told me, routinely piqued the curiosity of non-Jewish neighbors.
Many of these farms were beneficiaries of the Jewish Agricultural Society, an organization founded in New York in 1900 by a German Jewish philanthropist, Baron Maurice de Hirsch. An urban Jewish businessman with utopian, pre-industrial leanings, de Hirsch spent his fortune helping Eastern European Jews escape anti-Semitism in their home countries and settle on American pastures, far away from the cities’ tenements. The society provided loans for purchasing land, seeds, and equipment and offered practical education to the settlers, many of whom had minimal prior experience as farmers. It even published a magazine in Yiddish and English called The Jewish Farmer. With the baron’s support, and the opportunity to own land in America (a privilege not consistently afforded to them in Europe), these farmers had the chance to build on Judaism’s ancient agricultural legacy—a heritage filled with agricultural tenets (“in the seventh year thou shalt let [the land] lie fallow,” Exodus tells us) and joyful harvest holidays like Shavuot and Sukkot.
From its founding through the middle of the 20th century, the society helped settle nearly 5,000 Jewish farmers and their families on homesteads in New York and beyond. It also placed tens of thousands of Jewish workers on established farms throughout New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Florida. In California, the German Jewish Haas family—heirs to the Levi Strauss denim fortune—helped fund the Jewish chicken ranchers in Petaluma. In the 1920s, Yiddish plays and concerts were staged in Petaluma, and Golda Meir considered it a vital enough community to make it a fundraising stop in the 1930s.
It’s no coincidence that the wealthy, assimilated, urban philanthropists moved to assist their less-fortunate brethren by helping them set up shop far away from the cities. “Very rich German Jews, they always wanted the Russian Jews should be farmers,” Petaluma resident Hymie Golden says in Kenneth Kann’s Comrades and Chicken Ranchers. “They wanted to prove that not all are merchants or bankers like them.” In 1938 Time reported that there were nearly 100,000 Jewish farmers working in the United States, including Max Yasgur, the amicable dairyman who would famously allow Woodstock to erupt on his fields in Bethel, NY.
Many of these mid-century farm families enjoyed modest success, while raising their children on hard work, socialist politics, and fresh country air. While not overtly religious, the communities maintained Jewish lives that were built around a synagogue, Hebrew or Yiddish schools, and organizations like Hadassah and B’nai Brith. “The local synagogue migrated to the country along with us,” Sonny Whynman, whose family moved from the Bronx to start an egg farm in Toms River, N.J., in the mid-1940s, when he was 7, told me. Many people from his old Bronx neighborhood decided to settle in rural New Jersey, too, he said.
But as the years passed and farming in America declined, the Jewish farms became increasingly harder to maintain. In the early 1960s, the Jewish Agricultural Society surveyed Jewish American farmers. “In the beginning farming was very good, but now [it’s] in very bad shape,” wrote farmer Aron Bakal, from Wurstboro, N.Y. Asked for his thoughts on the future, he wrote, “Time will show everything.”
The Jewish Agricultural Society closed up shop in 1972, and soon the once-vibrant Jewish farming communities were gone. By the late 20th century, when Franklin started his farm, the established notion was that American Jews belonged in cities or suburbs, working as professionals. Farming—aside from the occasional stint on an Israeli kibbutz—seemed antithetical to Jewish American identity. In 2003, Slate ran an article headlined “Why Jews Don’t Farm,” arguing that Jews’ preoccupation with literacy and education had lifted them above manual labor toward more academic pursuits.
Adamah was launched in the Connecticut Berkshires that same year. The program has thrived and inspired spinoff projects like Philadelphia’s Jewish Farm School and Chicago’s The Gan Project. Other Jews, like Franklin, found their own way to farming. Tanya Tolchin—a niece of Sonny Whynman, the onetime Toms Rivers egg farmer—and her husband, Scott Hertzberg, started a farm in Upper Marlboro, Md., that provides fresh produce to CSA members, and they recently launched a Jewish Farmers of America Wiki. Jewish farmers “are pretty much falling from the trees these days,” Hertzberg joked.
Farming remains grueling work, both physically and emotionally. Demographically speaking, the Jewish farmer is still rare (and can sound like a punch line). But farming, like religion, can come down to faith. “I never expected I would farm full-time, I just wanted to live as far away from cities as possible,” Franklin told me. “But baruch Hashem, if you do it properly, farming is the most fulfilling life I could imagine.”
Leah Koenig is the author of Modern Jewish Cooking: Recipes & Customs for Today's Kitchen and The Little Book of Jewish Appetizers.Coalition's copyright ultimatum: The collateral damage of the war on online pirates
The Coalition government has delivered an early Christmas present to the movie studios with its prescribed model to curb online piracy, although the efficacy of the measures announced remains to be seen.
Communications minister Malcolm Turnbull took great umbrage at any reference to the measures as a precursor to an internet filter at the announcement of |
of your flask and to rinse as much of the nasty-purple-stuff from the crystals in your filter paper. Save both the solution and the crystals. The recrystalization will help some, but will not purify the crystals. What has happened is that during the reaction, the nasty-purple-stuff has wrapped itself around and within the crystalline structure of the methaqualone and recrystalization will create a new surface so a acetone wash will be able to get the rest. Now repeat the acetone boil described above and filter and dry. You should have light steel grey to white powder, if you do, stop and put this batch aside, if you don't, do another acetone wash. Remember the solution you saved from the recrystalization above? This is nasty-purple-stuff, MeOH, acetone and methaqualone. Put a few boiling granules in the solution and boil away half the volume. Let this set and cool and more methaqualone will precipitate out. This can be purified with acetone as above and the result added to your completed batch. You can repeat this process until almost all the methaqualone has been recovered from the solution, but each recovery will be less pure. If you choose to do this, combine all the recovered product and do one last acetone boil to clean it up. Possible screwups: Ok, you couldn't wait and you tried to stir the o-toluidine and n-acetyl- anthranilic acid mix. The sides of the tube are covered with sticky crap and the stir stick has goo all over it too. You can't get the stuff loose without it sticking to everything and you have a blister on your finger where you touched it to see if it was still hot. The best you can do now is to just put the stir stick in the tube and go find something to do somewhere else for the next 45 minutes. The solution will react and the temperature will go up. Eventually the solution will turn purple and the stuff on the sides of the tube and stir stick will melt down into the solution. You won't get 100% recovery, but remember, I told you not to mess with it. You took too long letting the purple liquid cool and now its so viscous it won't pour out of the tube into the water. Just heat it gently while holding it upside down over the water. Don't hold it with your hands or you'll have another blister to match the one on your finger from above. You poured the purple viscous liquid into the 150ml of water and took the ph to 9 stirring all the time to make sure it mixed well, but a big glob of the sticky purple stuff has adhered to the stir stick and you can't get it loose. Don't worry, just leave it in the flask and let the stuff solidify. After solidification it's easy to get it off. The purple viscous liquid has been in the water at ph 9 for 4 hours now and it still isn't solid. OK, raise the ph to 11 and mix the solution a lot. If you can, shake it real good (an Erlenmeyer flask is good for this). This should cause solidification. If it still doesn't solidify, pour off the water as much as possible and dissolve in acetone as above then add concentrated HCL to form the hydrochloride. Now just go through the purification process. When drying the solidified purple stuff, you used a light to warm it gently and accelerate the process. Unfortunately, the 300 watt halogen light you used melted the purple resin. The melted resin soaked into the filter paper and stuck to the plate you had under it. Well, at least the water dried out. Take the paper shove it into a flask then wash the plate with methanol catching the solvent in the same flask. Now gently heat the flask, paper methanol and all. When the purple solid has dissolved from the paper (you'll never get it all) remove the paper, wring it out and throw it away. Now filter the methanol while hot and begin boiling the methanol to reduce its volume. After reducing to about 1/2 the volume let it cool and add dH2O until it clouds up. Add NaOH until the ph reaches 9 and the purple solid will separate from solution. Filter the solid and dry again. This time, don't melt it. You didn't use boiling granules to control the boiling acetone wash and the acetone "bumped," erupting hot solvent all over the place. Remove the flask from the heat, turn off the heat and let everything (including your temper) cool down. Now go get a hammer and break the neighbor's window as instructed above and resume with whatever amount you have left. This time though, use the damn boiling granules. Method 2. This is essentially the same as above, but uses polyphosphoric acid to bind the water instead of just evaporating it. Put 20 grams of polyphosphoric acid in a rb flask and begin warming it. This is not as easy as it sounds. Polyphosphoric acid is very viscous and hard to pour. If you warm it to help the pouring some, you have to get it so hot it's hard to handle. I suggest you place a test tube in an Erlenmeyer flask put them both on the scale and pour the acid directly into the test tube until you get about 18 grams in the tube. Stop pouring, by the time you've pulled the syrupy fluid back without getting it all over everything, you'll have about 22 grams in the tube. Now take the tube out and invert it over the rb flask and gently heat it with a torch to help the acid flow down into the flask. Just leave the tube in the flask while you measure the other items. Add however much of the N-acetyl-anthranilic acid you have (up to 10 grams) and an equimolar amount of o-toluidine. raise the temperature slowly to about 160C and, using a stir stick, stir the solution. Yes, it's ok to stir this reaction. It actually helps the solid dissolve. Your stir stick will accumulate a sticky resin, but just leave it in the flask and it will take care of itself. After the solid has dissolved, raise the temperature to 180-190C for 20 minutes. Allow the solution to cool to less than 100C, it will be yellow or orange, and pour into 150ml of dH2O. Stir the solution in the water until it dissolves. It really will dissolve, it is sticky and will cling to everything, but it will eventually dissolve. Now take the water solution and pour it into the rb flask you did the reaction in and swirl around until you dissolve the part you couldn't pour out of the rb flask. Put the solution into a larger flask, 500ml or better and add soda lime solution until neutral. This will take a lot to neutralize and will result in a yellow or orange resin that sticks to the side of the flask like the above reaction. It will solidify after setting for a couple of hours. Filter and dry the solid then follow the purification as above. Since the o-toluidine hasn't been hot as long and the water has been isolated by the polyphosphoric acid there is minimal charring and minimal cleanup. You are likely to get white crystals. Possible screwups: You used too much polyphosphoric acid and had to add a ton of soda lime to neutralize it. Now you're stuck with some salt or other in the solution with your yellow resin. Filter all the solids out and dump them into about 200ml of dH2O and heat. The solids will dissolve and the resin will melt collecting in a puddle at the bottom of the water. Let this cool until the resin solidifies then filter. You'll have only the resin left, now proceed with the purification. You used a propane torch to boil the acetone during the wash. The acetone boiled over and caught fire from the torch. You tried to pat out the fire, but only managed to set your shirt on fire also. Now the fire department is pulling up in the driveway with a police escort. Well, I suggest you wrap a towel around the burned arm and put another around the blistered hand and run! Method 3: This was done by a different chemist than the above, so not as many mistakes were made. The voice for this is The Alchemist. 10g of anthranilic acid was dissolved in 30mL of acetic anhydride in a 100mL RB flask, at which point the flask became very hot and the reaction was apparent as small amounts of the anthranillic dissolved and acetic anhydride became a pinkish tint. To this was added a stirbar (better do this before you add chemicals or stirring will become difficult) and a distillation setup was attached without vacuum. The flask was set spinning and the temp raised progressively to 190°C. Around 160°C the acetic anhydride and acetic acid began to distill over. Do this until almost all the acetic anhydride has distilled over. Turn off the heat and wait until the temp reaches 70°C. When the flask cools off, you may get some wet solid looking material in the flask (N-acetylanthranilic acid). It gets pretty hard so you might want to break it up with a spatula or something so it can stir. Once the temp has reached around 70°C, add 10g of o-toluidine(9.9mL). Replace the distillation setup and raise the temp once again to 190°C. Hold it there for three hours. The appearance of water coming over the distillation setup will be apparent during the first half of the reaction. Turn off heat. When temp reaches 80°-90°C, dump resin into 150mL of distilled H20. Basify the soln. from 9-12. Stick it in the freezer to make it more solid. When it sits in the freezer for about 20 min, take it out, dump off the water and wash it with a little distilled water. This shit should be stuck all over the bottom of your flask or beaker. Add 150mL of acetone and swirl until dissolved. Sometimes this takes a while so you may want to heat the acetone. Once it has all dissolved you will have a purplish-amber soln with no solid in the flask. Once it is all dissolved, add 10mL conc. HCl. Crystals should form upon standing for at most a half hour. If no crystals form stick soln in the freezer and force them out of solution. Filter these crystals and wash them with a little acetone. Dry the crystals and add them to a flask with 100 mL fresh acetone. Boil the acetone with the crystals in them for at least 10min. This should get your methaqualone crystals snow white. Dry your product and enjoy! This is a very clean and easy reaction that produces 70%+ yields. Props go to Cheapskate for his easy cleanup procedure for producing extremely high grade 'ludes. Super purification: This Cheapskate talking again. Now you've got pretty steel gray or white crystals and the celebrating has begun, but you can do better. Methaqualone.HCl will dissolve in acidic water, so mix up two flasks of water at ph 3 and add your methaqualone.HCl to one of them. Boil the methaqualone until it dissolves in the acidic water, you'll notice there is a small amount of stuff that won't dissolve. Filter the boiling hot solution into a suitable flask and rinse the filter paper through the funnel with the other flask of hot water. Allow the water to cool and chill to recover the crystalline methaqualone.HCl. This will be pure white fluffy crystals with the only contaminant left being the filter fibers that you scrap off when you gather the crop.Be Your Own Hero - that's the tag line from Whip It which is a movie of which those involved in roller derby may be aware. I'll admit that I considered the phrase to be nothing more than one of those trite empowerment sayings that you see all over the place - much like aim for the moon and you'll still land among the stars, which, is astronomically inaccurate for starters. But I digress.
But recently I began to re-evaluate my thoughts on this, perhaps it is possible - at least on some level - to be your own hero... at least with regards to the rollerderby world. I was going through some old photographs, back from April 21st 2012 to be exact. That was the date of the Blocky Horror Picture Show, a double header hosted by the Dolly Rockit Rollers where my old league, Southern Discomfort Roller Derby, were playing the Cocked Tails. Now this was my last game with the SDRD travel team as I was in the process of moving to the US, and so it was my SDRD farewell.
Going into the final jam SDRD were up by 70 odd and we had a powerjam. As a thank you I was given the jammer star and got to choose who my two blockers would be on the track. As I skated to take up my position - and I'll never forget this - Rollin Ston'r turned to me, shook my hand and said thank you for everything you've done for the league. Most of what happened next - aside from the schooling I got from Jammie Dodger - was a bit of a blur, metaphorically and literally because I suddenly got all kinds of grit in my eye. But I did hear the crowd, most of whom had no idea who I was, chant my name. I got lead, scored 2 points, conceded 9, called the jam and was carried off the track, triumphant, in the arms of my team. And for that I got my first - and almost certainly only - MVP. As Ballistic said, "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a jammer score two points".
And this is where the be your own hero bit comes in. I never was - and never will be - a top derby player, nor even a mid tier one, but my contribution to the team wasn't on the track, it was off. I'd been one of the founding directors of SDRD and spent a lot of hours organising the rear end of the league with fellow masochists Sutton Impact and Henry the Sk8th, doing all the dull, grubby work so that the league could function and skaters could skate.
And that made me think about the line from Whip It once more: for every hero tearing up the track, be it Reaper, Stef Mainey, Bonnie Thunders, Hauss the Boss or whoever, there's someone who's been just as heroic in their own way behind the scenes, be that Danger, Bette Noir, Doc Skinner or Nicole Craft or countless others, most of whom may only be known to their on leaguemates. It's easy to forget all the work and effort that goes on behind the scenes and the countless hours that people put in to keep their league functioning and, if you think about it, the people who do that are just as important, if not more so, than the superstar players.
So there you have it and the next time you're on track, think back to the person or persons who may not be the greatest of skaters, but still put all their efforts into making your team as good as possible. Remember, while you're busy skating, they're busy being their own hero.
#f11 Jay PeggAlexander the Great
Askia
Otto von Bismarck
Augustus Caesar
Catherine
Darius
Elizabeth I
Mohandas K. Gandhi
Harun Al-Rashid
Hiawatha
Attic Greek."Hello, stranger! I am Alexandros, son of kings and grandson of the gods! (Χαῖρε, ξένε! Ἀλέξανδρος εἰμί, υἱός των ἀνάκτων και ἔκγονος τῶν θεῶν!)"As a matter of fact I too grow tired of peace. (μέντοι εγω και καμνω της ειρηνης(Bad grammar, since καμνω requires its object to be at accusative form. Thus της ειρηνης should be την ειρηνηνYou are in my way. You must be destroyed. (ει εν μοι ὁδῳ, δεῖ _______ ει(?)) Currently I'm thinking εξαιρειν (and assume they're contracting the sound to make the ε silent), but what I hear sounds like si-ta-nei(n)Defeated: "You have somehow became my undoing. What kind of beast are you? (απολεσας με πως ει! ποιος θηρ ει; )" (Also bad grammar: με is the accusative form of εγω, but to deliver the correct meaning (that is, my (undoing)), it should be in the genitive form, μου.)"You are being granted (an audience) (χαρίζεσθε"Go On. (Προσερχου.)"I'm listening. (Ακουω.)"Yes? (Ναι?)""Come. (Ελθε.)""Certainly! (σαφως!)""(I like It) very much. (Μαλιστα.)"Excellent!/For the very best! (Αριστα!)""Certainly not! (ου σαφως!)""We will stay away from it (ἀπεχώμεθα"It is necessary to refuse" (δεῖ μη ἀποδέχεσθαι"What? (Τι?)""You Say. (Ερ - Λεγεις.)""And? (Και?)""Come on. (Επελθε.)""Well done. (ευ γε"This is not pleasant! (Ταυτα ουχ ηδυ!)""You are not being earnest! (σπουδαῖος ουκ ει!)" (very tricky, since there is another σπουδαῑος, with the only difference in accent in the iota, which means quick)"Pardon me? (σύγγνωθι; )" (Bad pronunciation, as the two γ requires it to be pronounced ng, e.g. φαλαγγος pronounced phalangos)"Friend, does this seem good to you? (φιλε, δοκει σοι ταυτ' αγαθα; )"Zarma.I am Askia of the Songhai. We are a fair people - but those who cross us will find only destruction. You would do well to avoid repeating the mistakes others have made in the past.Greetings.Yes?Proceed.Very well.Yes! (Ah'hoh!)No.Of course not.Oh, it's you.And?Continue! (Sobay!)Oh, very well.All right.That's unacceptable.You cannot be serious!We decline.Fool. You have doomed your people to fire and destruction OR Wretched scoundrel! You shall pay for this!You will burn for this, I swear it!Villain! You are an abomination to heaven and earth. You shall be destroyed! or You are ignorant savages. You must be destroyed.We have been consumed by the fires of hatred and rage. Enjoy your victory in this world - you shall pay a heavy price in the next!We thank you for bringing an end to this pointless war.Can I interest you in this deal?Exaggerated German.In the name of the great German people, I welcome you. ("Im Namen des großen deutschen Volkes heiße ich Euch willkommen.")Depraved Villain! We will bury you (literally, "bring you under the Earth)! ("Verderbter Bösewicht! Wir werden Euch unter die Erde bringen!")I cannot wait until you grow even mightier, therefore: Prepare for war! ("Ich kann nicht warten bis Ihr noch mächtiger geworden seit. Bereitet Euch also auf den Krieg vor!")Germany has been destroyed. I weep for the future generations. ("Deutschland ist zerstört worden. Ich weine um die zukünftigen Generationen.")Well, Speak! ("Also - raus damit!")Well?! ("Und?!")Go On! ("Macht schon!")Well, tell me! ("Na, sagt schon!")Well, ok. ("Also, gut.")It seems I can't refuse. ("Ich kann wohl nicht anders.")That is unacceptable! ("Das ist inakzeptabel!")You can't be serious! ("Das kann doch nich' Euer ernst sein!")What now? ("Was nun?")Settled! ("Abgemacht!"): Alright! ("In Ordnung!")No. ("Nein.")We do not accept. ("Wir nehmen es nicht an.")What did you say? ("Was habt Ihr gesagt?")Move it! ("Vorwärts!")Yes? ("Ja?")What do you think about calling it a draw? ("Was haltet Ihr von einem Unentschieden")Well, I hope you have learned your lesson. ("Na gut, ich hoffe Ihr habt jetzt Eure Lektion gelernt.")Give us what we demand, if you want your wretched country to survive. ("Gebt uns, was wir verlangen, wenn Euer jämmerliches Land überleben soll.")It would be in your best interest, to carefully consider this proposal. ("Es wäre in Eurem Interesse, dass Ihr dieses Angebot sorgfältig prüft.")Classical Latin.: I greet you. I am Augustus, Emperor and Pontifex Maximus of Rome. If you are a friend of Rome, you are welcome. (Te saluto. Augustus sum, imperator et pontifex maximus romae. Si tu es Romae amicus, es gratus).: So strong, and still, so stupid. I hope your brains are similar to your force. (Tam fortis, tamen tam stupidus! Utinam habeas cerebrum simile tuae fortitudini.)The gods have deprived Rome of their favour. We have been defeated. (Dei fauorem a Roma reuocauerunt. superati sumus.)My treasury contains little and my soldiers are getting impatient. *sigh* Therefore you must die. (Aerarium meum paucum continet et milites turbidi fiunt...*sigh*...iguitur debes mori.)Give us what we want or else endure the consequences. (Da nobis quod uolumus aut consecutiones patere.)The god Mars (god of war) has once again smiled upon us. Thus shall all enemies of Rome be suppressed. (Deus Mars nobis iterum subrisit. Ita omnes hostes Romae comprimentur.)What do you want? (Quid vis?)Yes? (Etiam?)Continue. (Continua.): That is unpleasant/harsh/severe. (Iniucundum est.): You can't be serious! (Non potes esse gravis!): Oh. Good. (Oh. Bene.): Good. (Bene.)Welcome/hail. (Salve.): Begin. (Incipe.): Continue. (Procede.): No. (Non.): Certainly not! (Certo non!)Good. (Bene): I agree. (Consentio.)Your soldiers fought well. I congratulate you on your victory. (Milites tui bene pugnaverunt. Te gratulor propter victoriam tuam.)I offer this, for your consideration. (Hoc offero, ab te considerandum.)Russian.You've mistaken my passion for a weakness, you'll regret about this. Ты принял мою страсть за слабость, ты пожалеешь об этом. Ty prinyal moyu strastʹ za slabostʹ, ty pozhalyeeshʹ ob etom.You've behaved yourself very badly, you know it. Now it's payback time. Ты очень плохо себя вёл, ты это знаешь. Настал час расплаты. Ty ochenʹ plokho sebya vël, ty eto znaeshʹ. Nastal chas rasplaty.We were defeated, so this makes me your prisoner. I suppose there are worse fates. Мы были побеждены, так что я становлюсь твоей пленницей. Мне кажется это не самый худший удел. My byli pobezhdeny, tak chto ya stanovlyusʹ tvoyeĭ plennitsyeĭ. Mne kazhet•sya, eto ne samyĭ khudshiĭ udel.And? И? I?Forward. Дальше. Dalʹshe.Go on. Продолжай (Unpleasant tone). ProdolzhaĭWhat do you need? Что тебе нужно? Chto tebe nuzhno?Are you joking?! Ты шутишь?! Ty shutishʹ?!I beg your pardon!? Прошу прощения!? Proshu proshcheniya!?This is unacceptable. Это неприемлемо. Eto nepriemlemo.Oh... Very good. Ох... Очень хорошо. Okh... Ochenʹ khorosho.I think... I shall agree. Пожалуй, я...соглашусь. Pozhaluĭ, ya... soglashusʹ.Deal. Договорились (Neat tone). DogovorilisʹI greet you, stranger! If you are as intelligent and tactful as you are attractive, we'll get along just fine. Приветствую тебя, незнакомец! Если твой ум и такт сравнимы с твоей привлекательностью - мы замечательно поладим. Privet•stvuyu tebya, neznakomets! Yesli tvoĭ um i takt sravnimy s tvoyeĭ privlekatelʹnostʹyu - my zamechatelʹno poladim.Go on. Продолжай. (Polite tone). Prodolzhaĭ.Speak. Говори. Govori.Go on. Продолжай. (same line as 01) Prodolzhaĭ.Hello! Здравствуй! Zdravstvuĭ!Ha! Of course not! Ха! Разумеется, нет. Kha! Razumyeet•sya, net.We decline. Мы отказываемся. My otkazyvaemsya.Certainly not. Конечно нет. Konechno net.Deal. Договорились (Polite tone). Dogovorilisʹ.Wonderful. Прекрасно. Prekrasno.Very Good. Очень хорошо. Ochenʹ khorosho.Now it is time to enjoy the fruits of peace. Теперь пора насладиться плодами мира. Teperʹ pora nasladitʹsya plodami mira.How would you like it if I propose this kind of exchange? Как тебе понравится, если я предложу такой обмен? Kak tebe ponravit•sya, yesli ya predlozhu takoĭ obmen.Aramaic.What?! Y-you?...מא?! א-אנת ma? a-ant...You are less than a son of a donkey-driver! I shall crush you! תחתי, בר חמר! אדכך! taḥtay, bar ḥammar! adakakh!Ahh, you... אה, אנת... ah, entu...We say...No! אנחנן אמרין... לא! eneḥnan amrin... la!Of course not (lit. truly, no!)! לא בשרירא! la bisheriraYou were saying? אנת אמרת? enta amart?Onwards, speak! הילך, מר! heylakh, mar!Good day to you! יום טב לך! yom tav lakh!Certainly (lit. in truth) בשריר! besherirGood/beautiful! שפיר! shappir!You are not serious! (lit. your heart is not truthful) לבך לא שריר! libakh la sharir!Hello (lit. peace be upon you), I am Darius, the great and outstanding King of Kings. As you surely know already. שלמא עליך, אנא דריהוש מלכ מלכיא פרש רבא. להאן פנא ידעת. shlama 'alikh! ana Darihush malek malkaya paresh rabba. lehan fana yad'at.Go on! (lit. go!) זל! zal!I'm listening (lit. I hear/listen) שמענא sham'naVery Well. טב סגי tab sagiAgreed (lit. it has become agreeable) השתווא hishtawe[your offer is] not good enough (lit. it's missing a handful) חפנא חסרLet's call it a draw? (lit. we will call it even?) נקריא שויא? naqraya shwaye?Your???? is a shame for all the kings such as they are.???? you must be hanged! (executed by hanging) ערוא אל כל מלכיא בל מהו???? תליאתך???????? arwa el kul malkaya bal mahu.???? taliyatakh!Woe upon you! The blood of this king *will forever be a shame upon him* (not sure about this part) וי עליך! דמא דמלכנא??? עלם בוי דהוא wey alekh! dma dhimalkana???? alam bewey dahuBecause of all my great and endless????, just this time, I will face you as an equal. You will now surely accept this [offer], won't you? בכל רביא????? עלם, פנא שוא לך בקרם. תקבלי, א? bikul rabiya???? 'alam, fena shwe lakh beqaram. teqabeli eh?English (British accent)Intro: We are pleased to meet you.Attacked: We shall never surrender.Declares War: By the grace of God, your days are numbered.Defeated: You have triumphed over us. The day is yours.Hate Hello: Oh, it's you!Hate Let's Hear It: I'm listening.Hate Let's Hear It 02: You were saying?Hate Yes: Oh, very well!Hate Yes 02: I suppose I must!Hate No: You cannot be serious.Hate No 02: Of course not!Neutral Hear It: Go on.Neutral Hear It 02: Go ahead.Neutral Hello: Hello, again.Neutral No: I beg your pardon?Neutral No 02: That's unacceptable!Neutral Yes: Certainly!Neutral Yes 02: Very well!Peaceful: Well then, that's settled.Request: Would you be interested in a trade agreement with England?Hindi.On behalf of the Indian people, I extend a hand of friendship to you. (भारतीय जनता की ओर से में आपकी ओर दोस्ती का हाथ बढाता हूं।Bhāratīya janatā kī ōra sē mēṁ āpakī ōra dōstī kā hātha baḍhātā hūṁUnfortunately, not everyone in my country is as committed to non-violence as I am. (दुर्भाग्यवश, मेरे देश मे हर इंसान अहिंसा के प्रतीत इतना वचनबद नही है जितना की में।Durbhāgyavaśa, mērē dēśa mē hara insāna ahinsā kē pratīta itanā vacanabada nahī hai jitanā kī mēṁI have just received a report that large numbers of my troops have crossed your borders. (मुझें अभी-अभी सूचना मिली है की हमारे बहूत अधीक सिपाही आपकी सीमा मे घुस गये हैं।Mujhēṁ abhī-abhī sūcanā milī hai kī hamārē bahūta adhīka sipāhī āpakī sīmā mē ghusa gayē haiṁYou have defeated the innocent and the helpless. (आपने मासूम और असाह्य लोगों को हरा दिया।Āpanē māsūma aura asāhya lōgōṁ kō harā diyāWhat do you want? (आप क्या चाहते हैं?) Āpa kyā cāhatē haiṁAnd? (और?) Aura?Continue. (जारी रखें।Jārī rakhēṁOh. Very good. (ओह... बहूत अच्छे।Ōha... Bahūta acchēI think that I should do this. (In the context of accepting a deal) ( मेरे खयाल से मुझे यह करना ही चाहिये।Mērē khayāla sē mujhē yaha karanā hī cāhiyēThis is not acceptable. (यह मान्यलायक नही हैं।Yaha mān'yalāyaka nahī haiṁYou are probably not serious. (Equivalent of "Surely, you can't be serious?) (आप शायद गंभीर नही हैं।Āpa śāyada gambhīra nahī haiṁWhat did you say?! (क्या कहां?) Kyā kahāṁI wish you peace. (में आपकी शांती की कामना करता हूं।Mēṁ āpakī śāntī kī kāmanā karatā hūṁOK. (ठीक हैं।Ṭhīka haiṁWe co-operate. (Less accurately, "We agree.") (हम सहमत हैं।Hama sahamata haiṁNo doubt. (बेशक।BēśakaVery good. (बहूत खूब।Bahūta khūbaNo. (नही।NahīAbsolutely not. (बिलकुल नही।Bilakula nahīI'm listening. (में सुन रहा हूं।Mēṁ suna rahā hūṁYes? (हां?) HāṁWhat were you saying? (आप क्या कह रहे थे?) Āpa kyā kaha rahē thēI am happy that it is once again peaceful at our place, even if we had to pay a price for it. ("At our place" may sound awkward, but it was awkwardly translated to begin with.) (मुझे खुशी है की हमारे यहां फिर से एक बार शांती कायम हो गयी हैं, चाहें इसके लिये हमें कीमत चुकानी पडी हो।Mujhē khuśī hai kī hamārē yahāṁ phira sē ēka bāra śāntī kāyama hō gayī haiṁ, cāhēṁ isakē liyē hamēṁ kīmata cukānī paḍī hōMy friend, are you interested in this arrangement? (मेरे दोस्त, क्या इस इंतजाम में आपकी दिलचस्पी है?) Mērē dōsta, kyā isa intajāma mēṁ āpakī dilacaspī hai?Formal ArabicWelcome foreigner, I am Harun Al-Rashid, Caliph of the Arabs. Come and tell me about your empire..مرحبا أيها العجمي. أنا هارون الرشيد، خليفة العرب. هلم إليَّ وحدثني عن إمبراطوريتك marHeben eyyuhel Ejemeey. enaa haaroon arrasheed, khaleefetul Arab. helumma ileyya wa Heddithnee En imbraaTooreeyatik.Ridiculous! You will soon regret dearly! I swear on that!.أحمق. سوف تندم أشد الندم. أقسم على ذلك eHmaK. saofa tendemu esheddun nedem. aKsimu Elaa dhaalik.The world will be more beautiful without you. Prepare for war..سيكون العالم أجمل من دونك. إستعدٌ للحرب seyekoonul Aalemu ejmelu min doonik. isteEdd lil Harb.You have won, congratulations. My palace is now your possession, and I beg that you care well for the peacock. لقد انتصرت. تهانينا. قصري الآن هو ملكك، وأتمنى أن تهتم جيداً بالطاووس laKadintaSart. tehaaneenen. KaSriyel aan huwa mulkuk, wa etemennaa en tehtemma jeyyiden biTTaawoos.Can we do business? Your advisers can explain to you this matter if you do not understand..هل بإمكاني التجارةُ معك؟ قد يشرح لك مستشاروك هذا الأمر إذا |
as rivers that seem to vanish, indicating that they have been channeled into sewers, and neighbourhood features such as parks, schools and community centres". (Just a little note of caution, some of the Index maps on the site are not correctly georeferenced to the maps covered).
The Maple Leaf Stadium (built in 1926) from a 1950 Aerial Photo. The stadium was home to Toronto's Maple Leafs baseball team and was demolished in 1968; the area now forms Little Norway Park.
This site maps the restaurants and stores voted "best in Toronto" in each of Toronto's Neighbourhoods.
6. The Changing Shape of Ontario (from the Archives of Ontario)
This set of pages provides very good historical political information that documents, through maps, the evolution of the Ontario boundaries, including those of York and Toronto.
Our province was once divided into four districts. In 1792 York East Riding appeared in the 'Home' District.
The City's Map page contains a treasure trove of geographic information, beginning with this Interactive Map where one can select and view 30 different map attributes (e.g. the locations of childcare centres, bike ways, traffic cameras, ravines, etc.) under 7 category headings (e.g. Administrative Boundaries, Community, Transportation). For those interested in GIS, detailed information is available through the Open Data portal, where citizens are encouraged to create apps that will enhance 'living in Toronto' - view over 700 data sets and files! The Other Maps page lists dozens and dozens of maps that will be of interest to anyone in the city: from Road Restrictions, to Tennis Courts, to Recreational Facilities.
It is easy to create a map like this which shows the location of Fire, Police, Libraries, and Public Transit. This one comes from Healthy Living Toronto.
And last, but not least, the City of Toronto hosts two indispensable and related demographic maps very important for policy development and urban planning: Neighbourhood Profiles and Ward Profiles.
Zoning can be a complicated matter, but this map, along with the list of amendments for any changes subsequent to the last posted update, should be current. For any zoning issues or questions prior to 1998 (the year of amalgamation), consult the former municipalities' individual zoning by-laws kept in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department of the Toronto Reference Library, 2nd Floor, and/or contact the City Clerk's Office (416-392-8016).
This collection includes over 100 maps of Toronto and the Don River Valley watershed ranging from 1780 to 1962, including city planning, environment & conservation, fire insurance plans, historic, topographic and waterfront. These images are available to view in JPEG or TIF format. The project has also compiled a number of geospatial data sets which are presented in formats that are not compatible with TPL computers.
These websites provide political boundary maps for Federal and Ontario Provincial Electoral Districts in Toronto.
Many of us are familiar with Environment Canada Weather Radar, but Environment Canada also monitors local and regional environmental indicators using multiple accessible map and data formats.
According to Nathan Ng, this "themed collection of site-specific historical maps and images was put together in collaboration with the Friends of Fort York. The project explores the evolution of the Fort, and the surrounding 1,000 acres comprising the Military Reserve/Garrison Common, an area including the CNE, CAMH, and Liberty Village." (see Nathan's comment below).
Blockhouse and battery in Old Fort, Toronto
This U.S. site catalogues over one million images of the Earth from space: the "service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate". An interactive map search function allows users to focus in on any area of the Earth they choose. There are thousands of pictures of Canadian cities captured from space, including many of Toronto.
Credit: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center
In 2013, with the curiosity of a historian, Nathan Ng asked, "How did ‘Muddy York’ develop into the modern metropolis we live in?"
In the process of answering this question, Nathan assembled "these important maps from our past" that "reveal the essential tension of this city — between the quest for growth, and the heavy influence of what came before. They reflect a municipality in constant flux, and give insight into our contemporary urban identity."
Detail of the Toronto Purchase: "a treaty negotiated between the British and the resident Indians in 1787"
This website can be a bit confusing to use, but it is important to include here because it contains a large amount of Ontario provincial public information. The LIO has a "data warehouse with more than 300 data sets that include geographic information on Ontario’s road network, trails, wetlands, lakes, river and streams, parks and protected areas, soil types, heritage sites, airports, official names, and municipal boundaries." The LIO is part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry: for an interesting detour see, "12 pages within the topic: Natural resources maps" by MNRF.
The Ontario Open Data website will lead you to data sets that will test your mapping skills.
There are around 200 digital maps of Toronto ranging in date from 1788 to 1933 at this site. The map collection covers a variety of types and topics including aerial photographs, base maps, city planning, fire insurance plans, historic, land use & zoning, municipal services, parks & recreation, roads & transportation, and waterfront. Most digital maps are easily viewable in PDF format.
Imagine... Toronto might have had its own Pentagon. Above: detail from the 1833 Royal Engineer Office "Sketch of the Ground Plan of a projected Place d'armes for the position of York, Upper Canada".
Search Tip: All records in the Maps, Chart and Plans Collection are accessible using the Archives Search tool. Search for Toronto using the "Title Keyword" search option to eliminate maps published in Toronto. Beside "Type of material" select "Maps and cartographic material". Also, try searching for the term "York" in "Title Keyword", then use the operator "NOT" entering "New" to eliminate maps published in New York. The results of these searches can be narrowed to display only maps that are available online.
17. Strava (note: this is the only site in this guide that requires you to create an account)
This site is designed primarily for biking and running enthusiasts and is a good example of how big data (using GPS) can be applied to GIS mapping. Cyclists and runners can search or browse for'segments' (stretches of timed sections on maps) and load their own timed results to compare them with others times.
But since nearly one-half of the millions of uploaded GPS activities are for travel commutes, the billions of data points collected using GPS technology "when aggregated, enable deep analysis and of understanding of real-world cycling and pedestrian route preferences"; and according to Strava Metro: using Strava in "departments of transportation and city planners, as well as advocacy groups and corporations, can make informed and effective decisions when planning, maintaining, and upgrading cycling and pedestrian corridors."
Even at this scale, you can see from this "Heatmap" by Strava Labs that the natural settings along the Don River are the most popular routes.
The City of Toronto Archives "has over 10,000 maps and aerial photographs in its collection". Fire Insurance Plans and Historical Maps and Atlases are available through the online maps portal. You can search the whole Toronto Archives collection, print and electronic or conduct an advanced search.
This small detail comes from a Plan of Toronto Harbour, Joseph Bouchette, 1792
19. Toronto Fire Insurance Plans & Index (from the University of Toronto Map Library)
This large collection of public domain Fire Insurance Plans is now accessible through an index that "allows you to identify and download out-of-copyright fire insurance plans (1889-1922)". The very useful "Index Map" includes detailed information about the plans: volume number, date, and plan number.
This Plan was published only 8 years before a great fire ripped through UC and destroyed its interior. Note that the heights of towers are indicated in these plans.
Here is another excellent resource put together by Nathan Ng. This easy-to-use interactive map allows researchers to see changes across the city for select years beginning in 1818, and going forward to present times. The site is especially useful for tracking street and road changes.
From the "About" section - "About the cached maps: Data was collected from the University of Toronto Map and Data Library, Toronto Public Library, Library and Archives Canada, and City of Toronto Archives.The maps were created from digital scans of the original plat maps Charles E. Goad, James Cane, and others. Thanks to Nathan Ng for organizing these great maps into one location, via his Historical Maps of Toronto project. About the Viewer and Data: Using ArcGIS 10.2, the raw images were georeferenced and created into mosaic data sets. The data sets were then cached and published using ArcGIS Server. The viewer is built [with] ArcGIS Viewer for Flex. This is a sister project to the Pittsburgh and Cleveland historic mapping viewers."
In this detail from the 1842 map, you can see in the upper right two important city landmarks: St James Cathedral and St Lawrence Market.
Use this site to find almost a thousand digitized maps of Toronto published between 1788 and 1913. The collection includes base maps, city planning maps, fire insurance plans, historic and waterfront maps. All maps are in JPEG format.
Search tip: In the Digital Archive Search box type: "Toronto Maps", then sort by Subject, e.g. "Fire Insurance Plans", Financial District", etc.
We have organized some of the mapping resources that are part of this list, so expect to see some duplication in terms of content.
This interactive page was designed to link you to library resources on Toronto's unique neighbourhoods.
Click on the part of the Toronto map below to be linked to digitized maps and photos of your neighbourhood.
Importantly, also find references to your neighbourhood in print books held in our collections, (e.g. Tales of North Toronto) and in ebooks (e.g. North Toronto in pictures, 1889-1912) that you can read online.
This site includes dozens of interesting and useful blog posts that contain maps that have been created by various enthusiasts. If you want maps on biking, rental housing, schools, ethnic distribution, public transit, ghosts, and more - you'll find them here.
This "Typographic" Map of Toronto is made entirely of words - now that's different.
Use this site to find hundreds of maps of Toronto ranging in date from 1780 to 1990. Maps in this collection contain the following types and topics: aerial photographs, base maps, city planning, historic, land use & zoning, roads & transportation, topographical and waterfront. There are maps of Toronto neighbourhoods and suburbs. Some are ZIP files which are inaccessible on a TPL computer. Some maps and most of the large GIS data inventory of Toronto materials are restricted to University of Toronto students and faculty.
This map marks out lands for sale in the area of King Street and Bathurst Street.
Conclusion:
This list is a'snapshot' of some of the sites available at this time. As you can see, there is now a wealth of mapping resources covering Toronto. Many more obvious and popular mapping websites are not even covered here, e.g. MapQuest, Google Maps (including "Street View" and Photos) & Earth, and Yellow Pages. Incidentally, did you know that Google now provides select interior views as part of "Street View", e.g. CN Tower, and even higher? We can expect to see huge developments and changes in the years ahead where it comes to these and other sites. More data and more real time mapping are sure to come (like Google Traffic and Waze). We might also see improved detailed realistic graphical displays of terrain and features - change is certain. Even in the space of three years, you can see how quickly the situation has evolved by comparing this list with Exploring Maps Online Part 1,2,&3: Major Sources of Digital Maps of Toronto.
In addition to the online sources listed in this guide, you are always welcome to come in to see what we have in print in the Map Collection at the Toronto Reference Library.
If there are any sites that you think should be on this list but are not, please tell us about these by posting a comment and link on this blog post.
Birds-eye view of Toronto, 1886. For full description, click here. Open in Full Size.
"What is it but a map of busy life,
Its fluctuations and its vast concerns?"
William Cowper - The Task (1785)
p.s. Click on most of the map examples above to be taken directly to the map featured.I have long held that compassion and choice are two issues that play a part in nearly every men’s issue. But why? What do compassion and choice have to do with male suicide or male victims of domestic violence or just about any other men’s issue? Quite a bit actually. Let’s take a look at why compassion and choice are limited for men and then see how compassion and choice are essential ingredients to the issues.
The origins of the lack of compassion and choice for men is gynocentrism. When you start to understand gynocentrism you will start to better understand the plight of men and boys. Gynocentrism at its most basic, is the mandate that women and children be kept safe and provided for at the expense of men. In other words, men are designated to insure the safety and provisions for women and children on an individual level, the family level, community level and on a macro level. This is not a totally bad thing. It has been what has created and maintained many cultures for millennia. As Stefan Molyneux says, “Eggs are scarce and sperm is plentiful.” This means we have needed to sacrifice our sperm in order to insure the safety of our eggs. Without women the culture dies a quick death. Women must be protected. Gynocentrism protects those who carry the eggs and does this at the expense of its men. This has been a very important element to our cultural success but it does come at a price.
One consequence of protecting the women is that the men will need to at times face danger. The women need to be kept safe and the men will protect the boundary and sometimes die in that process. Our human history of gynocentrism is longer and deeper than most assume. We think of the hunter gatherers as serene and bucolic but that was sometimes far from the truth and gynocentrism predominated. Research shows that some South American hunter gatherer groups faced huge numbers of deaths of their men protecting the women and children.1 One group averaged the death of nearly 60% of its males in protecting the women from inter tribal attacks that were among other things, designed to steal the other group’s women! (the average for the groups studied was near 30% male deaths as a result of raids, ambush or larger scale conflicts) He who had the most women wins and these groups made a huge sacrifice of their males to insure they kept their women and children safe.
In its most obvious we can see how gynocentrism plays out when we note that men automatically and without question are the ones facing danger in our culture. Our war dead are nearly 100% male. Our deaths in dangerous occupations are 93% men. Our trashmen and sewage workers are nearly all male. The dirtiest and most dangerous jobs are jobs for men. No one questions this. It just seems right. This is the hidden power of gynocentrism. No one questions and no one notices. Hell, if women actually got equality to the above it would be a huge step down for them.
But gynocentrism runs much deeper than simply being about protecting the borders and doing the dangerous work. It has its tendrils into just about everything, silently and without fanfare. What happens when a woman has a flat tire? How many people have seen the help she will usually garner from men? Now think about what happens if a man has a flat tire. Does he get a similar treatment? Probably not. This is gynocentrism. When there are problems we jump to help women but expect the men to handle it themselves even in today’s atmosphere of “equality”.
What happens when a woman is upset and falls into a sea of tears? Pretty much the same thing as the flat tire. People hover to offer support and see what might be wrong and what they can do. But what happens when men fall into a similar sea? People ignore him and avoid him. It is almost as if a woman’s pain is a call to action while a man’s pain is taboo. Compassion offered to men is a fraction of the compassion offered to women.
There are a number of youtube videos that employ actors to portray men beating women in public. The women are shown to get immediate support and help from male onlookers who see the violence. They quickly jump to her aid not knowing it is an arranged scene. These same videos then reverse the roles and show the women beating men in a similar manner and no one lifts a finger, in fact, they laugh. This is gynocentrism. We expect to help the women and expect the men to help themselves. Note also that we allow women to be dependent but do not allow the same for men.
On an even simpler level think of a man and a woman at work who need to move some boxes from one location to another. Some are heavy, some are light. Who will be moving the heavy ones? It is a foregone conclusion that the man will most often move the largest boxes and will protect her from having to do hard labor. This is gynocentrism.
And then there is the question of attractiveness. When a woman is attractive she gets special perks simply due to her appearance. No man can come close to having a similar response. This is gynocentrism. The eggs are protected and the attractive eggs get very special treatment.
Think of that attractive woman being tied to the railroad tracks. What does that do to the hearts and minds of most people? Most of us have an inborn reaction that says DO SOMETHING to help her. But what about a man tied to the tracks? Is your reaction the same or different? Yes, you likely want to see him helped but is it the same gut wrenching sensation? The plots of many movies and novels are fueled by this gynocentric scenario. We all want the woman tied to the tracks safely released even if it means the death of numerous men in the process. A woman’s needs are a call to action while a man’s needs are often just ignored. He needs to save her!
Just think for a minute what would happen to a man in the military who started complaining that we needed to have more female war deaths in order to make things equal for everyone. How would he be received? All hell would break loose at this questioning of the gynocentric norm and disregard for the safety of women. We see something similar when the opposite happens and men voice their desires for equal opportunities for services for men in things like domestic violence. Those who stand up for the needs of men in our gynocentric culture are seen as misogynistic, that is, they are routinely accused of hating women simply for pointing out the needs of men. Can you see how the fuel for this is gynocentrism?
Another example of extreme gynocentrism is boot camp in the army. What is done? The recruit is taught that he is nothing. He is now not an individual, he is a part of a fighting group. His personal identity is deleted and he is taught to fight for the group, for a cause. He no longer exists. There is no compassion for his personal feelings and needs. Those are a distant second. He also has zero choice. He does what he is told. That is the extreme gynocentric model that plays out to one degree or another in our everyday life.
Do we care about the feelings of the woman tied to the tracks? Oh yes. Do we care about the feelings of the hero who rescues her? No. We care about his actions. His emotions are not important unless his feelings are about HER. Do we care about the emotions of the boot camp recruit? Nope. We care about his actions and what he does. His feelings need to be kept to himself. In the same way, under the gynocentric default we tend to care about the emotions of women but will be averse to the emotions of men. Our interest moves more towards his actions. Think about the last time you saw a woman cry in public. What was your reaction? Most of us want to help, want to offer support. We are drawn to her neediness. Now think about a man crying under the same circumstances you saw the woman. Are you as open to his tears as the woman? Most of us say no, we are not. We are repulsed by his neediness. The man is not expected to be needy, he is expected to have agency. If he is seen as needy he is judged harshly. This is gynocentrism.
These sorts of advantages for women have been going on for many years. In the 19th century men would strive to do the best job of keeping women safe and provided for. Just read their diaries and the diaries of their wives. These men put women on a pedestal. They thought of them as angelic and would try their best to not have them sully themselves with the grime of daily life outside the home. They worked hard to have them stay away from “dirty”things like the workplace or money. They did this because they saw women as worthy of protection (gynocentrism) and were happy to take on the extra burden in order to keep her safe. Then along comes feminism which makes the incredibly noxious and inaccurate claim that women were not held in high esteem at all, they were being oppressed. They took the protections that women had benefited from for centuries and spun them into being oppression. In my opinion this is the biggest lie of the 20th century and it has left a wake of chaos and vitriol. Women now actually believe themselves to be victims and that they have been shortchanged and oppressed. These are the same women who didn’t have to go to war, didn’t have to do the dirty work of building or maintaining the culture, were held in high esteem and basically worshiped (as American as Mom and Apple Pie) now see this as oppression. Houdini could not have done a more impressive magic trick.
So what do you think happened? It could be easily predicted that gynocentrsim would insure that when women appear to be in danger or need that men will jump and meet those needs as best they can. That’s the way both men and women are programmed. And that is just what happened. The feminists claimed to be tied to the tracks and rode, and continue to ride the gynocentric wave of men keeping women safe. Their unfounded claims that women were oppressed and held back have been taken seriously by well meaning highly gynocentric males, including male legislators. These claims of women being tied to the tracks and needing government intervention were welcomed by our gynocentric legislators who wanted to bend over backwards to help women. Over the years women have been given more and more while simultaneously continuing to enjoy the same gynocentric advantages they have been getting for hundreds of years. Our legislators have backed themselves into a corner and are now afraid to say no. They know that they have been hijacked but don’t have the courage to say no to saving a damsel in distress. Saying no would insure a loss in the next election.
This was the beginning of what I like to call Gynocentrism 2.0. The cultural imperative of caring for women continues and is now amplified by false claims of women having been oppressed. Simultaneously Gynocentrism 2.0 showed not only increased focus on the needs and desires of women, it also made a dramatic switch. Men in gynocentrism 1.0 were held in high esteem when they followed through with their role. They were both respected and admired and this was fuel for the masculine. Both sexes were held in high esteem. Now that fuel for men has run out as the admiration and respect has been gaudily replaced with disdain and blame. Incredibly, now men are seen as the problem and held accountable for social problems as if they were the cause. It is all the men’s fault. Much is said about men not doing very well these days but very few people note this important shift. When you don’t put fuel in the engine it ain’t goin too far.
In Gynocentrism 2.0 entire bureaucracies are built to serve women and cater to their difficulties but there are rarely any such bureaucracies built for men. The women are left with a choice of whether to seek help at a government funded facility (payed for with mostly male tax dollars) built for them while the men are left with no choices.
One of the best examples of this is the issue of domestic violence where we have known for decades that men are a sizable portion (likely nearing 50%) of the victims of domestic violence but all of the laws and services are built for women. We spend nearly a billion dollars a year for the Violence Against WOMEN Act (VAWA) that marginalizes the 50% of male victims. Recent research exposed the sad fact that when men who are the victims of domestic violence go to these government funded services for help they are treated very poorly. Often when the men are victims of domestic violence and they turn to the government funded services they are told that they are not victims of domestic violence, they are accused of being the perpetrators! They then send him to treatment for perpetrators! Researchers are calling this third party abuse, when the government bureaucracy as a third party, participates in the continued abuse of a victim. This is gynocentrism 2.0 which leaves no compassion for men and far fewer choices in seeking help.
I was involved in lobbying for male victims of domestic violence during the reauthorization of the VAWA in both 2005 and 2012. Our group was well received by then Senator Biden. He and his staff listened to our data and stories about male victims in several meetings at his Senate office. He assured us we would be a part of the hearings. When the hearing came not one of our group was allowed to speak. I couldn’t believe it. Biden was totally aware of the problem of male victims and intentionally sabotaged our efforts to find support for men. It was then that I realized how deeply our system is biased and non-functional. Gynocentrism 2.0.
It’s important to point out that our government has been pushing a gynocentric agenda for some time. In the 1960’s President Johnson set in motion the War on Poverty which proceeded to demand the removal of black fathers from their families in order for mom to get welfare. Now our family courts are doing something similar as they remove fathers from the home through no fault on the fathers part. The woman’s needs come first, father’s a distant second.
My state of Maryland created a Commission for Men’s Health a number of years ago. I was fortunate to serve as the vice chair of that commission and wrote three of the four reports that were to be sent to the governor. The reports I wrote were what I call “male friendly.” That is, they voiced and considered the needs of men without bowing to the prevailing political correctness. The chairman of the commission wrote the other report which was a bit more what the Health Department, our host agency, was anticipating. All four reports were unanimously approved by the full commission. When the commission’s work was done and it came time to file the reports to the governor and a host of other Maryland politicians and get them into the Maryland State Library the Health Department only filed the report that was written by the Chairman. They were confronted with this and said, “ooops, we will file it now.” But they didn’t. It took a year to track down the files and finally get them into the Maryland system. The full story of this event will be told in a chapter in Janice Fiamengo’s upcoming book. It couldn’t be more clear that when the needs of men were given voice, the status quo balked. It seems that our mid level bureaucrcrats are filled with gynocentrism 2.0.
I think you can see now how women’s complaints and our legislators zealous rush to help them have turned things topsy turvy. Rape shield laws have been written to protect the rape victims and this is a good thing. But those same laws failed to protect the accused man. His name can be released to the media prior to any conviction. Her name is permanently protected while his name is plastered all over the media and he has his life ruined simply due to an accusation which may or may not be proven false. Gynocentrism 2.0.
Another example is the issue of suicide where males are 80% of all completed suicides. Incredibly this 80% fact is rarely mentioned in the media leaving most people unaware that the biggest risk factor in suicide is being male. It is not surprising that females get the majority of attention around suicide both clinically and in research. This even though men are the vast majority of those needing help. In 2009 the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) did some research on suicide. I was shocked to see it was a study on girls! I wrote to then NASW Director Elizabeth Clark and asked why the research focused on girls when it was men and boys who were the vast majority of suicides. She wrote me back and said that the funder for the research had specified to only study girls. Just imagine for a moment someone who funded research for Sickle Cell Disease but stipulated the research had to be on whites. Can you imagine the outrage? Blacks are 60-80% of those with Sickle Cell disease and to study only whites would be seen as totally racist but somehow studying only girls and suicide is okay. That is gynocentrism.
Our gynocentric legislators have outlawed any form of genital mutilation of females but have failed to do the same for our baby boys. Boys routinely undergo a surgical removal of part of their penis without anesthesia. Of course the baby boys scream during and after this mutilation. Some nurses say they have seen baby boys scream for days after. Many are thinking today that this trauma creates PTSD for those males who have been circumcised and presently about four out of every 5 males in the United States has suffered this mutilation. Research is showing that psychological impact of circumcision on boys is similar to the psychological impact for girls who have undergone genital mutilation. This procedure is damaging our boys while most people think it is simple little snip. Wrong. We care about our little girls but fail in mustering enough compassion for boys to shelter them from such barbaric treatment and we give them no choice. Gynocentrism.
In healthcare we have seen our legislators create seven national commissions for women’s health but none for men. We have official government web sites for womenshealth.gov and girlshealth.gov but just look at what happens when you go to menshealth.gov or boyshealth.gov. Nothing. You find a 404 page not found error. It does not exist. Get the picture? When anyone starts looking critically at our world it becomes clear that gynocentrism is at its core. We constantly hear criticism of men not going to the doctor etc but look at the concern for their health above by not even having a web site. Women in need get the help and men just need to take care of themselves. Just like the flat tire we talked about above. And no one is even aware this is going on.
Warren Farrell put together a group of clinicians, academics, researchers, authors and other experts on men and boys who wrote a proposal for a White House Council on Boys and Men. I was happy to be included as one of those who put the proposal together. President Obama had created a council for women and girls as soon as he got into office. Now he was being asked to do the same for boys and men. One of our group members, a man named Willie Isles was an executive with the Boy Scouts and had a meeting scheduled with the President. The plan was for Willie to have two Boy Scouts introduce the idea of the White House Council on Boys and Men to the President. Just before that meeting was to take place the discussion of a council for boys and men was struck from the agenda. It was forbidden to even be discussed. Gynocentrism anyone?
There is an anti-male bias in mental health research. One study on teen relationship violence found that boys and girls are suffering from this problem at similar rate. But once the research is translated into news articles it only focuses on the hardships the girls face. Worse yet, once the study is translated by legislators into an action plan to help the teen violence problem the only ones offered assistance are the girls while the boys are blamed. Yes, boys are abused but they simply don’t get compassion. Gynocentrism
In one study about childhood rape the researchers found that boys were more often the victims of actual childhood rapes than the girls. Then in writing up their research failed to specifically include this information about boys as victims of rape. Furthermore, when they went to the media they also failed to mention the fact that they have found that boys were raped more often than girls. Gynocentrism.
Title IX — Has been a great help to girls and athletics but has dismantled over 1000 men’s college teams. We focus on helping women but ignore the pain of men.
We have all heard of the racial sentencing bias where blacks tend to get stiffer sentences than whites for the same crime. But the research is telling us that there is a bias that is six times as large as the racial bias that sentences men to longer sentences than women. Yet, we hear nothing of this in the media and no one seems to care. Clearly the judges have less compassion for men and offer them far less choice.
I have seen a number of men in therapy who came to me when their wives wanted an abortion and they (the men) wanted to keep the child. The men were powerless to do anything. Can you see how these men had no choice in the matter? His wife said, “My body, my choice” and he said “My child, your choice, I have none.” He had no choice and if he had said something I feel sure he would have heard some variation of big boys don’t cry. Know what I mean? Can you see how no one really cares or offers them compassion for their plight? Compassion and Choice.
Look at men’s clubs and men’s spaces that have been traditional places for men to gather. Gone. They have been opened to women and not replaced with anything that would give men a safe place to simply gather with other men. Men gathering became the enemy with the accusation of secret deals that would keep women out of business dealings. At the same time all women’s clubs have soared. Women only gyms, women only parking places, women only subway cars, women only everything….but no comparable opportunities for men. There are even groups that keep track of all of the groups for women. One is The National Association of Commissions for Women which keeps track of the literally hundreds of commissions for women. That is gynocentrism 2.0 on steroids.
Instead of thinking of choice for men, the majority of our gynocentric culture are thinking instead the word “should.” Men should do this, men should do that and if they don’t, they are not really men. Most men are caught in this drama that researchers are calling “precarious manhood” where men are forced to prove their worth repeatedly in order to be called men. Women do not face a similar situation.
Professions are not immune to Gynocentrism. The profession of social work is a prime example. This group is focused on women and ignores the needs and the hardships of men. Their educational system offers classes on just about every possible client to work with including women, gays, handicapped, children but fails to teach their charges even the first thing about men and boys. This even though men and boys make up a good portion of the clientele they will be working with.
Our focus has been on a larger scale or macro level and it is very easy to see the imbalance in so many spheres. The point here is not that the services that have been created were not a good thing or were undeserved. Many of the services offered have been very helpful to women and girls. The point here is that it has been a very one sided ride with nearly all the services going to women and girls and the men and boys basically ignored. Men and boys have simply not gotten compassion and choice. Gynocentrism 2.0.
But let’s take a quick look at the impact of gynocentrism on a micro level. We have seen so far that the public has very little interest in men’s emotions. While that is surely true on a macro level it is also the case on the micro. What is the tired and hackneyed message that the some women offer her man? Oh, they say “You are not dealing with your feelings.” I hope you can see now that this sort of shaming is really an excuse to NOT deal with his emotions. Much has been written by gynocentric types about men’s not emoting in public, or men not emoting like women, while maintaining the underlying assumption that there must be something wrong with them. But almost nothing has been written about the brick wall men face when they do emote. When men have emotions people disappear. No one wants to hear it.
What I have seen repeatedly is that men have very different ways to process emotions. Ways that are invisible to most. They have likely developed these different ways due to the prevalence of gynocentrism and are happy with their paths to work with their own emotions and gladly take care of things on their own without fanfare and “help.” The saddest part of this is that most women simply do not see his different ways and assume he is “doing it wrong” since it isn’t like what she does.
Conclusion
Gynocentrism creates a cultural default both on a micro and macro level where women’s distress is a call to action and a man’s distress is seen at best as a distraction and at worst a taboo. This leaves men being offered considerably less compassion and fewer choices. In the past 50 years the original gynocentric defaults have morphed into gynocentrism 2.0 which has seen a huge increase in both the lop-sided services favoring women and the disdain and blame focused on men.
Very few people are conscious of this habitual default, they simply assume it is just the way the world works.
Becoming more and more aware of gynocentrism makes it easier to see why men are 80% of the completed suicides but are basically ignored. It makes sense now that men are nearly 50% of the victims of domestic violence but are routinely disregarded. It makes sense now why boys genital |
Lara/June 30 State prosecutor from human rights division commissioned to investigate.
Engerberth Duque Chacon, 25 Protester Disputed Interior Ministry has stated he was killed while handling an improvised explosive during a rally. Opposition figures have disputed this, claiming he was killed by a tear gas canister. Incident occurred in Tariba, Cardenas municipality, Tachira/ July 4 Investigation ongoing
José Luis Rivas Aranguren, 42 Chavista candidate for transport sector of National Constituent Assembly. Unknown Rivas was participating in a public assembly on the constituent national assembly. He was shot eleven times in the face when he stood up to speak. The attacker was in the audience and fled after opening fire. Aragua/July 10 The MP has dispatched a district attorney to investigate.
Rubén Darío González Jiménez, 16 Bystander Unknown. Opposition sources have suggested he was killed by security forces. Gonzalez died after being shot in the ribs during an opposition protest. Initial reports suggested he was involved in the protest, though his family has denied this. La Isabelica de Valencia, Valencia/July 10 The MP has dispatched a district attorney to investigate.
Miguel Angel Villalobos Urdaneta Bystander Opposition roadblock. Villalobos died after attempting to swerve an opposition roadblock at around 11pm and losing control of his vehicle. Maracaibo/July 10 None to date.
Xiomara Escot Opposition voter Unidentified assailants. Opposition has blamed pro-government civilians. Escot was gunned down while waiting in line to vote during the opposition's unofficial referendum. Three other people were also injured. Caracas/July 16 MP is investigating.
Hector Anuel Unknown Opposition protesters. Anuel was allegedly hit by a mortar, before being burned and beaten by opposition protesters. Anzoategui/July 18 MP is investigating
Robert Lugo Presumed protester Unclear, though opposition has blamed state security forces. Lugo was killed amid protests in Valencia, Carabobo. Opposition figures claim he was shot by security forces during clashes, though this hasn't been officially confirmed. Valencia/July 20 MP is investigating.
Andres Uzcategui, 23 Presumed protester Unclear, though opposition has blamed state security forces. Uzcategui was killed amid protests in Valencia, Carabobo, possibly in the same incident as Robert Lugo. Opposition figures claim he was shot by security forces during clashes, though this hasn't been officially confirmed. Valencia/July 20 MP is investigating.
Jhovanna Martínez, 15 Protester Unclear, though MP has suggested he was a protester. Martínez was killed amid protests around 8pm, when the MP says a "group of armed motorists allegedly fired at those present". Pomona, Manuel Dagnino, Maracaibo/July 20 MP is investigating.
Ronny Tejera, 24 Presumed protester Unclear Tejera was killed in a firefight that took place amid protests. Some opposition figures claim he may have been killed by state security forces. Los Teques, Miranda/July 20 MP is investigating.
Rafael Balsa Vergara, 30 Presumably protester Disputed The cause of death is disputed with local opposition-aligned press accusing the National Guard of firing at point blank range, a version of events authorities have denied. Ejido, Merida/ July 26 MP is investigating.
Oneiver Quiñones Ramirez, 30 Merida state police Presumably opposition militants Shot in the head while attempting to clear a street barricade at midday on Thursday, according to the MP report. Merida/wounded July 27, died July 28 MP is investigating.
Enderson Caldera, 24 Presumably protester Uncertain Killed during violent clashes between opposition militants and authorities, which saw the latter set fire to the town hall and local police headquarters. The precise cause of death is not yet known. Merida/July 26 MP is investigating.
Leonardo Gonzalez Barreto, 49 Presumably protester Local police Reportedly shot by local police in the vicinity of a protest. Carabobo/July 27 CICPC has traced the armament fired to the local police and arrested the officers allegedly responsible.
Jose Miguel Pestano, 23 Presumably protester Uncertain Killed during confrontations between anti-government protesters and authorities. Further details concerning exact cause of death have yet to be made available. Cabudare, Lara/July 27 MP is investigating.
Rafael Canache, 28 Possibly a looter Unclear Shot dead in a looting, according to the MP. Anzoategui/ July 27 MP is investigating.
Jean Carlos Aponte, 16 Presumably a protester Uncertain According to the MP, he fatally wounded during a demonstration Petare, Miranda/July 27 MP is investigating.
Felix Pineda Marcano, 39 ANC candidate Presumably a political assassination by anti-government elements The children’s rights activist and community organizer was gunned down in his home in Ciudad Bolivar on Saturday evening. Authorities are actively investigating the murder, which they believe could be politically motivated. Ciudad Bolivar, Bolivar/July 29 MP is investigating.
Ronald Ramirez National Guard sergeant Unclear, presumably opposition supporters Shot in the head and killed near a military installation in La Grita. Tachira/ July 30 MP is investigating.
Unnamed adolescent Unclear, possibly a protester Unkown No further details available. Tachira/ July 30 MP is investigating.
Unnamed adolescent Unclear, possibly a protester Unkown No further details available. Tachira/ July 30 MP is investigating.
Jose Cardenas Unclear, possibly a protester Unkown No further details available. Tachira/ July 30 MP is investigating.
Angelo Mendez Unclear, possibly a protester Unkown Killed during early hours of morning before voting began. No further details available. Merida/July 30 MP is investigating.
Eduardo Olave Unclear, possibly a protester Unkown Killed during early hours of morning before voting began. No further details available. Merida/July 30 MP is investigating.
Jose Sanchez Unknown Unkown No further details available. Merida/July 30 MP is investigating.
Luis Zambrano, 43 Protester Unkown Shot dead in an anti-government protest in Barquisimeto Lara/July 30 MP is investigating.
Ricardo Campos Opposition Democratic Action party youth leader Uncertain, though opposition blames security personnel. Killed during an opposition protest in the early hours of the morning. Sucre/July 30 MP is investigating.In order to get to know some of the differences in iOS 7 and practice transitioning from iOS 6, I decided to transition a little toy app that consisted of a screen similar to the Messages.app: a navigation bar, most of the screen taken by a scroll view with content and on the bottom a text view and a button for adding more content to the scroll view. The app is extremely basic, but resizes properly when the keyboard is shown and, as in Messages.app, scrolls to the bottom of the content when the text view is focused and when a new message has been added.
I put together some of the things that weren’t obvious at first. It might be just me, but I’m hoping other developers will find this useful.
Handling navigation bar on top of our scroll view
The iOS 7 view of course comes with the new look where scroll views go under the navigation bar for a nice effect. One can change the scroll view’s contentInset manually to cover for the portion of it that is being overlapped at the top, but doing so manually is tedious and not fun. I was very thrilled to discover handling it should come at no cost if my ViewController has automaticallyAdjustsScrollViewInsets set to YES.
This didn’t work for me out of the box since it turns out for the magic to happen the scroll view has to be the first subview of your ViewController’s UIView. I had to reorder my subviews and then the magic started rolling.
Resizing when keyboard shows up
In my iOS 6 version, my app responded to the keyboard appearing with autolayout: I’d adjust the constraint holding the bottom view to go up by whatever the height of the keyboard is, which would cause the scroll view to shrink as well automatically. I liked this solution since it repositioned everything on the screen pretty easily.
The idiom for iOS 7 though is to place the scroll view across the whole screen, and placing the text view above it. Then, resizing for the keyboard should not actually change the height of the scroll view, but instead change its content insets. This is preferable since it means that scroll view’s content is still below the keyboard which is now semitransparent and so everything looks cool and shiny.
Layout of the scroll view, before and after:
So after I dragged things in Interface Builder to their new locations I changed the autolayout constraints: the text view is pulled up when a keyboard appears using a constraint as before, but that does not cause the scroll view to shrink. Unfortunately, content insets can’t be controlled with constraints and so I was forced to add more code the the keyboard handling that changes the insets manually. Apple’s Text Progamming Guide instructs to do this:
1 2 3 UIEdgeInsets contentInsets = UIEdgeInsetsMake ( 0.0, 0.0, kbSize. height, 0.0 ); scrollView. contentInset = contentInsets ; scrollView. scrollIndicatorInsets = contentInsets ;
This is actually a bit problematic since it overrides the top inset and thus screws up the inset put there by automaticallyAdjustsScrollViewInsets, so I changed the code to:
1 2 3 4 UIEdgeInsets contentInsets = UIEdgeInsetsMake ( scrollView. contentInset. top, 0.0, kbSize. height, 0.0 ); scrollView. contentInset = contentInsets ; scrollView. scrollIndicatorInsets = contentInsets ;
Animating resizing and scrolls
This is actually pretty basic stuff, except for the fact that in iOS 7 the keyboard’s appearance animation is using a new undocumented curve function. This means that it’s no longer enough to grab the animation duration from the keyboard notification, but one must also grab the animation curve from it:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 [ UIView beginAnimations: nil context: NULL ]; [ UIView setAnimationDuration: [ info [ UIKeyboardAnimationDurationUserInfoKey ] doubleValue ]]; [ UIView setAnimationCurve: [ info [ UIKeyboardAnimationCurveUserInfoKey ] integerValue ]]; [ UIView setAnimationBeginsFromCurrentState: YES ]; self. textViewKeyboardConstraint. constant = height ; UIEdgeInsets insets = UIEdgeInsetsMake ( scrollView. contentInset. top, 0, textView. bounds. size. height + height, 0 ); scrollView. contentInset = insets ; scrollView. scrollIndicatorInsets = insets ; [ view layoutIfNeeded ]; [ scrollView setContentOffset: CGPointMake ( 0, newOffset ) animated: NO ]; [ UIView commitAnimations ];
Summary
The steps needed to make the transition are not complicated, but not trivial at first sight (well, at least they weren’t for me). I’d love to hear and see how other people have made these transitions, or even be shown that I did some stupid stuff here :)US' leading baked food and coffee chain Dunkin' Donuts is all set to cater to the Indian palate with its first outlet opening in Delhi today.
With the launch of its Connaught Place joint in the national capital Delhi, Jubilant plans to open ten stores during the current financial year and plans to expand to Mumbai too, said an Economic Times report.
The international brand has chosen Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd (JFL), which runs restaurant chain Dominos Pizza in India, as its master franchisee. The menu will feature a wide range of Donuts, Dunkin' original blend drip coffee, sandwiches, milkshakes, smoothies and tea.
Present at the launch Ajay Kaul, CEO Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. said, "We are happy to launch our first Dunkin Donuts location in the heart of the city today. Given our deep understanding of Indian consumers, we have gone the extra mile to innovate and offer a Dunkin Donuts menu that brings the best of what the brand has to offer internationally, while keeping the needs of Indian consumers in mind."
In an announcement made last year, the two partners had said the plan was to set up 80-100 Dunkin' Donuts stores beginning with the metros in the next five years, with a long term 15 years target of 500 stores in India.
Dunkin' Brands is entering India at a time when it's aiming to rapidly grow its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, to take advantage of a rapid rise in incomes.
JFL CEO Ajay Kaul had said earlier this year that Dunkin' Donuts products will be tailored to suit the local market demands and the company has already set up a factory in Noida.
Another major global player Star Bucks is also gearing up for its India entry with the Tata Group. Through an equal joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, the US-based coffee giant has said it will open 50 cafes in the country in the first year of operations entailing an investment of Rs 400 crore.
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.Think of the last presentation you went to that knocked you over. I mean really knocked you over, made you sit up, and left you entranced — even as the speaker went over their allotted time or perhaps had the odd stumble.
For me, this was a little shy of two months ago. It was supposed to be one hour and the session took almost two — and no one got up to leave. We were all mesmerized, not solely by the content but the speaker as well. Don’t get me wrong, the content was great, but midway through the presentation, I found myself wondering if the content would have stood on its own without this great speaker. To some extent, it probably would, but the delivery of that message, that story is what transformed it into something new and different that stayed with me.
So, how did they do it? How did this person deliver such a compelling presentation that they entranced over 200 people with ease?
They told a story. From beginning to end, they told a story that resonated with everyone. Maybe not from the beginning, but by the end we all knew it front and back. Over time, we will forget the slide deck and perhaps the speaker, but that message and emotion will never be forgotten.
Since then, I’ve been approaching many of my presentations as stories instead of sticking with the status quo. It’s not easy, and it takes a little longer to prepare for, but the results and engagement from the crowd are worth every extra piece of effort.
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Here are five tips to help you become that presenter that wows everyone in the room.
Who is your audience?
Whether you are writing or presenting, this question must always be first. Who is your audience — who are you doing this for? Take a moment and think about that.
If I am doing a presentation on podcasting, I will approach it very differently depending on if I’m presenting it to a group of software developers, a group of managers, or a group of kids. With developers, I might focus on how they need to transfer the code on their screen to the voice in their mic. With a group of managers, it might be more about the message they are trying to get across. With the kids, it would be about engagement — “Here, try this.” My content might be similar, but how I deliver this information will be quite different.
Not knowing who you are presenting to is a guaranteed fail. You will see it, you will know it when you look around the room mid-sentence and see the eyes glazing over. At that moment, you will know that what you are delivering is not aligned with your audience.
Find a Theme
Having a theme is often overlooked when doing a presentation, but when telling a story it is key. A theme is the feeling or emotion you want to get across to your audience and resonate with them. The theme is the combination of your ideas and messages, and it creates the structure for your story.
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To go back to our podcasting example, my theme for delivering to kids would be heavy on examples, engagement, fun, laughter, and enjoyment to engage them. For managers, I might focus on how they can find an audience right here and grow their culture by developing leaders of influence. The managers probably won’t rate hearing their voice as important to do, but the children will.
Pace
The best stories we have ever heard have that moment of connection where we are sold — we want more, we sit up in our chair, and we listen a little more intently. This is not by chance, this is by pace. This is because the storyteller took us down a path laid with breadcrumbs for us to pick up along the way in the hopes that we’d join them on this journey. If the storyteller simply started with that “aha” moment, we wouldn’t have had the reveal we needed — we would not have been invested. Worse yet, if this moment never came, what then? We’d be left wondering why we were even there to begin with, what we were truly investing by giving this person our precious time.
Still unsure about pace? Think back to all those keynotes that Steve Jobs did for Apple where he became famous for “One last thing” in his presentations. That wasn’t by chance, it was on purpose. It was part of his story, and each time we came back to hear the next story, we waited with baited breath to hear this line.
Get the Right Tools
Remember those speakers that wave their hands around the whole time as they speak or have to constantly go to their laptop to fix something? Or maybe their demos require a lot of manual control and them staring down at the screen?
You probably don’t remember their names, but you remember what they did. These are distractions to your audience. These are distractions to your theme that reduce the effectiveness of your story.
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Again, think back to the best presentations you have heard. What was so great about them? Was it the deck? Their tablet? Did they demo something amazing? You might be thinking “Oh yeah, they had a powerpoint deck, but come to think of it, I never saw them look at it or reference it.” Exactly. Your tools complement the story and enhance it — they don’t become part of it. If you are having to read off your deck, then send out your deck to your audience because that’s your story. Small things, like a presentation pointer, can greatly enhance your presentation because now people are focussing on you, your words, your theme, your pace, and not you bending over to hit the spacebar.
Yes, you might have to spend some money on tools and hacks to be a better storyteller, but if you are able to get your message across in a single session, isn’t it worth it?
Call to Action
Don’t you love the presenter who ends with “Well, that’s it.”? No conclusion, no end to what should be there, no final sign off — the slides go blank as if they did not know the last slide was even coming up. As we said before, being a great storyteller involves pacing the audience so you don’t need to draw them a map of when you are going to finish. Rather, they can infer this information, they can see it evolving, they know when it is going to get there.
But there is more to it. Your audience, the people you spent so much time crafting this message for, what is their call to action? What do you want them to do next?
In our example of a podcast, I want my audience to go start a podcast. Why else would I be telling them how to do it? Otherwise, I’ve just wasted their time and mine. And this is key — the call to action isn’t solely for the audience, it is for the speaker as well. Only once a member of the audience has taken that call and turned it into action has the story now been completed. Actions are what drive stories, not debates, not further discussion — action. So if you are not challenging your audience on what to do next, what are you trying to get across to them?
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Speakers, Presenters, Orators, whatever term you like to use, the ones who stand out, the ones we remember, are the ones that crafted a story, a story that resonated with us, a story that spoke to us, and a story that made us want to go do something.
Next time you need to deliver a presentation, whether it’s last quarter’s budget numbers or next year’s fall fashions, don’t deliver it as a presentation. Deliver it as a story and see the difference — you’ll be amazed.
Featured photo credit: pixabay.com via pixabay.comUpdate, Aug. 15 at 9:45 a.m.: Whataburger announced today that fans will get to pick who wins those custom Dank & Co. shoes. Judges received more than 2,000 entries, which they narrowed down to 10 finalists based on creativity (25 percent) and taste (75 percent). Head over to the Fan Voting Page via this link, and vote for your favorite, now through noon on Friday, Aug. 18. Here's our original story, published on July 25: Newsflash: There's a guy in San Antonio named Jake Danklefs who makes one-of-a-kind sneakers in his home studio. We're not talking run-of-the-mill, mass-produced kicks from Foot Locker. Dank & Co. shoes are like little works of pop art for your feet. Know what looks really nice on his shoes? Orange and white stripes, baby.
Whataburger, Texas' fast food joint with a rabid cult following, has partnered with Dank & Co. to create three unique pairs of Whataburger branded sneakers. They're not available for purchase, but you can win them.
Each of the three pairs of shoes up for grabs boasts a different Whataburger-inspired design. Spicy. /Whataburger Official
The company kicked off its #WhataThoseContest today, and all you have to do to enter is create a post on social media -- Twitter, Instagram or Facebook -- describing your favorite custom Whataburger order before Aug. 6.
Don't skimp on your specifications. Winners will be chosen based on originality (70 percent) and clarity/quality of detail in [their] submission (30 percent). That could mean angling for perfect lighting in a pic of your "Number 4, cut the onions, extra pickles, easy on the mustard, with onion rings, a Strawberry Fanta and a chocolate shake." Or, perhaps letting the world in on how you do it Ron Swanson-style. (A.k.a. ordering two Number 3 Triple Meat Whataburgers and stacking them together, six patties high.)
Whatever way you like it, be sure to tag @Whataburger and #WhataThoseContest on your post.
While you're at it, double-check the official rules to make sure you meet age and location requirements and to browse other important legal info.
Winners will be announced on Whataburger social media accounts by Aug. 18, the rules state. So, why would you want shoes dedicated to a burger chain? If you have to ask, we can't explain Whataburger's place in Texan culture to you in fewer than 10,000 words. Instead, check out our entire page dedicated to important Whataburger news. Then, hit up @Whataburger on Twitter. We've called it one of 3 clever accounts every Dallasite should follow.
Now, an easier question: Why would you want a free pair of Dank & Co. shoes? First, the ultra-chic designs are made by a Texan. Points in that column. Secondly, they've amassed serious star power. LeBron James was Danklefs' first really famous client; the NBA superstar had Danklefs surprise him with a design to commemorate his second championship with the Miami Heat, and when he posted a photo of them on Instagram in 2013, people had to know where he got them. To date, that post has more than 198,000 likes.
S/O @jwdanklefs for the custom 10's!! #SickKicks #LeBron10sElite #MyShoeGameIsSomethingSerious A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Sep 10, 2013 at 8:51pm PDT
Exclusivity is the key.
Mmmm... avocado. /Whataburger Official
Danklefs won't duplicate or copy, even his own work. He'll take input from clients, but each design "needs to be a fresh new idea," his website says. What you're getting is handmade with meticulous attention to detail. Most projects take between 6 and 10 hours, San Antonio Express News reported in 2014. But, that was back when the wait list was only 6 months. These days, most customers will wait a full year, Whataburger says. And, a Dank deal will cost you a pretty penny. Back in the day, shortly after James wore his pair on the cover of Sports Illustrated, a custom design started around $1,000. We've put in a line to see if that's still ballpark close, but it's a safe bet prices haven't gone down. They're so beautiful, let's see them again. Scroll through for a closer look at the three unique designs up for grabs.NFL safety Tony Jefferson, who signed a four-year, $36 million free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason, recalls his experience of going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft despite leaving Oklahoma early as a top-ranked prospect at the safety position. These are his words.
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NFL safety Tony Jefferson, who signed a four-year, $36 million free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason, recalls his experience of going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft despite leaving Oklahoma early as a top-ranked prospect at the safety position. These are his words.
When you're young and in college and reading press clippings about how high you'll go in the NFL Draft, it's hard to turn an opportunity like that down. When I received my draft grade from the NFL's college advisory committee and they gave me a second-to-third round grade, I took it.
I signed with my agent the day after I told my coaches at Oklahoma that I was declaring for the Draft. Although I received a second-to-third round grade, my agent felt there was a glaring need for safeties in the Draft and that it was possible that I could sneak into the first round.
At the NFL Combine, I had 13 formal team interviews and informal meetings with pretty much every team. All of the feedback I received was positive, and that led me to believe that things were going to be looking good come April 27.
Before the Draft, my mom and sister wanted to have a party. I just wanted to have the family over, which was a great decision by me! I just wanted to have the family and friends over and go from there.
I wasn't expecting to go in the first round, so it wasn't too discouraging when my name wasn't called—even though there were some safeties that were drafted by teams that had shown interest in me. The second day came and safeties were flying off the board. The second and third rounds went by and my agent called me and said "I don't know what's going on, but be ready for your name to be called early in the fourth round."
It was tough for me to go to sleep that night. Mentally I was like "OK, so I fell into the fourth round. It's not that bad. I can make it up from here and do what I gotta do when I get there."
We get through the fourth round on the final day of the draft and nothing happens. I check with my agent and he doesn't know what's going on. He said he was going to get in contact with some coaches.
Fifth round goes by...
... By the time the sixth round came I didn't even want to get drafted.
That's when the calls starting coming in from teams saying they wanted me as a priority free agent.
Priority free agent?
I had no idea how undrafted free agency worked. I didn't have plans of being undrafted. I thought if you didn't get drafted you weren't playing.
In the seventh round I get a call from New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan. He tells me he's begging his owner to draft me, but apparently they needed to draft a fullback. I'm like "a fullback?! Are fullbacks even used anymore?"
The draft ended and I didn't even want to talk to any teams. I was angry.
My agent picked my team for me. I just told him to tell me where to go, and he said Arizona was a good opportunity for me. I just told myself I'm going to beat out whoever is in front of me.
The problem with being undrafted is that you don't get many opportunities to prove yourself in training camp. The guys who get drafted get more reps. When you're on the roster as an undrafted free agent, you're pretty much a training camp body until you prove yourself. When you're out there you have to make the most of it, and I did just that.
I was making plays all over the field in camp. I was on the scout team and picking off our starting quarterback, but I was still third on the depth chart entering the preseason.
I got to play in the fourth quarter of the first preseason game against Green Bay. I had a couple tackles.
During the second week of preseason there was an injury during practice and I moved up to second on the depth chart. I came in during the second quarter and had an interception on the second drive I was in. Later in the game I had another interception, so I had a two-interception game!
Then the next game I didn't play one snap on defense. I don't know if that was because they were trying to hide me to keep me on the practice squad, but I didn't get to play in that third game at all.
I was upset, but our defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said, "don't worry, you'll be all right."
We go into the fourth preseason game against Denver. I'm still mad because I hadn't played defense since I had the two-interception game. I get into the game in the fourth quarter and on the very first play I make a tackle for loss. A few plays later I get a fumble recovery, and then I get a sack to seal the game.
The final roster cuts are made the next day. I go into the facility that next day and I see that the safety listed ahead of me on the depth chart, his name had been removed from his locker stall. When I saw that I knew I had made the team.
The challenge for me, coming from the Big 12, was that our team didn't run an NFL-style defense. I wasn't really prepared for all that was coming at me. I struggled my first year with the playbook and the terminology.
Still, I played in all 16 games my rookie year and went on to start 15 games over the next two seasons. After three seasons I was starting to make a name for myself, but I wanted to be a more valuable asset to my team and earn more recognition around the league.
I committed myself last offseason to getting in better shape and cutting down on mental mistakes. I trained my butt off and lost a ton weight. When I came out of college I weighed 215 pounds; entering training camp last year I was down to 202 pounds. I had lost 7.8 percent body fat. I was moving a lot better, I was faster, I wasn't getting fatigued, and my six-pack was back!
A lot went into that offseason training and it built my mental toughness. I think it really helped me out last season, especially having a lot more energy in the fourth quarter. I was a more focused player.
You may be wondering why I didn't get drafted.
My best guess would be the result of me pulling my hamstring at the Combine and running a 4.75 in the 40-Yard Dash. Teams wanted me to re-run the 40 at my Pro Day, but I couldn't because I was still recovering from the injury.
I don't know if was part of the reason, but there were also reports that I didn't work hard and was a bad practice player. I don't know where that came from, but there were rumors that my college coaches were bashing me. There was all this speculation, but the truth is that I don't know the real reason why I went undrafted.
The question has been asked if I ever regretted leaving school early for the NFL. The answer? Yes, I did initially when I didn't get drafted... but now? Not a chance.
The experience of going undrafted made me a better person and a stronger person. It taught me to trust the process regardless of what it looks like. Being patient and trusting the process has allowed me to have a successful career so far, and I'm only looking to get better.
My plan has already been written. I just need to finish it off.
Photo Credit: Getty Images // ThinkstockYou thought you knew Auckland - wait until you see how the United States Army saw it this week.
Complete with one of the most dramatic music scores ever heard on YouTube, Staff Sergeant Robert Ham and a cast of military bands and cameras has produced an over-the-top three minute video with Auckland as the main star.
Otherwise little noticed in the city, chiefs of armies from 28 countries were in Auckland this week for the Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference.
With a lot of brass around, Sergeant Ham did not restrain himself.
The video opens at Muriwai Beach and what is apparently a Maori quote: "In times of peace, dwell peacefully; in times of war be brave."
Then the US Army fudges the fact that downtown Auckland looks pretty empty; everything was run at double speed.
At the Auckland War Memorial Museum the brass gathered on the Hallowed Ground for a haka out of Central Casting - complete with one of the best displays of tongue curling ever caught on film.
As the music mounts to new thunderous heights, the scene switches to the conference.
It could have been dull, but there are flags and swords and heroic speeches.
Sergeant Ham could not, however, help himself.
Yes, the video featured sheep shearing - which doesn't usually happen much in Auckland. And lambs.
It all concludes with the dramatic scene of a bemedalled New Zealand soldier, wearing his Mounted Rifles Hat, return his sword to his sheath - with a satisfying roll of drums, brass and what could pass as thunder and artillery.Women hand out free veils in Indonesia to promote stricter form of Islam
Updated
Every Sunday in the centre of Jakarta, tens of thousands of Indonesians flock to what is one of the most congested roads in the city.
From early to mid-morning, there is an opportunity to breathe freely on what is known as "car-free Sunday".
As the name suggests, cars are banned and the road is opened to a sea of humanity in a city where wide open spaces are few and far between.
This particular Sunday, a group of women see an opportunity to preach a stricter form of Islam.
The group's leader, Triken Sholihat, fears Indonesian Muslim women are becoming too liberal in what they wear.
"We will help them to wear the head scarf properly while also explaining the reason and importance of wearing the hijab according to sharia," she tells the ABC.
"Many women are not aware that wearing the hijab is obligatory according to the Koran."
Ms Sholihat and her team have brought with them boxes of coloured veils which they distribute for free to women whose head coverings are either non-existent or, in Ms Sholihat's view, too liberally worn.
"We are campaigning for women to wear the head scarf properly, though wearing face cover is not compulsory, it is an option," she says.
She says the hijab should never be transparent and should be long enough to cover a woman's chest.
She says some Indonesian women are covering their hair but not their upper body, which is attractive to men.
Some women very willing to cover up more
With the veils in hand the women approach those passing by to give the garments away and teach the recipients "the best way to wear them".
Intan Permatedewi jumps at the chance for a free veil and lesson in wearing it.
"I did try and wear a hijab before, but some parts are still exposed, while this one is according to sharia and is fully closed," she says.
"From now on I will be wearing the hijab in line with sharia guide."
Ismawati, 12, is also approached and agrees to a dressing lesson.
"I only wear a hijab at school. They asked me if I'd be willing to wear one now and I said I will," she told the ABC.
An older woman, Nining, is also happy to oblige.
"My hijab was not covered enough like this one, a long cover. With God's will, I will correct the way I wear the hijab," she says.
Shift to Arab interpretation of Islam in Indonesia
Indonesia is widely seen as a moderate Muslim nation, but there is concern that some religious teachings are changing and that beyond the hijab, women are being urged to also cover their faces.
The head of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, which has more than 40 million members, says there is a growing trend that is seeing a shift to an Arab interpretation of Islam, which in part is also leading to more Indonesian women wearing full face-covering veils.
"The indication is that there has been a very radical change, not only the change in thinking but the way one is presenting themself in fashion," Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Aqil Siradj says.
And while there are no official figures, he believes there are noticeably more Indonesian women choosing to fully cover their faces.
"I learnt Islam from all parts of Indonesia and none of the Ulemas ordered me to wear Arabic long dress, none of them ordered their female students to wear face covers," he says.
Amanda, 32, started wearing niqab, a veil that covers the entire body and face apart from the eyes, after she graduated from university a decade ago.
"Wearing a face cover is about the strength of faith in somebody, if someone lacks the faith they won't be able to wear a face cover," she says.
"People are wearing face covers because of their obedience to God, what I see from year to year are more women covering their faces."
'When I took it off they were shocked'
But while many Indonesian women choose to wear headscarfs and increasing numbers are donning full face covers |
Somers High School. "We try to encourage creativity in the classroom to the extent we can."
Teachers said the state proposals reflect a lack of understanding of what goes on in the classroom.
You can't measure what teachers do with a test score, said Denise Tomici, a physical education teacher at White Plains High School.
"People who are making decisions about kids and our jobs and how we do our jobs don't know anything about education."
Twitter: @eganga
Read or Share this story: http://lohud.us/1C5TRXeThe Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is holding a series of public roundtables in April to discuss a range of criminal justice issues with invited participants.
The public roundtables follow March’s public hearing into criminal justice issues.
Royal Commission Chief Executive Officer Philip Reed said the public roundtables will discuss adult sex offender treatment programs, Director of Public Prosecution’s (DPP) oversight and complaint mechanisms and reporting offences.
“These roundtables will invite comment and discussion from a range of participants, including police, public prosecutors, criminal justice policy officials, academic and practitioner experts and others,” Mr Reed said.
“Consultation through these public roundtables will help inform the Royal Commission’s criminal justice policy work,” Mr Reed said.
The first public roundtable will discuss criminal offence for failing to report child sexual abuse, including the issue of blind reporting, where the alleged victim’s name or identifying details are not given to police.
The second public roundtable will discuss adult sex offender treatment programs, including current programs in Australia and internationally, as well as discussing the effectiveness of these programs.
The third public roundtable will look at DPP complaints and oversight mechanisms, including whether there should be avenues for victims to seek review of decisions not to prosecute and whether there should be external oversight of DPPs.
Venue: Hearing Room 2, Level 17, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney.
When: Wednesday 20 April (reporting offences) 10am-4pm
Thursday 21 April (adult sex offender treatment programs) 10am-1pm
Friday 29 April (DPP complaints and oversight mechanisms) 10am-4pm
The public roundtables will be streamed live via webcast.President Donald Trump’s push to expand apprenticeship opportunities is being met with support from business leaders who are now pledging to take part.
Trump has put working class issues at the forefront of his agenda. He signed an executive order Thursday aimed at increasing the number apprenticeship programs. The president hopes to address the skills gap by ensuring people are being trained for jobs that exist.
While there are plenty of jobs available, the challenge has been a significant divide between the skills companies need and the training and experience workers have. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that the country has six million job openings.
The Business Roundtable (BRT), a coalition of business leaders, released a list of business presidents who support the initiative. The almost two hundred names listed have promised to expand their own apprenticeship programs.
“Business Roundtable members take our responsibly as CEOs seriously to help ensure American workers can succeed in the jobs of today and tomorrow,” BRT noted in a release. “We applaud the President’s commitment to industry-driven apprenticeships as a powerful tool to build the skilled workforce prepared for the jobs of the 21st century.”
General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, and many other top business presidents pledged their support. The list included 180 business presidents total. Verizon, Oracle Corporation, General Motors, and Accenture were also listed.
Industry groups have also come out in support of the push to expand apprenticeship opportunities. The National Restaurant Association noted more apprenticeship programs will help workers get useful skills. The International Franchise Association also applauded the move.
Trump signed the executive order after hosting a private roundtable discussion with a group of governors. The meeting reportedly focused on the need for better job training and more apprenticeship programs. The executive order is designed to increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities by rolling back restrictions.
The labor skills gap has been getting increasingly more attention. Nevertheless, how to address the skills gap, and whether it’s even a real problem, have been points of debate. Joshua Wright of Economic Modeling Specialists says the concern is real, but there are nuances to consider.
“I don’t think that’s necessarily a misconception,” Wright tells InsideSources. “It really depends on where you’re at, what the local economy specializes in, and the key industries in a specific metro area, or group of counties. That drives the workforce needs and what type of gaps, if there are any there.”
The Department of Labor is now responsible for drafting rules so the executive order can be initiated. The rulemaking process involves several steps that can become lengthy at times. The proposed rules should allow companies, unions, and industry groups alike to more easily create their own apprenticeship programs.
Trump has received criticism for supposedly undercutting job training and the workforce elsewhere. His proposed budget May 23 would cut some established federal job training programs significantly. CNN and a number of other news outlets highlighted the apparent inconsistency.
Labor unions have been particularly critical of the president. Unions have condemned him for undermining worker rights and protections while rolling back regulations in an attempt to spur economic growth. Unions generally support efforts to improve job training but have not said much on what the president is planning.
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Subscribe for the Latest From InsideSources Every MorningQ1 : In December 2016, we had the pleasure of seeing KPN exit from the underground to appear on stage at the Asgardsrei fest – a public event held in the very center of Kiev, where you had a chance to share the line-up with NOKTURNAL MORTUM, M8L8TH and KRODA. What memories do you have of this festival? What is your overall impression from your first visit to Eastern Europe?
– For us, it was quite impressive to move from playing at a local banquet venue in France, where we first appeared on stage, to a large concert hall with 1200 people coming to see our second show. From an artistic point of view, the group was not at the top level but we have improved a lot since then — we needed a few concerts to get it right.
Organization-wise, we are astounded by the professionalism of this event, be it the sound, material resources mobilized, or reception / accommodation — it was almost unreal. For groups so politically charged to enjoy such high standards would seem unthinkable. Other than that, personally, I have always been fascinated by Eastern Europe, and I had an excellent vibe with the Russians and Ukrainians I met there, almost like meeting blood brothers.
Q2 : Speaking of shows once again, what do you think of the recent “witch hunts” against all those who are deemed “politically incorrect” these days? It looks like once a band is labeled “NSBM”, “fascist” or simply “nationalist”, a whole bunch of moralists starts snitching to cops, trying to prevent certain groups from appearing on stage. And we’re not talking only about KPN here, but also about MARDUK, GRAVELAND and many other formations that have recently experienced problems with political censorship.
– With all these cancellations, the antifa make their own anti-propaganda. It’s actually good. By overlooking the details, seeing Nazis everywhere and cancelling all these concerts, everyone ends up hating them. Therefore, I encourage them to keep going.
Speaking about PESTE NOIRE, their only weapon against us is to say that we are NS. I have already explained why PN was not NS sensu stricto, specifically in an interview for the Cercle Non Conforme published online back in 2014. Claiming that we are not NS was simply a matter of historical and ideological accuracy, although some people saw it as an attempt to switch camps, or even to promote an anti-NS rhetoric. People are really stuck within this NS / anti-NS dichotomy. I said that PN was not NS, but I never said that PN was anti-NS. PESTE NOIRE does not speak of Adolf Hitler, that’s all. If I were to say that PN does not deal with plants in its texts, would that mean that PN is against tulips and poppies? And seriously, PN is too punk to be NS. Some would see the fact that we are not associating ourselves with National Socialism as a weakness, hypocrisy, or the fear of getting into trouble. LOL: If I were afraid of trouble, I would not do a project such as VOUÏVRE — with a guy who is totally in NSBM. I would not show my support for AZOV, I would not have a “Me Ne Frego” tattoo right up my neck, and when people get to know with whom PN is going to collaborate – you have my word – they will quickly understand that I have no taboos in this regard whatsoever.
To be specific, honest, and 100% accurate, PESTE NOIRE draws on the German Conservative Revolution discourse, the French New Right or say the Italian fascism in the spirit of Casa Pound. I am a racialist, an ethno-pluralist, absolutely against race mixing, but not a supremacist. Clearly, it is this last point that sets PESTE NOIRE apart from certain purely NS bands. Once this is made clear, my primary goal, no doubt, is the defense of the white race and the expulsion (peaceful if possible) of non-Europeans from our lands. And on this essential point, NS bands are my first allies.
Then there is a photo where I make the right hand salute. All these little shitty French Black metallers are making such a fuss about this photo as if it was somehow contradicting my words. Bunch of jerks… in the aforementioned interview with the CNC I clearly stated that I feel closer to Italian fascism than to German National Socialism. So how is it surprising that those who sympathize with fascism are making the right hand salute? I have no problem to greet my friends as Europeans have done it for 2000 years, and take no issue with our fans doing it at concerts.
Q3 : Talking about fans, how do you explain that the Black Metal scene in Western Europe and North America is gradually losing its rebellious, provocative, heretical spirit and becomes increasingly sterile and castrated? How does the situation compare with that in Eastern Europe? Did you see any difference?
– I am not a psychologist, but I would say that Black metallers in Western Europe and North America are not as tough due to the overall “bourgeoisification” and domestication. They are more nihilistic because of the spirit of extreme liberalism that has raged in these lands for much longer than in Eastern Europe. Here in France, many metalheads are egocentric shows-offs, living with their moms and having an easy life. The Western Europe is known for higher living standards, materialism, vulgar hedonism, lower birth rates, and the Emperor syndrome – when the only child in the family gets all the attention, no surprise we see so many selfish cowards out there. Every little shit, mollycoddled by his parents, thinks he’s a god and has no spirit of sacrifice whatsoever, no sense of community ethics. They will never take any risk. Political correctness is in a way their comfort zone.
You use the term “provocative” — it is also a key term to illustrate the difference between the Western and the Eastern scenes? Slavs do not go for simple “Rock star” provocations, as the Necrobutcher did when posing in front of a Nazi flag, or DARKTHRONE when claiming “Norsk Arisk Black Metal” and not willing to stand for it afterwards. It seems to me that while the Western BM scene remains precisely in the juvenile, superficial provocation (Hitler being the new Satan, calling themselves NS just to shock the public, etc.), the scene in the East is much more serious, politically-involved, violent and organized. I was amazed to see the number and discipline of your volunteers at the Asgardsrei fest.
The Slavic scene seems to be much more united. You have networks in prison, your activists have a genuine sports culture and a healthy lifestyle. Both minds and bodies are subject to ideology. In France, you see it among skins but rarely among Black metallers. Also, in French prisons, if you are not a Corsican, you do not have access to a network of support among whites (who are, for the most part, either rapists or drug addicts). Taking this into account, as well as the fact that prisons are crowded with immigrants, one tries to avoid them at all costs.
Q4 : Speaking of healthy lifestyle, it would seem that the themes of alcohol and sex are of particular interest to you. It reminds us of the Bacchian songs and the Dionysian rites — both themes being present in European culture, just as much as Spartan discipline and ascetics that are cultivated by the NS straight edge movement. Isn’t there, according to you, a contradiction between the two terms, and what place do you reserve them in your life?
– These two forces — the Dionysian (orgy) one and the Apollonian (order) one, to put it in Nietzschean terms, are obviously in conflict but are not contradictory as long as they balance out and complement each other. I work out for two hours every single day to eat thrice as much more food and get thrice as much pleasure. Here in France wine and champagne drinking is a constituent part of our heritage and identity, a kind of national “know-how”. A French nationalist cannot live decently spitting on our grands crus. For everything there is a season: a time for sports and training, and a time for feasting and relaxation. Too much seriousness brings anxiety, and prolonged stress leads to cancer.
The French crowd is obviously less athletic than the Russian or Ukrainian one, but it is more festive, Rabelaisian, which is a great quality on its own. Watch the videos of our concert in Limoges — people smile from ear to ear, they sing together and give hugs without behaving like some drunk scum; it is a moment of pure conviviality.
I think that true strength is in self-control — being able to enjoy earthly pleasures without getting addicted to them in the long run. Nothing is more despicable to me than a person who cannot control his drinking. Personally, I was drinking too much before, but it helped me in difficult times. Now it is only occasional. However, it puzzles me to be treated as a drug addict because I have a sip of Dom Pérignon by some straightedge guy who shoots steroids that are 1000 times more harmful for his health.
Q5 : Among the various influences that can be spotted on your recent albums is rap. Is it a postmodernist deconstruction of discourses and genres by the technique of collage, or are you trying to strengthen up PESTE NOIRE with new exotic materials?
– No, I really dig rap music. Just like in French literature, I always felt myself closer to outcasts. My interest in rap is based on this same attraction to outlaws, troublemakers, gangsters and free minds. And as I’ve already said earlier, I am an ethno-pluralist: in the same way that I can be interested in the Japanese or Inca culture, I have no taboo on listening to black or Maghreb rap if it’s well cooked and as long as they do not renounce to break at home in Kemi Séba mode. There are distinctive voice tones, forms of phrasing and songs, the ones you can find in Niska or Siboy for example, which the whites would not be capable of reproducing. And this also holds for the German rap. A white will never rap as a black and vice versa. Preserving these racial specificities by preventing race mixing and diluting one’s culture within another is essential to me.
Rap is bold, aggressive, belligerent, hypermasculine, it speaks only of pride and power, it’s actually mega-fascist in its form. Now I’m for all prides but in terms of the victimizing and the anti-white kinds of the Negro rap, of course it’s pure shit: once set aside the interest of their flow / voice / timbre, all so authentic, in their clips, their aesthetics, they just pick up all our symbols and creations. Their guns are Russian, their cars are German, and their clothes are French. Even their heraldry is pumped on European heraldry. These retards – who may be excellent musicians yet still retards – speak only of power and domination; but the real Masters, those who possess military technology, those who make luxury cars and manufacture Hugo Boss, are obviously the whites. The truth is that we became too fag because of fratricidal wars, race mixing propaganda and human-rights hysterics. The fact remains that it is we and not they who have the logistics, the tactical intelligence and the military resources to smoke them out. Let them, therefore, play with our toys in their clips; without us, they would have wooden sticks instead of AK47’s, and donkeys or goats for transportation.
Q6 : We have come to the obvious but necessary question – what are your ongoing projects, both in terms of new records and collaborations? Where lies the battlefield for Kommando Peste Noire this year? Maybe a word about your new project VOUÏVRE?
– Ok, so in the chronological order, I am going to:
Appear as a guest on the next M8L8TH release.
Record the new PN album. It has already been composed, but I want to iron out the kinks and work on the musical arrangements in a way it has previously been done on “L’Ordure à l’état pur” where you have thirty different ideas per track. Live shows have taken up a lot of time, and I regret to have rushed it a bit with the two previous albums. Now I will take all the time I need to finalize this new record. Don’t expect it earlier than 2018.
Once the seventh PN album is completed, I’m going to make the split-CD with ABSURD.
After the split with ABSURD, we will be releasing a 7’’ with GOATMOON.
It is a great honor to work with all of these bands. Regarding VOUÏVRE, everything is completed, and we are only waiting for the vinyls from the plant. There is a lot of hype around this project due to the fact that we announced it in a video teaser brilliantly realized by ANAON PRODUCTIONS, and people are expecting a full-length album. However, this is an EP (we have always announced it as such): two Black Metal tracks with raw prod and old school sound (side A), composed and recorded by myself; and two more experimental tracks (side B) composed and recorded by HGH. Sün of the French NSBM group MALSAINT wrote all of the lyrics except for the outro. He does the harsh vocals on my tracks and I do all the clean singing. Sün is also doing the clean singing on one of the experimental tracks, and a real heavyweight of the French NSBM – whose name I shall keep secret until the vinyl is released – contributed with his lyrics and harsh singing on the outro. Ardraos of SÜHNOPFER does the drums. In my opinion, it was a good experience but I will not continue this project. I am no longer in the state of mind of the time – that of Parisian wanderings – and from the very beginning I saw it as a short break to try something other than PN, like my other project VALFUNDE, which I will never go back to. So I am leaving the future of VOUÏVRE in the hands of Sün and HGH, if they wish to continue this project.
Q7 : Let’s lift the veil on the upcoming collaboration between MILITANT ZONE and PESTE NOIRE. We are proud to announce the shooting of the video clip “Le dernier putsch” – the track that kicks right in from the first seconds of your most recent album. The shooting will take place in Kiev on June 11, and we would like to invite all fans and supporters to come join the crowd and become extras in this new Peste Noire video (for more details visit the event page: vk.com/kpn2017).
– “Le dernier putsch” was initially intended as a gesture of support to AZOV, so what better place than Kiev to shoot this video? As a matter of interest, we made a t-shirt a while ago depicting a hooligan armed with a baseball bat and wearing a knight’s helmet, with the slogan: “Be mediaeval”. Back then, it was only a t-shirt design, so I was completely blown away when I first saw hooligans with bats and clubs on the Maidan, encased in medieval armour and getting ready for the real putsch!DARK HOUSE is our exciting new anthology series featuring stories and art by new and emerging talent from the UK and beyond. We release new issues regularly and these will also be available to purchase online and in various comic book stores throughout the UK.
If you are interested in submitting work please bear in mind the following:
The featured stories and pin ups should be twilight zone-esque.
The art work must be black and white. You might have a great coloured piece, but if it doesn’t suit black and white printing we won’t be doing you, or us, any favours and it will have to be rejected.
We only accept completed stories up to six pages long.
Pinups are, of course, limited to one page.
We may post your work online or print it or both.
We do not pay for any submissions and we don’t accept payment in exchange for guaranteed space in a given issue.
Any money that we make will be put into securing the future of the Dark House Anthology series.
You are free to send your work to other publishers. We don’t claim any ownership of your work.
As a publisher of alternative comics, we welcome stories of an adult nature but we will not entertain submissions that include pornography, extreme violence or hate speech.
The publication is standard American comic book size. To send in a story or pinup, attach it to an e-mail with information about yourself. Please title the e-mail either story or pinup. We accept most file types. For stories, we prefer a print ready PDF, but if you can’t produce them, make sure that your files are named sensibly. For large files,we suggest using a file transfer site such as Dropbox.
If you have any questions about Dark House, please email darkhouse@haylestormcomics.com Issue one is out now, and issue two is almost complete. Follow us on twitter and facebook for the latest news.
We are also interested in comic book or graphic novel pitches. If you would like us to take a look, send your pitch to submissions@haylestormcomics.com today, or visit us at our next con.The Rowe Center places few restrictions on its campers. Jennifer Loeber Tucked in the mountains of Massachusetts, the Rowe Center sleep-away camp is every teenager's dream. During each summer, the camp holds a special session for campers between 15 and 18 and affords them nearly unlimited freedom.
From the activities they do to whether or not they go to sleep, teenagers are empowered to make their own decisions and exercise their independence. While adults are present in the form of camp directors and support staffers, campers are encouraged to take an active role in leading the camp and negotiating their own community rules.
Photographer Jennifer Loeber attended the camp during her teenage years and recently went back to document the camp and the many characters who attend. The resulting project is called "Cruel Story of Youth," which Loeber says refers to the world that the campers must return to after leaving the camp.
Loeber shared a number of photos with us here, but you can check out the rest at her website and follow her on Instagram.Industry’s Best Picture and Sound with New 4K Movies Available Tomorrow; DIRECTV Selected as 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honoree
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 13, 2014 – DIRECTV continues its two-decade legacy of TV innovation this week by becoming the first multi-channel video provider to offer 4K Ultra HD programming direct to customers’ TVs.
Tomorrow, DIRECTV will begin offering a variety of new releases, popular films and nature documentaries in 4K, the industry’s best picture quality that features life-like clarity with nearly four times the resolution of HD. DIRECTV has teamed up with Samsung, the leading brand in UHD TVs, as its exclusive CE 4K UHD launch partner. Customers who have DIRECTV’s Genie HD DVR will be able to watch 4K programming on supporting 2014 Samsung UHD TVs.
“For more than 20 years, DIRECTV has been changing the way people watch TV as the first to move the industry from analog to digital to HD and now the ultimate TV experience with 4K TV,” said Romulo Pontual, executive vice president and CTO, DIRECTV. “The picture quality and depth of detail that 4K provides is nothing short of remarkable and we will continue to expand our 4K lineup as consumer demand grows and evolves.”
DIRECTV’s 4K Ultra HD programming is delivered in the highest resolution available and enables viewers to see sharper detail, smoother lines, and a richer color palette – even up-close images are clearer and more realistic. At launch DIRECTV will begin offering nearly 20 movies from both Paramount Pictures and Havoc with more titles to be announced soon. Movies include:
Forrest Gump
Star Trek (2009)
Amistad
The Terminal
McLintock!
Transformers: Age of Extinction
The Last Reef
Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs
Antarctica
Dolphins
Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag
Dinosaurs Alive!
Coral Reef Adventure
Space Junk
Yellowstone
Legends of Flight
Rescue
The Ultimate Wave Tahiti
Mysteries of the Great Lakes
Customers will need an Internet-connected Genie HD DVR (HR34 and above), and a Samsung UHD TV that is DIRECTV 4K Ready. Pricing for 4K movies will range from $3.99 – $15.99, and will be on a per-movie-basis.
DIRECTV has been recognized as a 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honoree for its 4K Ultra HD VOD lineup delivered via the DIRECTV Genie HD DVR and DIRECTV 4K Ready TVs. The DIRECTV Genie HD DVR, which is currently in millions of DIRECTV customer homes, now allows receiver-less connections to supporting Samsung UHD TVs and creates instant availability of DIRECTV 4K VOD movies directly to those televisions.
About DIRECTV:
DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is one of the world’s leading providers of digital television entertainment services delivering a premium video experience through state-of-the-art technology, unmatched programming and industry leading customer service to more than 38 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America. In the U.S., DIRECTV offers its 20 million customers access to more than 195 HD channels and Dolby-Digital® 5.1 theater-quality sound, access to exclusive sports programming such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET™, Emmy-award winning technology and higher customer satisfaction than the leading cable companies for 14 years running. DIRECTV Latin America, through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries, leads the pay TV category in technology, programming and service, delivering an unrivaled digital television experience to more than 18 million customers. DIRECTV sports and entertainment properties include two Regional Sports Networks (Rocky Mountain and Pittsburgh), and minority ownership interests in Root Sports Northwest and Game Show Network. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit www.directv.com.The React Talks Q2 report is the pilot episode (the S01E01) of the whole MeetupFeed project—a handpicked curation of 85 talks recorded at React meetups and conferences over the course of Q2.
The React Talks Q2 report, the first @meetupfeed curation with 85 talks recorded at meetups and conferences is LIVE!https://t.co/9rXpjE4rnz — MeetupFeed (@meetupfeed) October 11, 2017
What is the MeetupFeed project?
MeetupFeed is a curation of recorded talks from the latest tech meetups and conferences. It makes it easy for developers to follow and discover what’s happening in their global communities.
The React Talks Q2 Report
Flooding you with YouTube URLs for 50+ hours of React videos wouldn’t have made much sense so we have spent the last two weeks contacting speakers and gathering information about as many talks as we could. When browsing the report, you can easily find the interesting ones thanks to the TL;DR descriptions we could gather from speakers, YouTube descriptions and meetup announcements. For enabling some sort of Q&A, we have added the twitter profiles for all the speakers we could find so that you can reach them with your questions.
The result is a comprehensive report of React Q2 events with dozens of talks, detailed descriptions and all the useful links at hand.
The next episode, React Talks Q3 is going live in two weeks on 10/24, along with several new Talks series covering other technologies. Stay tuned, subscribe to the MeetupFeed newsletter and follow us on twitter.
Chicago, IL, USA
Dean Radcliffe (Deanius Solutions)
For sites that focus on real-time collaborative experiences, WebSockets are a must. But once you have them – do you invent your own protocol to run over them, or what? This talk will explore the fledgling Antares architecture. Antares is currently used to build a real-time collaborative educational platform at a large Educational Tech company in Chicago, and is a mashup of functional concepts from Redux, RxJS, and MeteorJS. We’ll explore and live code sample applications and discuss the shifts in mindset to develop and support this powerful, enabling technology.
Ragu Ramaswamy (RetireUp)
D3 has become the de facto library for performing data visualization, however it has an api which is not intuitive at first, using React to update the document with svg and d3 to play with the math has been successfully tried in some libraries. But finance data viz is a different beast, there are often thousands of svg objects which get updated on every interaction. The debate between svg and canvas gets real in this area. In this talk I will go over the problem with using svg for a finance chart, and convert that to canvas to show the performance improvements by comparing the flame charts.
Harry Tormey
React Native is great for writing cross platform mobile apps in Javascript. Certain use-cases, however, still require native code. Together we will take a look at some of these exceptions and how to evaluate when native code is the better choice. As an example for the discussion, I’ll be using a medical marijuana delivery application I wrote using React Native. We’ll cover when to move code to native, how to handle background geolocation, and strategies for dealing with networking using redux.
Berkeley Martinez (freeCodeCamp)
Redux has created an enormous paradigm shift in web application development: Defining how data changes in response to events in your application. This change has led the front-end community to embrace Redux with increasing optimism. But there is still one thing that Redux is not very good at: asynchronous side effects.
Reactive Extensions for JavaScript (RxJS) and Redux-Observable solve the async problem by combining functional programming concepts and event-based data streams allowing the developer to define side effects that are act in response to events.
This advanced talk will show you how to combine synchronous and asynchronous code flawlessly using RxJS & Redux-Observable to take your JavaScript apps to the next level.
Note: This talk explains RxJS in the context of a Redux application. However, RxJS is framework-agnostic, so the principles apply to vanilla JS or other frameworks such as Angular, Ember, etc.
Colin Young & Tyson Kunovsky (Lambda Consulting)
In this talk we will explore how the Lambda Consulting team was able to achieve close to 70% code reusability in a complex React + Redux application between web/mobile/tablet through the use of shared reducers, utility functions, higher order components, dynamic requires, Expo, and react native for web. Along the way there were many potential pitfalls and gotchas so we hope that our experiences will serve as a good starting place for anyone who is looking to share code between web and mobile applications.
Vancouver, Canada
Joe Gaudet (Foodee)
Joe Gaudet gave a talk titled Fun with Animations which he teaches how to animate using Animated library in React Native
Eric Kim (Apply Digital)
London, UK
Tyler Ferguson (Nested)
We’ve recently migrated nested.com from a fairly traditional multi-page Rails application to a React single page application. In this talk we’ll share our general approach and some of the things we’ve learned in the process, including how to do this in piecemeal manner, how to maintain performance while the old and new implementations are running at the same time, and monitoring the impact of each converted page through A/B testing.
Luke Sheard (J.P. Morgan)
In this Lightning talk Luke’s gonna talk to you about Building User Interfaces Without React … but with React.
Olena Sovyn (Webflow)
Lightning Talk
Thomas Hudspith-Tatham (Sky)
We all know the famous test pyramid and I think the middle layer has one of the most valuable parts to play. React plays great with a strategy we’ve taken advantage of that I’d like to call browserless app testing.
Karl O’Keeffe (Geckoboard)
An introduction to React Storybook, what it is, how to use it, and some of the benefits we have seen from adopting it here at Geckoboard.
Marcel Cutts (Asgard)
People in React community are absolutely bursting with excitement about ReasonML – but why is that, and what does it have to do with our beloved React? Is this just another hipster foible, or will we all be barking about ReasonML in a year’s time?
All great questions! Join me in surfing the hype wave to unearth answers and more!
David Somers & Abigail McPhillips (Pixie Labs)
React Native is an awesome tool for building mobile apps. However the integration testing tools are limited, which is hard to swallow for a modern library. So we made Cavy: a framework to test React Native apps and make developing them faster. We’ll show you how it works, talk though its principles, and show you how we use it at Pixie Labs.
Dublin, Ireland
Richey Ryan
Conventional wisdom tells us that we must separate our concerns. We must keep our HTML, CSS and Javascript separate. A component based approach to building applications separates concerns based on functionality. This is in contrast to the arbitrary boundaries of documents, styles and interactivity.
Brian Mullan
Vienna, Austria
Federico Zivolo (Quid)
In this talk we see how is it possible to integrate JavaScript libraries into React when they are written with this kind of integration in mind. Specifically, we are going to talk about Popper.js, a tooltip positioning library. This kind of libraries are usually very messy, but in this talk we’ll see how Popper.js plays greatly with React.
Timo Obereder
Github
The breakdown of Timo’s talk:
Act 1 — The concept of higher order components
Act 2 — Presentational component and container
Act 3 — Recompose (with github repo example)
Tomek Wiszniewski (Kalo)
Choosing the right technologies when starting a project is a make or break thing. It’s almost impossible to change the stack later on. Who knows if React will still be mainstream when our thing hits the market? It’s a risky decision, right?
Not anymore! Now we can use frontend microservices to pick the right tool for every job! Traditionally, single page apps are monoliths. Here’s a React app, that’s an Elm app and this one is in Vue.js. In this talk, we’ll see how things like web components change the game. Finally, we can use the right tool for every job! We can introduce Elm bit by bit to a React-powered experience – or neatly embed Vue.js UI nuggets in an Angular app.
We’ll learn from the ups and downs of traditional microservices, catch a glimpse of the culture that this approach has brought about at Kalo and leave with a strong toolset to make things happen.
You can find Tomek’s same talk from the Elm Europe 2017 conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_5XKPe4fZM (26:39)
Federica Recanatini
As the title suggests, this talk is about creating and consuming third party libraries – its aim is to give as much information as possible on the topic in order to motivate developers to explore the possibilities out there in case they decide to distribute their own library or contribute to an existing open source one.
Among the topics which are covered are: why it is important to know how libraries are distributed (not just relevant for open source, but also for business), where to start, bundle vs. module builder, definition of usage spec of imports/exports, some considerations regarding styles and where to host them. The example I am showing is the react-redux-router library from a distribution point of view (it is irrelevant that people know what the library is actually for).
My slides are hosted on github pages: https://feychou.github.io/how-do-i-lib/
On the last page you can find the sources I used: https://feychou.github.io/how-do-i-lib/#/15
Markus Meixner (ViewAR)
Juho Vepsäläinen
Webpack has become an indispensable tool for web developers. I discuss the tool in my book “SurviveJS – Webpack”. The talk discusses the book topics. You will learn the basic ideas behind webpack while getting a better idea of its capabilities and surrounding ecosystem.
I have the slides at https://presentations.survivejs.com/webpack-from-apprentice-to-journeyman/ and https://presentations.survivejs.com/webpack-from-journeyman-to-master/. The book is available at https://survivejs.com/webpack/ and you can read it online.
There’s also a summarized version of the slides at https://presentations.survivejs.com/webpack-the-good-parts/
I also did something React specific at https://presentations.survivejs.com/webpack-the-react-parts/
Eva Lettner
Nik Graf
In this talk I will take you on a journey to other worlds. We travel through the Galaxy exploring the various planets and locations. We kick off our journey exploring the best our universe has to offer in terms of bureaucracy by visiting the Central Vogon Museum. Next |
in the type of landscape created when we practice animal husbandry, where predators do not reduce the population density of herbivores. Right now, poisoning of animals by toxins like ergovaline costs the US cattle industry one billion dollar every year, a figure that’s going to increase drastically as atmospheric CO2 concentrations start to escalate.22
Conclusion
I have outlined some of the issues that agriculture in the 21st century will face in this article here above. I have focused on the issues people are unfamiliar with, because they require a better understanding. Relatively little research is still done on many of the problems described here. Other problems that agriculture is going to face are better known to many people. Heat waves and droughts can reduce yields and fossil fuel depletion will inevitably cause big problems as well.
The problem I see above all however, is that everybody looks at agriculture from an anthropocentric perspective. Agriculture is seen as a project that we decided to embark upon as a species. It is hardly ever interpreted as a consequence of the unique climatic conditions of the Holocene that made an otherwise rare phenomenon possible on a global scale. This despite the observation by archaeologists that agriculture emerged more or less simultaneously in different parts of the globe, “invented” by cultures that had no contact with each other.
If we look at agriculture as a consequence of factors outside of our control, then it becomes possible to imagine a world in which agriculture can disappear again, as the unique configuration of climatic variables that gave rise to it disappears as well. Note here that I am not suggesting that agriculture itself becomes physically impossible to practice. Grain yields don’t have to drop to zero to cause a culture to abandon agriculture. Rather, a culture that does not aim to control its local ecosystem may have a survival advantage over a culture that does, whereas under present climatic conditions it has a disadvantage in most of the world’s biomes, as today’s hunter-gatherers survive in deserts, tundra and other places where agriculture is nigh impossible.
Important to note is that an end to agriculture is not the same thing as the end of humanity. Humans are adapted to a wide variety of different biomes. Inuit thrive in the Arctic, the Khoisan thrive in the Kalahari desert, Tibetans thrive in their mountainous landscape, all thanks to genetic adaptations to their local conditions, just as Europeans are adapted to the relatively low iron concentrations in their soils.
Humans also have a variety of important skills that developed before agriculture. Like other primates, we can pick parasites out of each other’s hair and skin. We can walk on two feet, which allows us to cross larger distances while spending less energy than animals that rely on four legs. We can use fire, first developed about 2 million years ago, to cook food, which allows us to make the calories and nutrients more readily available for absorption. We can use stone tools, to dig for nutritious tubers in the ground. We can regulate our temperature through use of clothing.
The Neolithic revolution happened thousands of years ago in some parts of the planet, but other large parts of the world got by until just a few centuries ago without depending on agriculture, while some people still manage to survive without practicing agriculture. Our species managed to thrive before agriculture. If agriculture proves to be unsustainable, humans will be able to survive its demise.
1 – https://www.wageningenur.nl/upload_mm/2/0/b/f2601035-3fa4-41cb-b0f5-77de713695fc_erring.pdf
2 – http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg2/en/ch19s19-3-2-1.html
3 – http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/31/climate-change-food-supply-un
4 – http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0066428
5 – http://ejfa.info/index.php/ejfa/article/view/12978
6 – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11876493
7 – Quantitative Trait Loci for Clubroot Resistance in Brassica oleracea R.E. Voorrips, M.C. Jongerius, and H.J. Kanne
8 – http://www.apsnet.org/publications/plantdisease/2008/February/Pages/92_2_317.2.aspx
9 – http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abhinandan_Deora/publication/261173408_Effect_of_environmental_parameters_on_clubroot_development_and_the_risk_of_pathogen_spread/links/0a85e5336a13613b7d000000.
10 – http://www.researchgate.net/publication/241732437_Effect_of_soil_aeration_on_the_occurrence_of_clubroot_disease_of_crucifers
11 – A New Perspective on Recent Global Warming: Asymmetric Trends of Daily Maximum and Minimum Temperature
12 – Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne Species) Distribution in Some Tomato Fields in MakurdiBem, A.A1, Antsa, R.T., Orpin, J.B, Bem, S.L, And Amua, Q.M1
13 – http://www.nev.nl/pages/publicaties/proceedings/nummers/12/151-156.pdf
14 – http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/4/1/92
15 – http://www.akademiai.com/content/u30q85q0x2658425/
16 – http://www.life.illinois.edu/delucia/PUBLICATIONS/Dermody%20et%20al.%202008.pdf
17 – http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4043168?sid=21104939178381&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3738736
18 – http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4046118?sid=21104939178381&uid=3738736&uid=4&uid=2
19 – http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00406527
20 – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20462828
21 – http://www.researchgate.net/publication/259196982_Near-term_impacts_of_elevated_CO2_nitrogen_and_fungal_endophyte-infection_on_Lolium_perenne_L._growth_chemical_composition_and_alkaloid_production
22 – http://msdssearch.dow.com/PublishedLiteratureDAS/dh_0890/0901b803808900ae.pdf?filepath=range/pdfs/noreg/010-58046.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc
AdvertentiesXSEED Games today announced that Senran Kagura: Estival Versus will launch on the PS Vita and PS4 with a limited “Endless Summer” retail release containing an art book packed full of artwork from the Senran Kagura series, a randomly chosen set of 2.5” by 3.5” collectible “pin-up cards” featuring a selection of buxom beauties from one of Estival Versus’ playable factions, and a 2-disc soundtrack.
In Senran Kagura: Estival Versus, a mystical phenomenon transports the buxom beauties of the titular series to a parallel dimension to face off against their rivals in a new kind of battle. In this strange world – which resembles a sunny, sandy island paradise – the girls are thrown for another loop as they encounter departed loved ones and ultimately have to decide if they can bear to part from them a second time.
With over two dozen characters, making this the biggest roster in the series’ history, Senran Kagura: Estival Versus boasts more moves, more story, more attitude, and more destruction online with matches that can support up to 10 players (PS4 only; PS Vita supports up to 4 players). All the previous shinobi girls return with a host of upgraded moves to master, and new playable characters offer more challenges to conquer, along with a story that’s equal parts sexy and shocking, serious and scandalous, busty and bouncy.
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus will be released in North America in the first quarter of 2016. The limited Endless Summer physical release has a suggested retail price of $49.99 for the PS Vita and $59.99 for the PS4, while the digital release of the game on the PlayStation Store will be available for $39.99 on the PS Vita and for $49.99 on the PS4.
Check out the Senran Kagura: Estival Versus PS Vita Screenshots:
Check out the Senran Kagura: Estival Versus Announcement Trailer:
Check out the Senran Kagura: Estival Versus Gameplay Trailer:Copyright by WKRN - All rights reserved (Courtesy: Paperdolls Photography)
WKRN web staff - NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - A 2-year-old who spent most of his short life battling cancer sadly died early Monday morning.
According to the Facebook page set up for Trip Phinney, he passed away peacefully in his sleep at 4 a.m. He was surrounded by loved ones.
Even though he was young, Little Trip was fond of the Nashville Predators. He hardly missed a game, despite spending much of this Stanley Cup run in the hospital.
Trip made headlines last this past weekend after captain Mike Fisher and Roman Josi visited him at the hospital, a trip that was documented by Paperdolls Photography.
Copyright by WKRN - All rights reserved (Courtesy: Paperdolls Photography)
"He has touched the lives and hearts of many. He was a warrior and held on until his last breath and his hearts last beat. He was happy and cheerful even in his last moments. He is in a better place with all of our combined love and support from everyone he has touched," the Facebook page for Trip says.
He will be laid to rest Saturday June 17 at Woodfin Memorial Funeral Chapel. A memorial service begins at 1 p.m. and lasts until 2 p.m. and will be followed by a celebration of life.
A YouCaring account has been set up for anyone wishing to donate to the family.Clearing out the notebook following Tuesday’s Seahawks’ OTA. …
To recap where we are, the Seahawks held their fifth of 10 OTAs (Organized Team Activities) on Tuesday. They will hold another on Thursday and then four more next week, from Monday-Thursday. Tuesday’s will be open to the media but the rest are closed. Seattle will then hold one mini-camp practice on June 18 that will also be open to the media. Then it is off for the summer until the beginning of training camp in late July.
The Seahawks had no official transactions Wednesday and have had only one minor move this week, waiving DL Tory Slater off the Injured Reserve list. He was then signed by the Browns.
I continue to get questions about Kasen Williams, the former UW and Skyline High receiver who took part in Seattle’s rookie mini-camp. The answer remains the same — don’t be surprised if he signs with the Seahawks prior to mini-camp. NFL rules would prohibit Williams from taking part in OTAs since UW has not held its graduation yet. With Williams having already taken part in the rookie mini-camp as a tryout player, there isn’t a real need for the Seahawks to sign him now since he can’t take part in workouts, anyway. Some have asked what’s the difference between Williams’ situation and that of, say, Jermaine Kearse in 2012. Kearse, recall, was signed as an undrafted free agent so the team could get him into its rookie mini-camp. Williams had signed with the Bengals, as well. But he became available after failing his physical, and Seattle got him in quickly on a tryout basis. Not having him on the 90-man roster now allows them to look at someone else in OTAs. And obviously, they’d have to release someone to get Williams on the 90-man. But those moves happen all the time.
There were a couple of new players sidelined on Tuesday — linebacker Mike Morgan and OT Garry Gilliam. Since Pete Carroll didn’t meet the media we didn’t get details. But neither looked serious. Gilliam being out, though, allowed undrafted free agent Jesse Davis to get a lot of work with the second-team offense at left tackle. You’ll recall that OL coach Tom Cable raved about Davis after the rookie mini-camp (and Cable surely has a soft spot for a player who is a fellow Idaho Vandal alum). It’s really hard to judge linemen in these settings but Cable obviously must be seeing something he likes in Davis and at the moment, I’d put him on the short list of UDFAs who may have a chance to hang around a while.
There is an awful lot of mixing and matching of the OLs after the starting unit so you always have to be wary about reading too much into who is where. But the No. 2 OL, as I saw it when they first went to team sessions, was Kona Schwenke at RT, Drew Nowak at RG, Patrick Lewis at center, Will Pericak at RG and Davis at LT. The team’s three OL draft picks seemed to be rotating in from there, with Mark Glowinski also getting some work at RT as well as guard, with Kristjan Sokoli remaining at C and Terry Poole at LG. Keavon Milton also got work with the twos at RT.
Morgan worked with the ones at SLB last week when we got a chance to watch one OTA. But with Morgan out Tuesday, Kevin Pierre-Louis took that role, working with the starting LB unit alongside K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner. Bruce Irvin is the regular starting SLB. But his future is obviously uncertain and Pierre-Louis is getting some good work now grooming him to maybe take over that role long-term. As Jayson Jenks noted in our impressions, Pierre-Louis had one of the plays of the day on Tuesday with an interception turned “pick-six.” The backup LBs were usually Brock Coyle in the middle, Eric Pinkins at SLB and Tyrell Adams at WLB with Mister Alexander also working in there.
No surprise here, but when the No. 1 offense began in its three-WR sets, the three receivers were Jermaine Kearse and Chris Matthews on the outside and Doug Baldwin in the slot. Matthews had been sidelined for the opening OTA with a minor injury but otherwise has been out there and was a sivible presence on Tuesday, making one TD catch during the red zone sessions that dominated the day’s work. Said offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell later of Matthews: “He missed a few days. He got stepped on so he missed a few days so we haven’t had him every day, but the parts we’ve seen him, he had a nice catch down there in the red zone today. He’s done fine.”
It might have just been because there were so few other tailbacks available. But Derrick Coleman got some snaps at tailback, a position he also played at UCLA, and something that could maybe give the Seahawks some intriguing options down the road.
I wrote a little about Tarvaris Jackson and the backup QB situation on Tuesday. One interesting dynamic with Jackson is that he is represented by Joel Segal, who is also the agent for two other prominent veteran QBs who remain available for backup jobs — Michael Vick and Jason Campbell. So you’d think he has a pretty good idea of what the backup QB market is.
Others who remain sidelined include TE Anthony McCoy, who is coming off of two straight Achilles tendon injuries; CB Tharold Simon, who had off-season shoulder surgery; and FB Will Tukuafu (unclear what his situation is).Japan’s devastation this week from the earthquake and the resulting tsunami have left thousands dead. Now, the Japanese are beset with damage to six nuclear reactors. We must give our brothers and sisters in Japan our prayers and assistance. It is also a very good time to recall that in the Seventies of the last century Japan was the scene of the best authenticated Marian apparition since Fatima, and which has been deemed worthy of belief by the Vatican. The message of Our Lady of Akita is a stern one, and a call for repentance and a turning to God. Here at the beginning of Lent we have a graphic reminder that in this world, as well as in the next, our only sure reliance is in God.
Go here to read the text of the letter of Bishop John Shojiro Ito on Our Lady of Akita.
Our Lady of Akita, we beseech your intercession with God for the people of Japan in their travail. We also ask your prayers to aid the spreading of your message around the globe, and to ask your Son to show mercy on us sinners.“Nancy Pelosi and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer held a rally at the steps of The Supreme Court,” President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, “and mic did not work (a mess)-just like Dem party.”
The jibe was a follow-up to remarks the president made to reporters earlier in the day after a White House meeting with small-business owners.
"I noticed Chuck Schumer yesterday with fake tears," Trump told the press pool. "I’m going to ask him who is his acting coach."
Devising mocking nicknames for his political adversaries, particularly ones that accuse them of lacking clichéd qualities of dominant masculinity, is nothing new for Trump. But the mere fact that old habits are repeating themselves in the White House is noteworthy. Election Day exit polls revealed that 63 percent of the population (including something like a quarter of the people who voted for Trump) believed that he lacked the appropriate temperament to be president. Indeed, to help consolidate the support of Republicans who didn’t necessarily admire his antics, one of Trump’s key campaign pledges was to behave more professionally in office.
"I will be so presidential," he promised during an April Today show appearance, “you will be so bored. You'll say, 'Can't he have a little more energy?'"
The jibe at Schumer, the senior legislative leader of the Democratic Party, is yet another reminder that there is no New Trump, there is no pivot, and there never will be. But the particular manner in and grounds on which Trump has chosen to mock Schumer are especially revealing. Trump is so profoundly lacking in empathy that he can’t even begin to comprehend the possibility that another person might experience it. As president, he makes life-and-death decisions on a daily basis, and he’s doing so without any awareness of the internal lives of others.
Donald Trump has made many people cry
The immigration restrictions the Trump administration rolled out on Friday were cruel in both their design and their effect — deliberate impositions of suffering on some of the weakest, most vulnerable people in global society. They were also implemented with stunning speed, leaving hundreds of people already in transit stuck in limbo. One woman and her two children were detained at Dulles Airport with no food for 20 hours.
But beyond those directly impacted, Trump’s order affects many millions of Americans because it wounds our sense of who we are as a nation.
Schumer is one such American. His great-grandmother died in the Holocaust, as did seven of her nine children. Virtually every Jewish person in America has stories of family members who fled persecution abroad to find a new and better life in the United States, and of other family members who didn’t make it out and died as a result. For most American Jews — especially those of us who, like Schumer and I, grew up in New York under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty — the sense of the United States as a place of refuge from the blood-and-soil nationalism of Europe is integral to our sense of American greatness.
► Listen to the latest episode of The Weeds podcast: The Don't-Call-It-A-Muslim-Ban
Trump is killing an important piece of American identity
America is a vast and diverse country, and there are as many visions of America as there are kinds of Americans. This particular vision of America doesn’t speak directly to the family experience of everyone, especially including the descendants of those brought here as slaves. But many American ethnic communities — from Jewish and Cuban to Hmong and Ethiopian — are largely descended from people who came to this country fleeing political persecution, and to us it’s a fundamental American story.
It goes back to the pilgrims who first came to these shores seeking shelter from religious persecution. In 1788, George Washington wrote to the Dutch revolutionary leader Francis Adrian Van der Kemp that he “had always hoped that this land might become a safe & agreeable Asylum to the virtuous & persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.”
Over the centuries, a great many persecuted people never found a safe and agreeable asylum. But a great many did find it — here.
In words not yet purged from the State Department’s website, America’s “refugee resettlement program reflects the United States’ highest values and aspirations to compassion, generosity and leadership.” While only a relatively small number of refugees get resettled in third countries, “the United States welcomes almost two-thirds of these refugees, more than all other resettlement countries combined.”
A president without empathy is a scary thing
The presidency is an enormous job, and making life-and-death decisions on a daily basis is essential to it. While I was drinking my coffee this morning, I read Kevin Sieff in the Washington Post, reporting from Kenya on some of the most dire refugee cases. These are cases that involve children suffering from severe, but treatable, illnesses that will probably kill them by the time Trump’s temporary refugee suspension is over, regardless of whether the US resumes admitting refugees at its end:
One is a 9-year-old Somali child in Ethiopia with a congenital heart disease that cannot be treated in a refugee camp. Another is a 1-year-old Sudanese boy with cancer. A third is a Somali boy with a severe intestinal disorder living in a camp that doesn’t even have the colostomy bags he needs. After President Trump’s executive order last week, their resettlement in America was put on hold. Now, the organization responsible for processing refugees in sub-Saharan Africa, Church World Service, says that order could be their death sentence.
I have a little boy at home myself, nearly 2 years old, and since his birth I’ve found it hard to bear stories of sad things happening to children. I understand a parent’s love in a way I didn’t used to, and my heart breaks for these kids and for their families. I teared up reading Sieff’s story the first time, and again rereading those passages to quote them here.
It is outrageous that Trump’s policymaking process is in such shambles that he didn’t bother to run his executive order on refugees past any of the career staff in various agencies who could have saved him from this moral obscenity. A properly run interagency process would have flagged this issue and gotten the order rewritten so that a move to secure the borders from terrorism didn’t bar an infant Sudanese cancer patient from receiving treatment.
Though Trump is unusually bad in this regard, all presidents make a certain number of rookie mistakes. There is a learning curve, and we all hope they will improve. A more alarming idea is that if Trump hears that people who read Sieff’s story cried, he might decide they are lying. That it’s all fake tears. That no one is actually upset that he is allowing children to die or to be killed for no reason.
This is unsettling because it means that Trump isn’t just blundering. It means that if someone does tell him about the 9-year-old with congenital heart disease or the Church World Service staffer trying to save his life, Trump assumes no one actually cares because he himself does not care. That’s a problem that cannot get better with time or practice because this man will — every day for thousands of days to come — make decisions with human lives hanging in the balance.
Watch: Donald Trump's executive order, explainedIn the never-ending cycle of media relations leading up to UFC 135 this weekend, current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger 'Rampage' Jackson appeared on ESPN's Sportscenter this morning. The usual verbal sparring match ensued, but Jackson dropped a bomb during the segment, claiming that a man named "Leonard", who worked for his sponsor MusclePharm, was the spy in his camp feeding Jon Jones information.
According to a SEC Filing issued on September 16, 2011, MusclePharm executive vice president Leonard Armenta resigned from his position with the company, leading to some speculation that he was, in fact, the 'Leonard' that Jackson is accusing in the interview. Jackson stated on Twitter that he didn't want to reveal the man's full name out of respect for MusclePharm, so it isn't confirmed whether Armenta is the man Jackson is talking about.
Jon Jones took to Twitter moments later, stating it "sucks" an employee at MusclePharm was fired over Rampage's paranoia:
Some of the immediate reactions to the news, especially if you buy into the notion that Leonard Armenta's resignation has everything to do with 'Spygate', has been mostly positive toward Jackson. Rampage delivered a name when pressed by Jones to reveal the spy, and the SEC filing could be connected to Rampage's claim. We have no idea if the resignation of Armenta and Rampage's claim are connected though.
It also brings up another question that seems to get ignored in all the arguing. If spying did actually occur, who's to say that Jon Jones even knew about it? Perhaps a pissed off former employee gave the information to Jones' camp. Hard to ignore a phone call from a legitimate source who says Rampage is hurt, isn't it? In any case, the saga probably won't end here.A bumper crop of city farms, rooftop gardens, and futuristic urban greenhouses here and abroad is changing what it means to eat local.
“That’s our mockingbird,” says willowy Annie Novak, immaculate and breezy in ankle-length linen and high-heeled strappy sandals. She points at a bird in a beleaguered tree outside the industrial building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, whose stairs we’re about to climb and apologizes that the bird is about to run through its entire repertoire. “I hope it’s not too annoying.”
Like most New Yorkers, I find birdsong anywhere inside the concrete jungle a surprise and charm. But it pales beside the rooftop Eden into which we emerge. Here, one story above the soundstage where Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt are filmed, are a fussing chicken coop and sixteen beds of dark soil bearing blackberries, calendula, lavender, basil, sage, chives, parsley, kale, mizuna, mustards, broccoli, zinnias, and row upon row of chiles. There are three types of English rose, a hazelnut tree, and a single slim peach tree in a very deep pot. Annie calls the peach “my only concession to romanticism.” It’s the one plant in her seven-year-old Eagle Street Rooftop Farm—which has the distinction of being the first commercial green roof farm in the United States—not selected for its ability to withstand a hot, windy, city roof. Annie admits she loves the peach tree, but she won’t name it. “That would be too sentimental,” she says. Thus a theme develops. Annie—whose classic Roman face (she also models) expresses utter impatience with my slightly impudent questions about terroir (“Does a certain eau d’oil spill find its way into the herb bed?”)—calls my misgivings about hydroponic vegetables “nostalgic” and lets me understand, in gentler words than these, that my idea that real farming happens only in the countryside is a regressive fantasy.
I’d always thought it was the other way around. I’d heard about the last decade’s groundswell (cementswell?) of gardens inside cities, and read about urban-farming rock stars, like Will Allen, the former professional basketball player who won a MacArthur fellowship in 2008 for his cutting-edge Milwaukee-based Growing Power farm, and Ron Finley, Los Angeles’s so-called Gangsta Gardener, who teases banana trees and sunflowers from South Central’s littered traffic medians. Still, I’ve suspected most urban farmers of nostalgia—of being the slightly naive, faddish Fourierists of today. I support beautifying urban spaces with greenery. I’ve lived in San Francisco, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and never not planted my fire escape or roof with herbs, cherry tomatoes, chiles, and even fruit trees (with very spotty success). But I’ve always considered it a sentimental hobby, not of the hard-nosed real world in which we grow food in the country and grow money in the city, and exchange the two.
One afternoon with Annie refutes my skepticism. She’s at the forefront of what has become a global movement. Today, there are more than 900 gardens and farms in New York City. Annie started this one in 2009—before, by my record, urban farming was a thing—from pure pragmatism. She tells me that the highest rate of childhood asthma in the United States is found in children living near the Hunts Point wholesale market, in the Bronx—the largest food-distribution terminal in the world. “It’s because of the trucking,” she says. “That alone speaks volumes. I deliver produce down the stairs.”
Here are the rest of the reasons she built a farm here: to lower the devastating environmental costs of carbon-intensive farming; to answer economic questions about getting fresh produce into poor communities; to provide food education in cities. “All of those,” she says, “can be addressed by a rooftop farm.”
Max Lerner, the NYC Parks Department sustainability project development coordinator, tells me that even small farms like Annie’s work against “the urban heat island effect” and something dreadful-sounding called “combined sewer overflow” by creating permeable spaces within cities to absorb rainwater. He sends me NYC’s official strategy for a sustainable future with the note “Urban farming contributes to almost every category we’re working toward.”
A staggering number of cities—Austin, Seattle, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago—have all adopted zoning codes, tax breaks, and other financial easements for urban gardens. At the movement’s front edge is the plagued but ever-innovating Detroit, which has so successfully encouraged food production on its 30 square miles of vacant lots that it now claims 1,500 urban gardens. Chicago is home to more than 800; Philadelphia, 450. Not since the victory gardens of the 1940s—which I admit I have always longed to see, blooming victorious—has there been, to my mind, such widespread embrace by government and populace of growing food inside cities.
There’s also the fact that in 1950, a third of the world’s population lived in cities; the UN predicts that by 2050, that number will be 66 percent. Americans demand on average 20 global acres (we have latitudinarian tastes—e.g., we want Szechuan peppercorns and kale). But, I learn, suddenly becoming alarmed, there are only 4.2 global acres available per human on the planet. Our farming doesn’t produce enough peppercorns and kale to support the planet now, never mind in 34 years.
Much as I’m enjoying scampering around a Brooklyn rooftop—particularly now that I know we are not simply enacting Hameau de la Reine–esque fantasies but addressing the more serious issues facing the world—I’m forced to admit I can’t get the whole picture from New York, or even by taking a low-carbon train ride to see urban farms in other American cities. We live, after all, in a country still in partial denial that human behavior affects the environment.
But a mere eight-hour flight will ferry me into the future. In Denmark, more than 20 percent of all energy already comes from renewable sources. A fifth of the population commutes by lovely, colorful mid-century bicycle. And recently urban farms have seen explosive development. “Today, urban farming is written into most Danish city planning,” says Lasse Carlsen, a founder of the urban agriculture company BioArk, which is collaborating with Noma chef René Redzepi on the Noma farm planned for central Copenhagen. “I don’t think you can find a major city in Denmark that doesn’t urban-farm in one way or the other.”
Noma’s farm isn’t open yet, but I keep hearing about another pioneering Danish restaurant, Amass, whose chef, Matt Orlando, a transplanted Californian, has been shoveling and growing in the shallow soil of an abandoned Copenhagen shipyard for three years. He also raises fish in a complicated on-site greenhouse system, makes compost, runs educational programs... and his food looks very good.
So I book a flight to Denmark, land of wind turbines and—according to the World Happiness Report—universal contentment. I arrive at Kastrup Airport on a bright summer morning and take a 20-minute taxi ride to Amass, in Red Hook–like Refshalevej, Copenhagen’s perfectly preserved shipyard.
Matt, a tall, dark-haired, handsome 39-year-old in a chef’s coat and apron, greets me with a glass of sparkling water and takes me on a tour of the Amass farm: a sprawling lot within a stone’s throw of the cold Danish sea, peppered with 170 lush, blooming planter boxes, filled with things petaled and leafy, shaggy and green, the air buzzing with bees.
The farm’s comprehensiveness is breathtaking. Plant beds are a combination of “keyhole gardens,” Matt explains, a southern African urban-planting technique, and “wicking beds” ingeniously bedded with black pond liner. Minimal irrigation is needed: All water from the kitchen or dining room is saved, sterilized, and used on the farm. Matt introduces me to his head farmer, Jacquie Pereira, a lovely 28-year-old Canadian (everyone here is astonishingly good-looking and well dressed: Sous-chef Kim Wejendorp looks like a fairy-tale Viking; communication manager Evelyn Kim is in the furry Céline slippers I’ve gazed at longingly for years). Matt and Jacquie have, over the last 20 months, planted more than 80 varietals to see what can withstand the harsh waterfront. I taste sweet and vibrant kales (which Matt charmingly calls “cabbages”), shockingly spicy oregano, and flowering arugula. Just outside Amass’s year-and-a-half-old greenhouse Matt introduces me to this year’s crop of earthworms, its bees—who last year produced 170 pounds of honey—and tries to show me the blackflies Jacquie raises for composting and fish food. Having grown up assaulted every summer night by that horrible species in Maine, I demur and become keenly interested in a nearby wild fennel patch.
The small greenhouse, brainchild of BioArk, is a future-of-farming in miniature: Two tanks full of carp swish and burble at foot height. Above hang white, rectangular plastic tubes, bursting with cabbages fed, Matt tells me, by earthworms plus filtered wastewater from the fish tanks. Unused water drips back into the tanks, and the cycle continues. Out the greenhouse’s back door, he lifts the lid of a wooden bin where Amass makes its own compost for fertilizer. “It takes us eight times as long to fill a single bin as when we opened,” he says. This is because Matt began to turn trim from beets and carrots into vibrantly colored vegetarian chicharrones. Coffee grinds now become rich, bitter biscuits. Herb stems are preserved and used as seasoning that, he says, “tastes like seaweed.” Ends of candles are melted into fire-starters. An air of effortless eco-chic pervades it all. Even Matt’s tattoos—of the Bay Area hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics, initials o.s.l.f. (“Old Souls Live Forever”), and a detailed illustration of a hibiscus flower growing out of a pool of chocolate—speak of an advanced, urbane understanding of plant cycles and ecological interdependency and, well... life. Amass strikes me as a tomorrowland foodie commune on Nordic steroids: progressive, technologically advanced, and truly sustainable.
But I still haven’t seen anything that grapples with one of farming’s biggest problems: water. Globally, agriculture accounts for 69 percent of water use—the numbers are higher for American farms. California is in its fifth year of a drought that is among the worst in recorded history. Dust-bowl predictions for west of the Rockies and all over the Middle East and North Africa abound. Where to see a vision of a farming future that doesn’t rely on either trucks or rainfall?
For this, I must go to the Netherlands, to visit a vast glass-and-steel construction perched atop a disused Philips factory in The Hague. Which is how I find myself at noon the following day rumbling up to the sixth-floor offices of the world’s highest greenhouse, UF002 De Schilde, where I’m told I’ll see city-scale aquaponics—meaning plants and edible fish raised codependently, and water eternally recycled through both.
If Amass was modern harmonic urban agricultural living, UF002 is spaceship Earth. Any lingering, deep-seeded suspicions that urban farming was a quixotic pursuit are presently dashed against the computer terminal at which director of operations Ramon Melon spends half his day, tweaking... levels: water supply, nutrient concentration, ideal temperature in the 26,909-square-foot operation’s three divisions—one for deep-hued hydroponic tomatoes and pretty, streaked eggplants, another for lettuces, another for 28 tanks of pink tilapia. Walking amid the vegetable bounty that seems near to erupting out of UF002’s Renzo Piano–like glass rooms, I find myself swept up in the mission of the organization, UrbanFarmers: to install enough rooftop aquaponic greenhouses that every city can produce 20 percent of its own food. “We hope there will be UF100, UF200, and so on,” executive director Mark Durno explains. I’m encouraged to pick and taste whatever I like. The lettuces are firm and crisp. Of three breeds of ripe tomatoes, I prefer neither the Montenegro nor the poetic Haiku but a complex, faintly rose-scented breed called RZ 72-192. No matter how convincingly I ask, I’m not permitted to harvest a fish for sampling, but am contented with reports from a recent taste test of Dutch visitors that pitted UF’s tilapia against wild dorade—in ceviche, no less—with UF tilapia winning the day. I find myself relieved that the future is environmentally intelligent, architecturally pleasing, and, as long as one likes lettuce and tomatoes, quite delicious.
Back in New York, I telephone Annie to report the sights I have seen. |
163 pilot whales have been killed with'spinal lances' to provide meat for the islandersBacteria found in a 5,300-year-old mummy called Oetzi, or Ӧtzi, the iceman may prove that ancient Europeans had a more complex series of migrations than previously believed. The “Out of Africa” theory suggests that the main migration from Africa occurred around 65,000 years ago. However, bacteria found in Oetzi the iceman reveals that the migration may be much more complex than previously believed and that the first migration may have taken place 80,000 to 120,000 years ago.
The Daily Mail reports that scientists studying the 5,300-year-old mummy Oetzi the iceman have come across some curious findings that suggest migration from Africa was much more complex than scientists previously believed. The iceman’s remains were found in the icy Austrian landscape and contained a bacteria that is found in modern day humans. However, it is the type of bacteria that has caused scientists to reevaluate the currently held “Out of Africa” theory as the new findings suggest that multiple waves of migrations occurred from Africa and resulted in modern day Europeans.
[BBC-Science] Stomach bug found in ancient Iceman: Bacteria recovered from Oetzi the Iceman shed light on his… https://t.co/jGkbLVDqCX — Tweet Feeds (@TwtFeeds) January 8, 2016
The current “Out of Africa” theory maintains that a mass migration from Africa occurred approximately 65,000 years ago into Europe. However, recent studies have suggested that this theory may need revision as more information suggests that homo sapiens first entered the Arabian Peninsula before continuing east to South Asia long before the 65,000 year mark.
The latest findings in Oetzi the iceman also suggest that homo sapiens left Africa long before 65,000 years ago and entered Asia some 80,000 to 120,000 years ago. While studying Oetzi, scientists analyzed the iceman’s DNA and found he was infected with a common bacterium, Helicobacter pylori. This bacteria infects approximately half of the current population. Scientists believe that there were originally two distinct strains of H.pylori — an African and an Asian strain — which merged to form the modern strain which infects people in Europe today. However, when analyzing Oetzi, scientists discovered that the iceman was infected not with the strain held by modern Europeans today, but rather a strain more closely resembling modern Central and South Asian strains.
Inside the stomach of Ötzi the Iceman, scientists found clues to how people got to Europe https://t.co/Tg98RqaLCA pic.twitter.com/srHf0x2xXG — The New York Times (@nytimes) January 7, 2016
Therefore, scientists say this could be a marker that migration movements were more complex than previously thought. In the traditional “Out of Africa” theory, it was assumed that Stone Age people were infected with the European strain before settling in the region. However, with the iceman carrying a different strain, it would suggest that at least some of the Copper Age and Stone Age people may not have come into contact with the bacteria prior to settling in the region. This means that migratory paths could be very complex with more than one mass migration out of Africa.
Dr. Frank Maixner, a microbiologist at EURA, says that the findings are interesting in that they point to a second population moving to Europe out of Africa.
‘The recombination of the two types of Helicobacter may have only occurred at some point after Ötzi’s era and this shows that the history of settlements in Europe is much more complex than previously assumed. We actually don’t know what kind of people brought this African H.pylori into Europe. What we do know is that the signal for this second population, which has come into Europe is strongest in North East Africa.”
The unusual bacteria find isn’t the only thing that has kept scientists thinking regarding the well-preserved iceman’s body. Scientists have long speculated on the cause of death for poor Oetzi with no complete conclusion ever truly agreed upon. From hypothesis of hypothermia, to death in battle, no one can agree on exactly what caused the iceman’s death. However, one group of archaeologists believes that the evidence suggests he may have died in battle due to the fact that blood from four other individuals was found on weapons located near the iceman’s body.
Iceman’s H. pylori Genome Hints at Ancient Migrations to Europe — NOVA Next | PBS https://t.co/yDkgXss9yk — Judi Llapitan (@Boomerbaby46) January 8, 2016
What do you think about the most recent findings? Do you think the “Out of Africa” theory will be revised due to the nature of the findings?
[Image via AP]When "Fringe" last graced our screens one long month ago, Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Olivia (Anna Torv) were left at cross-purposes once more. Following a fairly hefty info-dump from a mortally wounded Observer, Peter took two steps back in regards to his feelings for this timeline's Agent Dunham, apparently wary of making the same mistakes that landed him with a (now nonexistent) illegitimate lovechild with the wrong woman all over again.
HuffPost TV visited the Vancouver-based set of Fox's sci-fi drama earlier in March to find out whether Peter and Olivia's luck is set to change, or whether the star-crossed pair are still dancing around their destiny. Though we suspect it might be easier to rob Fort Knox than to extract spoilers from this cast, Jackson, Torv, John Noble (who plays Walter Bishop) and Seth Gabel (Lincoln Lee) were every bit as accommodating as we've come to expect -- and undeniably charming, as well -- even while dodging our questions. The four managed to offer up some tantalizing hints about what's to come, especially in terms of episodes 19 and 20 (the latter of which HuffPost TV was on set for); but we're saving those tidbits until closer to their air dates.
For now, read on for some teasers regarding the March 23 long-awaited episode, "A Short Story About Love," which was directed by executive producer Joel Wyman. And don't forget to check out our exclusive video interview featuring all four stars -- there will be plenty more where that came from in the weeks ahead. Light spoilers ahead.
Though the stars of "Fringe" have been well-trained in the art of deflecting probing questions at this point, there was one fact that none of the actors were afraid of vocalizing: Their admiration for producer Joel Wyman in his directorial debut.
"I wish we would've had him earlier. It's always nice to have the executive, and somebody who's in the writer's room day-in and day-out and knows the show so intimately, come in and jump behind the camera and are just a font of information... Unlike us, who are just a brick wall of interview," Joshua Jackson said with a laugh.
His co-star (and interview partner), Seth Gabel, agreed. "I love working with writers that are directors because you can talk to them about things, thematically, that are in the script, and actually have them play out in the show," he said. "[Joel] was really into that. He wanted to do this fun thing that actually related to Lincoln's feelings about Olivia and how they were changing based on everything that's been happening. We played so many things that weren't in the script, that were between the lines in just looks, and he told me how he was gonna shoot it so I could really play with what the character was thinking and know that it would actually be seen in the end, and not end up on the cutting room floor because it wasn't in the script. So I think there's a lot of really fun, quiet moments that are gonna be in [this week's] episode."
Anna Torv also had only the best things to say about working with Wyman. "It was really lovely to have a writer on set... For the crew to sort of put a personality behind the name that you constantly hear about, it was a real pleasure. I think that the episode -- I haven't seen it yet -- but it was a lot of fun to shoot and a real nice kind of creepy episode."
John Noble was similarly effusive in his praise of Wyman, and recalled being a big fan of the episode's narrative. "I remember it was a beautiful, beautiful story. I had a lot of interesting stuff in it. I think the thing that interested me, strangely enough, was the very human nature of it... We know that the strongest memory, probably, that we have is the smell of something. What they did was take that very point and turn it into a bizarre and frightening story; what if you were being misled by pheromones, essentially? It becomes a monster movie, really."
As usual, Noble said, Walter "loves all this [gory] stuff... He thought it was great as he was digging around in corpses. I spoke to Joel afterwards and he said he thinks it was one of our most disturbing episodes. It was very interesting and really disturbing to me."
Torv was also enthusiastic about the fact that, in this episode, "the case of the week does track with what's going on [with the characters]," noting that Peter/Olivia fans could look forward to some "good payoffs" between the unlucky couple. The will they/won't they aspect of that central relationship has proven to be both a hook and a source of frustration for some fans, but this episode should provide a few of the answers we've all been waiting for.
"I like the idea that Peter and Olivia... are supposed to be together no matter what timeline and no matter what universe," Torv admitted, before reiterating what the show's producers have been emphasizing all season: She thinks of this timeline's Olivia as the same Olivia she's been playing since Season 1. "I said that right at the beginning of Season 4. I didn't ever treat this one as a different character."
The actress did admit, though, that while we may get an idea of whether this timeline is truly the place where Peter is meant to be, a reunion between the couple might not be instantaneous. "I don't know what the resolve is with Peter and Olivia. They sort of seemed, for a very long time, to be constantly putting us together and then pulling us apart," she noted, before teasing, "What is Peter and Olivia without the obstacles? I don't know what they would possibly do if they had no Fringe event to go to. Just sit around watching reruns of 'The X-Files'?"
Noble, on the other hand, was far more confident in Peter and Olivia's destiny, observing that the writers are well aware that the fans are wholly invested in that relationship. "These are really difficult concepts... What we've had to do with them is really complicated. Will an old memory, almost like an erased memory, come back through?" he mused rhetorically. "The [Peter and Olivia] decision -- I can't really tell you what it is, but we wouldn't have gone down this path unless it was a good decision, so that may be telling you something! We deal with that whole concept. From the arc of the story and from the emotional satisfaction of the story, I think we need to see a Peter and Olivia that are linked, whether it be romantically as a couple or as parents. We need to see them working together. To me, it's very uncomfortable when they don't work together. That was deliberate by the writers, I know that, but it certainly made me uncomfortable. We certainly don't want to leave people sitting there going, 'This is really uncomfortable.' It's a crime that happens in storytelling sometimes, particularly if series aren't finished off. We won't be falling into that trap, but we will be resolving that without being cheesy about it."
Jackson was far more circumspect than his co-stars during our interviews, so we're choosing to believe that Peter has some seriously meaty character development on the horizon. "I feel like I'm becoming a politician," he laughed apologetically. "I can speak much and say nothing." He would say that this week's episode furthers the Observer mythology that was established in the most recent run of episodes. "Through learning more about the Observers and what they mean in this Olivia's life, and as September reveals a couple more things to Peter, it leads the storyline down a very particular path," he hinted.
The actor also took the opportunity to comment on where a potential fifth season might lead the show, if "Fringe" is allowed another year to wrap up its storylines and go out with a bang. "It seems like they gave us a test run of what Season 5 would be if we did get a fifth season," he hinted. "We just finished an episode (19), which I think is what the template for the fifth season would be, what the story would be going forward. So I think they've figured out a way to extend the story, but I think the idea is to finish off this story this year, so that if it does have to be the end that it'll be a satisfactory ending. The thrust for everybody is to make it a satisfactory ending -- nobody wants to end the story with a cliffhanger and then shaft all the people who've given us four years of intense viewership right here at the end."
While we're keeping our fingers -- and everything else -- crossed that the genius minds behind "Fringe" are allowed another season to finish their story, we don't intend to take the next eight uninterrupted episodes for granted either. Weigh in with your thoughts and predictions for tonight's return in the comments below!CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Aric Almirola was named driver of the famed No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports Wednesday.
Almirola finished fourth in the Nationwide Series standings this past season for JR Motorsports. He will replace AJ Allmendinger, who two weeks ago was named Kurt Busch's replacement in the No. 22 at Penske Racing.
"One of the things I am most excited about is to have the chance to drive a car as iconic as the No. 43," Almirola said in a statement. "There is so much history surrounding that number and to have my name above the door will be really special for me."
Cole Whitt replaced Almirola at JRM.
This won't be Almirola's first stint at RPM. He replaced Kasey Kahne for the final five races in 2010 after Kahne moved to Red Bull Racing.
"We feel extremely fortunate to have had a number of very talented drivers interested in joining our organization, but ultimately we felt Aric would be the best fit for the team and for our current and potential partners," team co-owner Richard Petty said in a statement. "We have had the chance to watch his progress for the past several years and we had success with him in the past."
Almirola, who will be paired with Greg Erwin as his crew chief, had a career-best fourth-place finish in the Cup season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The Tampa native has 30 other Cup starts, mostly for Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. He also finished second in the Truck Series in 2010 with two wins for team owner Billy Ballew.
Sponsorship for the 43 remains to be determined. Best Buy recently announced it was leaving to sponsor Matt Kenseth for nine races and Carl Edwards for two at Roush Fenway Racing.
David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.Gods Tool
A God (of the DMs’ choosing, Players choice of Domain), has chosen you to be their tool, whether you Character likes it, or not, as such, you gain the following benefit:
Healing Strike
Starting at 3rd level, when you choose this archetype, you gain the ability to heal yourself when you score a Critical hit. When you do, you heal the equivalent of half the total damage you dealt to your enemy.
Spellcasting
At 3rd level your new patron grants you the ability to access some of their power.
Cantrips. You learn 2 Cantrips from the Cleric Spell list, and one more at 10th, and 15th level.
Spellcasting Ability. Your Spell casting ability is Wisdom.
Spell save DC = 8 + Proficiency + Wisdom
Spell Attack Modifier = Proficiency + Wisdom
Domain
At 3rd level, you also gain access to the Cleric spells associated with your Chosen Domain, The spells you’d get at 1st level, you get at 3rd; 3rd at 7th; 5th at 13th; 7th at 19th. You have the ability to cast each of these spells at there lowest level once per long rest.
Favour
Also, starting at 3rd level when you choose this archetype, you gain a stat to keep track of, that being Favour. Favour grants you various abilites bestowed on you by your god at a moment of your choosing. You start off with 8 Favour points
Skill of the chosen
At 7th level, your god Grants you skills in the hopes of you better completing their wishes, you gain Proficiency with 2 skills of your choice out of; History, Religion, Medicine, Persuasion or Nature.
Easier Healing
At 10th level, you now activate your healing strike feature with any die roll, before modifiers, between 16-20.
Extra Favour
At 10th level, your God grants you a boost in their favour, you Gain 10 Favour points to be used as you see fit.
Extra Favour
At 15th level, your God grants you a boost in their favour, you Gain 5 Favour points to be used as you see fit.
Improved Healing Strike
At 15th level, your ability to heal yourself through combat improves, now healing you and 1 other ally that can see you, you also now heal half your Critical Damage + Proficiency.
At 18th level, your God, in the hopes of keeping you alive to serve them, grants you resistance from Bludegeoning, piercing, slashing, and one type of magical damage of your choice, as well as a permanent +2 to your AC.The latest Australia census data shows that the population of Australia has reached 24.4 million, 1.21 of them are Chinese immigrants. This means that Mandarin has become the second most spoken language in Australia behind English, according to a BBC report.
Photo shows the streetview of Chinatown in Sydney. [Photo: VCG]
In the past five years, the Australia population has increased by 2 million, the majority of whom were Chinese immigrants, with most living in the bustling urban areas, such as New South Wales.
Meanwhile, according to the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, nearly one-third of the Australia population lived in the capital city as of December 2016, the country is facing the problems of an ageing population, and Asian immigrants have taken the traditional place of Europeans.
Australia has over 24 million people, and nearly half of them were born overseas, or one of their parents was born overseas. Compared to the increased percentage of Chinese immigrants, the European immigrant’s percentage has dropped from 52% to 34% from 2001 to 2016.nm, ssi
Fort Meade, Bonn (dpo) - Bin ich betroffen? Nach dem jüngsten Datenklau sind viele Internetnutzer verunsichert. Immerhin sollen sich unter den rund 18 Millionen geknackten E-Mail-Konten auch rund drei Millionen deutsche Adressen befinden. Nun kann jeder selbst überprüfen, ob seine Online-Konten noch sicher sind. Denn eigenen Angaben zufolge leistet der US-amerikanische Geheimdienst NSA dem(BSI) Amtshilfe durch die Bereitstellung eines praktischen Testtools.Und so einfach geht's:1. Verfassen Sie eine E-Mail an das NIASC@nsa.gov) mit dem Betreff BSI Security Check.2. Nennen Sie Ihren Vor- und Nachnamen, die zu testende/n E-Mail-Adresse/n sowie die dafür verwendeten Passwörter.3. Wichtig: Verändern Sie Ihre Passwörter nicht! Nur so kann die NSA testen, ob Ihre Daten noch sicher sind oder schon gehackt wurden.4. Listen Sie auch sämtliche weitere Internet-Konten (z. B. Online-Banking, Facebook, Amazon, Ebay, Twitter, Foren usw.) auf, für die Sie dasselbe Passwort bzw. dieselben Passwörter verwenden.5. Sollten Sie auch nach mehreren Wochen noch nichts von den Verantwortlichen gehört haben, können Sie davon ausgehen, dass Ihre Daten sicher sind und Sie auch weiterhin ungestört surfen können.THANE, INDIA—Betsy Broder, who tracks international fraud at the Federal Trade Commission, was in her office in Washington last summer when she got a call from two Indian teenagers. Calling from a highrise building in a suburb of Mumbai, they told her, in tones that were alternately earnest and melodramatic, that they wanted to share the details of a sprawling criminal operation targeting Americans. Broder, who was no stranger to whistleblowers, pressed the young men for details.
Pawan Poojary, left, and Jayesh Dubey were employed at a call centre which targeted Americans with a variety of scams. ( PORAS CHAUDHARY / The New York Times ) Betsy Broder, who tracks international fraud for the Federal Trade Commission, received a call from two Indian teenagers about the fraudulent business where they worked. ( AL DRAGO / The New York Times )
“He said his name was Adam,” she said, referring to one of the pair. “I said, ‘Your name is not Adam. What does your grandmother call you?’ He said, ‘Babu.’” Babu was Jayesh Dubey, a skinny 19-year-old with hair gelled into vertical bristles, a little like a chimney brush. He told her that he was working in a seven-story building and that everyone there was engaged in the same activity: impersonating IRS officials and threatening Americans, demanding immediate payment to cover back taxes. If they reached a person who was sufficiently terrified or gullible — this was known in the business as a “sale” — they would instruct that person to buy thousands of dollars worth of iTunes cards to avoid prosecution, they said; the most rattled among them complied. The victim would then send the codes from the iTunes cards to the swindlers, giving them access to the money on the card.
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As it happened, the U.S. government had been tracking this India-based scheme since 2013, a period during which Americans, many of them recent immigrants, have lost $100 million (U.S.) to it. Though India had no reputation as a large-scale exporter of fraud in the past, it is now seen as a major centre for cyberfraud, said Suhel Daud, an FBI agent who serves as assistant legal attaché at the American embassy in New Delhi. Several trends have converged to make this happen, he said: a demographic bulge of computer-savvy, young, English-speaking job seekers; a vast call-centre culture; superefficient technology; and what can only be described as ingenuity. “They have figured all of this out,” Daud said. “Put all of these together, with the Indian demographics in the U.S., and it’s a natural segue. Whatever money you’re making, you can easily make 10 times as much.” Pawan Poojary and Jayesh Dubey, best friends and college dropouts, were impressed with the Phoenix 007 call centre in Thane, a suburb northeast of Mumbai. The interviewer carried an iPhone; there were racing sport bikes parked outside, and, as Poojary put it, “girls roaming here and there.” The monthly salary was average for call centres, 16,000 rupees (about $230), they said, but the bonuses were double or triple that, based on sales. The two friends had been playing a video game for up to eight hours a day, pausing occasionally to eat. They wanted in.
“At that time, in my mind is that I want money,” Poojary, 18, said. “That’s it. I want money. That’s why.” They said they showed up for training in a room of young Indians like themselves, the first in their family to be educated in English. They were a slice of aspirational India: Poojary’s father, who owned two welding shops, was adamant that his son would rise to a higher place in society, an office job. Poojary was afraid to tell him he had dropped out of college.
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The trainer assigned them names, Paul Edward and Adam Williams, and handed out a six-page script that started out, “My name is Shawn Anderson, with the department of legal affairs with the United States Treasury Department,” the teenagers said. “We read the script, and I asked, ‘Is this a scam?’” Poojary said. “He said, ‘Yes.’” “At that time I am money-minded. I thought, ‘OK, I can do this,’” he said. Preying on Fear Inaben Desai, of Sugar Land, Texas, came home from grocery shopping, and her mother handed her the phone, eyes wide with alarm. Someone was on the line from the government, her mother said. They had called three or four times while she was out. Desai, 56, worked as a cashier at Wal-Mart. When she picked up the phone, a gruff-voiced man told her that she had failed to pay fees when she got her U.S. citizenship in 1995, and that unless she did so she would be deported back to India, she said. When Desai said she needed to call her husband, a woman got on the phone, speaking sympathetically, in her native Gujarati. “She said, ‘If you involve your husband, there’s going to be more problems,’” Desai said. “’Your husband is going to get in trouble, too. Don’t involve your husband.’” Desai had begun to cry. Still on the line with the woman, she took all the cash she had on hand and drove to a nearby grocery store, where she bought $1,386 in prepaid debit cards. Then the woman instructed her to go to her bank, transfer close to $9,000 to the account of someone named Jennifer, in California, and then fax confirmation and confidential details about her account. “The bank lady tried to stop me, and she said, ‘This is your personal information,’” Desai said. “But I’m scared, and I faxed it to them because I’m scared of what would happen to my family.” The swindlers, who now had access to her bank balance, called back to demand another sum close to $9,000. Desai had to drive to another bank branch to make the transaction. The total amount she transferred, $17,786, was nearly all her savings. Poojary was not the person who called Desai, whose case dates to 2014. But a similar conversation prompted him to contact the U.S. government. He recalled the woman’s name as Regella, and said that when she begged him to give her a little time, Poojary felt so sorry for her that he went to his supervisor, who told him to push harder. “I just feel guilty at that time,” he said. “We are also Indians. We also don’t have money. They also don’t have money.” The so-called Mira Road scam, named for the street the building was on, had moved into a single floor of the seven-story highrise in early 2016. By summer, it filled the whole building. “It got big,” Daud, the FBI agent said. “And when it gets big, you leave bread crumbs.” Nitin Thakare, a senior police inspector at the crime branch in Thane, will not say much about the person who contacted him in September with a tip about Mira Road. But he will describe the raid, in loving, cinematic detail: How at 10 p.m., after the last of the call centre staff had arrived for the night shift, 200 police officers streamed up the main staircase, blocking every exit and detaining all 700 people who worked inside. “These are the youth of our nation,” Thakare said. “They were misguided. For the first few days it seems glamorous. Someone is teaching them an accent, people are smoking, there are women. There’s freedom and night life. The youth love that.” The police said that others, like the landlord who had rented the building to the swindlers, wondered why the authorities cared in the first place. “He said, ‘What happened?’” said Parag Manere, a deputy commissioner of police. “’We are not cheating people in India! We are cheating people in the U.S.! And the U.S. cheats the whole world!’” The officers interviewed and released 630 of the call-centre workers, arresting the 70 highest-ranking employees. What they had stumbled on, it became clear, was a branch of a much larger network, the police said. Five days later, the police organized a second raid of facilities in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which they believed to be a nerve centre. The U.S. Justice Department had come to the same conclusion: It has since released an indictment tracing 1.8 million calls targeting U.S. residents to five call centres in Ahmedabad that used various schemes to defraud more than 15,000 people out of hundreds of millions of dollars. By the time the police arrived at the Ahmedabad location, though, the syndicate was gone. “The place where we raided, it was a 1,000-seat call centre,” Manere said. “When we got there it was empty. Empty. Nothing. Not a piece of paper. Empty halls. Empty halls.”
Read more about:Ruth Bader Ginsberg via Wikipedia
The 5-4 majority in the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Hobby Lobby case claimed the decision was narrowly focused on closely held corporations that objected to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate on religious grounds.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned in a scathing, 35-page dissent that her colleagues had “ventured into a minefield” with their ruling, arguing that the majority had invited “for-profit entities to seek religion-based exemptions from regulations they deem offensive to their faith.”
It took only one day to prove her predictions accurate.
The court on Tuesday, the day after its ruling, ordered three appeals courts to reconsider challenges by corporations that objected to providing insurance that covers any contraceptive services – not just the four contraception methods covered in the Hobby Lobby case.
The plaintiffs in all three of those cases are Catholic business owners, including the Michigan-based organic food company Eden Foods.
“I don’t care if the federal government is telling me to buy my employees Jack Daniel’s or birth control,” said Michael Potter, founder of Eden Foods. “What gives them the right to tell me that I have to do that?”
The appeals court that rejected Potter’s motion argued the business owner’s claims more closely resembled “a laissez-faire, anti-government screed” than a religious objection – although the Supreme Court has asked the lower court to reconsider his arguments.
The Supreme Court also declined to review a government petition to overturn lower court rulings that upheld religiously based challenges to all preventative services under the Obamacare mandate.
Should religious beliefs be subject to challenge?
The ruling takes claims of religious scruples for granted, wrote columnist Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times.
“But how are government agencies or the courts to know when claims of religious piety are just pretexts for some other viewpoint, such as libertarianism or misogyny?” Hiltzik continued.
A federal judge in one of those cases reopened by the Supreme Court wrote in her opinion that the sincerity of the plaintiff’s religious beliefs were “unchallenged,” while the theology behind Catholic teachings on contraception were “unchallengeable.”
Hiltzik argued that those religious claims should, however, be subject to challenge.
“Shouldn’t the courts, at the very least, determine if a family-owned company follows its religious precepts consistently?” Hiltzik asked. “If this were the test, by the way, Hobby Lobby itself might fail: its 401(k) plan for employees has invested via its mutual funds in companies that manufacture and distribute precisely those drugs and devices that it objects to providing via its health insurance plan.”
That investment could violate teachings in a Catholic moral manual cited by Hobby Lobby’s own attorneys and noted by Justice Samuel Alito in his opinion to show the contraception mandate placed a “substantial burden” on their religious expression, and therefore violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Legal argument rebutted by moral theology
Alito cited Father Henry Davis’s 1935 Moral and Pastoral Theology to demonstrate “the circumstances under which it is wrong for a person to perform an act that is innocent in itself but that has the effect of enabling or facilitating the commission of an immoral act by another.”
The conservative Catholic justice concluded the court had no authority to determine whether that burden was substantial or not, and should instead defer to the moral judgment of Hobby Lobby’s owners.
“Yet interpreting statutory language like ‘substantial burden’ is precisely what the Court is supposed to do,” wrote Leslie C. Griffin, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Ginsburg described the Hobby Lobby ruling as “a decision of startling breadth” — and that might be an understatement.
Already, the Becket Fund, a religious law firm that represented Hobby Lobby, lists 49 pending federal cases involving for-profit companies claiming religious objections to the ACA and another 51 that involve nonprofit organizations.
Critics have said the majority based its ruling on faulty science, arguing that IUDs and emergency contraceptives do not cause abortion – as Hobby Lobby’s owners claimed to justify their religious objection.
Alito ruled that courts had no authority to tell the craft store’s owners “their beliefs are flawed,” although he insisted the ruling offered no similar “shield” to other forms of discrimination.
However, a group of religious leaders on Wednesday asked the Obama administration to exempt them from an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers.
Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California, signed on to a letter sent by Catholic Charities and other faith-based groups seeking a religious exemption to the order.
“Without a robust religious exemption, like the provisions in the Senate-passed [Employment Non-Discrimination Act], this expansion of hiring rights will come at an unreasonable cost to the common good, national unity and religious freedom,” the faith-based group wrote.It’s that time of year for those of us here in the mid-Atlantic area where the weather is starting to warm, the flowers and trees are in bloom, and summer is on its way. During our holiday time together over Easter weekend, my mom was at it again with another tried and true recipe. If you haven’t noticed, she’s often providing, or giving the inspiration for, new recipes on our blog: here are a few examples (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Growing up, I loved having a slice of watermelon here and there, but was never a fiend for it. That being said, this salad has me coming back for seconds and thirds every time. I’m a big fan of refreshing, healthy, and simple; and this hits all three right on the head.
Ingredients
6 C watermelon (balled, or cubed)
1/3 C mint, finely chopped or chiffonade
1/3 C thinly sliced red onion, quartered (optional, but recommended)
2 Tbsp golden balsamic vinegar
Method
The most time intensive part of this project is likely preparing the watermelon. Investing in one of these melon ballers is awesome, and has the added benefit of working with other large fruit and the occasional treat.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss.
Let sit for 5-7 minutes to chill in the refrigerator, and serve with a garnish of fresh mint.Being bloggers we spend a lot of time looking at other blogs, ooo-ing and ahh-ring at all of the clever people out there. Seriously, some of things we stumble across are so impressive! Seeing as it’s Valentines Day this week we thought we’d put a list together of the best paleo Valentines Day desserts (there might be a chocolate overload!). We’re absolutely loving all of these!
Who would have thought you could paleo-fy the oreo cookie? Well, the spunky coconut did… PLUS she made them in love heart shapes especially for lovers day! Check it out here!
We’re loving the idea of a tea infused chocolate pudding! This one is from Wholehearted Eats, her blog is also just delightful to look at!
What about some not sugar coated cookies with almond cream ‘cheese’ filling… yes please!
These chocolate covered love hearts come from Taylor Made It Paleo.
Melissa from The Clothes Make the Girl shared a whole Valentines Day menu with delicious braised short ribs and a 2 ingredient chocolate mousse. Find the menu and recipes here.
Check out the dark chocolate covered fruit love hearts here from Multiply Delicious. We would use our paleo chocolate recipe instead of dark chocolate, find the recipe here.
Another one to add is PaleOMG’s strawberry raspberry milkshake fudge hearts (ahhh yum!).
NomNom shares a paleo choccie pie that looks to die for!
A girl worth saving shares a paleo strawberry mousse recipe!
Our beautiful friend Irey from Eat Drink Paleo has put together another list of the most amazing looking paleo Valentines Day recipes! We are eyeing off the baked figs with prosciutto!
Cave Girl Eats shares her ‘brunch with love’ – too cute huh?!
If chocolate and sweet treats aren’t your thing (boohoo) why not try this beet and cranberry spritzer from Sweet Beat and Greeen Bean (what a cute website name!).
Also, don’t forget about our valentines paleo caramel mud cake. Seriously yummy. Go. Bake. Now.
Oh! We almost forgot! Last year we made a paleo choc-raspberry raw cake as well as some paleo valentines day truffles! Be sure to check out these babies too!
If you’re not into the whole love heart shaped dessert thing, check out all our other paleo sweet treats here – |
games (121 starts) over five major league seasons, including four with the Braves, before shoulder problems and a concussion stalled his career.
Many former and current Braves players, including Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann and Kris Medlen, attended Hanson’s funeral, along with former Braves manager Bobby Cox and current manager Fredi Gonzalez.Working past midnight on the final day of session, legislators approved a bill to bring lawful concealed carry to Georgia’s public colleges and universities.
The measure, HB 280, would amend Georgia law to drop some gun free zones on postsecondary campuses. It was approved by the House last month and sent back by the Senate this week with changes that had to be worked out Thursday in committee conference. The proposal now heads to Republican Gov. Nathan Deal who vetoed a similar bill in 2016.
Republican House Speaker David Ralston argued Thursday that, while the current bill was not as much of a reform as some would like, it still strengthens Second Amendment protections for Georgians.
“You don’t all the time score a touchdown on a play. I though we got a first down at least,” Ralston said.
The language of the current bill is watered down when compared to last year’s effort, which reportedly could see more favorable action from Deal this year.
The final measure approved in conference committee would prohibit people from carrying guns into campus housing including fraternity and sorority houses, athletic events, and campus pre-schools. It would also block off areas used during disciplinary meetings and classes where high school students are in a dual enrollment program.
Finally, the bill includes a special fine system for violations of the act, which is set at $25 with no provision for jail time.
Gun control groups are calling for Deal to reject the measure, citing public safety concerns.
Deal, in his final term in office, has 40 days to veto, sign or allow the measure to simply become law without his signature.Thursday, August 25, 2016 Surgeon General Letter Urges Action on Opioids, Recommends CDC Treatment Guideline That Includes Physical Therapy
Physicians across the United States can expect something in their mailboxes soon—a letter from the Office of the US Surgeon General urging them to take part in the battle against the opioid epidemic, accompanied by a card that specifically mentions physical therapy as one of the preferred first-line approaches for treatment of chronic pain.
"Everywhere I travel, I see communities devastated by opioid overdoses," writes Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD. "I meet families too ashamed to seek treatment for addiction. And I will never forget my own patient whose opioid use disorder began with a course of morphine after a routine procedure."
In the letter, Murthy asks physicians to sign a pledge at www.TurnTheTideRx.org, the surgeon general's initiative to stem the opioid abuse epidemic.
Murthy also asks doctors to review an enclosed pocket card that contains the basics of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) opioid prescription guideline. That guideline lists physical therapy as among the preferred options for the treatment of chronic pain without the use of opioids. Murthy calls the CDC guideline a "good place to start" toward better physician education on how to treat pain "safely and effectively."
A CNN report on the letter includes Murthy's remarks during a speaking engagement, in which he described how many physicians were taught that opioids are not addictive. Some continue to believe that false information, Murthy told the audience, including 1 of his own physician friends—until Murthy informed him otherwise. He was taught that opioids aren't addictive so long as a patient is "truly in pain," Murthy said.
"Years from now, I want us to look back and know that, in the face of a crises that threatened our nation, it was our profession that stepped up and led the way," Murthy writes in the letter.
APTA has added its voice to the effort to curb opioid abuse through its national #ChoosePT campaign, an initiative to promote physical therapy as a safe and effective alternative to the use of opioids in the treatment of pain. Housed at MoveForwardPT.com/ChoosePT, the #ChoosePT campaign will unfold throughout 2016 and include national online advertising, TV and radio public service announcements, and other targeted advertising and media outreach. APTA is also a member of the White House’s working group addressing the opioid epidemic.Two decades after his one Southampton appearance, Ali Dia is the most famous phoney in the history of British football. But how did the move come about? And where is he now?
It is 20 years this Wednesday since Ali Dia graced the Premier League for 53 woefully inept minutes. Having been waved away by several other clubs, the striker ended up joining Graeme Souness at Southampton on the recommendation of someone pretending to be George Weah, and, due to injury problems, appeared from the bench against Leeds United after just one training session. Dia was so bad he was taken off, leaving Souness red-faced but ensuring two decades of laughter for the rest of us.
Here is the story of the most famous phoney in the history of British football, told by those who were there to witness his very brief time at the top.
‘We gave the lad a trial and he was rubbish’
Dia had been offered to a number of clubs by ‘George Weah’, but it soon became apparent all was not as it seemed everywhere but at Southampton.
Harry Redknapp, West Ham manager: “I keep getting phone calls at the training ground from a guy: ‘Georgie Weah.’ Georgie Weah was world footballer of the year. ‘Lovely George, you wanna play for West Ham?’ He said: ‘No, I have a player for you.’ I thought: ‘This is a wind-up.’”
Port Vale secretary Bill Lodey: “He was recommended to us by someone very important and he played one reserve game against Middlesbrough. To be honest he didn’t impress, and we last heard of him at Rotherham.”
Tony Pulis at Gillingham was also taken in at first: “I was shocked to receive a call from someone claiming to be George Weah recommending a friend of his. I wouldn’t have thought a man like Weah would have heard of Gillingham, but we gave the lad a trial and he was rubbish.”
David Squires on … Gareth Southgate's pitch for the England job Read more
‘African ace joins Blyth’
Dia eventually found a club in the UniBond League – a long way from the top flight.
Blyth Spirit (@BlythSpirit66) On this day 1996 the infamous Ali Dia became 1st ever black footballer to play for @Blyth_Spartans in 1-2 NPL loss to @bostonunited #1stever pic.twitter.com/0fCn4X6j1W
From Northumberland to The Dell
While at Blyth his “agent” persisted with getting him a big move and a fortnight later, Dia signed a short-term deal with Southampton – and they initially had high hopes.
Graeme Souness: “He’s played with George Weah at Paris Saint-Germain, and last year he was playing in the second division in Germany. We’ve said, come down and train with us for a week or so and see what’s what... When someone like that gives you a recommendation you tend to sit up and take notice.”
Fast track to infamy
However, it did not take Southampton’s players long to notice they had brought in a dud.
“I only really trained with him once, on the Friday before the fateful day.” Matt Le Tissier recalled. “He joined in the five-a-side on the Friday morning, and was introduced to us as a trialist. I remember at the time thinking: ‘He’s not very good. He’s probably not going to make it.’”
Yet Dia did. With Southampton depleted by injuries, he was put on the bench for the match against Leeds on 23 November. When Le Tissier came off injured after 32 minutes, Dia replaced him.
Here's a thought: how do footballers do what they do? | Gregg Bakowski Read more
“Souness surprisingly brought on Senegal international Ali Dia for his Premiership debut after the player had been at the club on trial for only a week,” read the Sunday Mirror’s match report. “But Dia, a close friend of AC Milan superstar George Weah, missed a golden chance with his first kick and was substituted himself late in the game by Ken Monkou”
In total Dia lasted 53 minutes, replaced with five to go by Monkou.
“He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice,” Le Tissier said. “It was very, very embarrassing to watch. We were like: ‘What’s this geezer doing? He’s hopeless.’ Graeme named him as a sub and we couldn’t believe it. I got injured after 20 minutes and when I saw him warming up, I’m going: ‘Surely not?’ Graeme put him on and he was fucking hopeless, so he took him off again. It was crazy.”
Souness defended his decision because he had such a shortage of options but admitted it was a “kick in the bollocks” to see how awful Dia played. “I sent him on today having never seen him play Premiership football. But I do not have any strikers. Am I enjoying this? Do you enjoy a kick in the bollocks?” he said after the 2-0 defeat. “It just goes to show the state of things at the club at the moment that a player I have never even seen, let alone watched playing in a game, was able to play in the Premiership.”
Four years later, in a BBC programme, Souness had appeared to blur much of the afternoon out. “The one thing I remember is that he didn’t touch the ball too many times,” he said.
Yet even after Dia’s horror show, The Independent was flagging him up as one to watch. Their edition on 25 November read: “Watch out for... Ali Dia (Southampton). At 30 years old, the out-of-contract former Bologna striker – the first-half substitute for Matt Le Tissier on Saturday – may have much of his career behind him, but his arrival at The Dell comes on the personal recommendation of George Weah, a former team-mate at Paris St-Germain.”
Le Tissier, though, had cottoned on immediately and it was not long before his team-mates realised something was amiss. “His performance was almost comical. He kind of took my place, but he didn’t really have a position. He was just wandering everywhere. I don’t think he realised what position he was supposed to be in. I don’t even know if he spoke English – I don’t think I ever said a word to him. In the end he got himself subbed because he was that bad.
“The mood was pretty sombre in the dressing-room afterwards, so we didn’t really discuss him then. I think on Monday morning it was probably more of a topic. By then he was gone, never to be seen again. Apparently he came in for treatment on the Sunday morning, according to the physio. He was told to report again on Monday, and he just did a runner. I don’t think he paid for his hotel bill or anything.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest “He was like Bambi on Ice”
‘The man who’s conned Souey’
Dia’s departure that Monday went unnoticed, until the Sunday Mirror broke the story that Saints were duped on 15 December 1996.
“He came on and clearly wasn’t up to the standard – and we let him go the next week,” said Lawrie McMenemy, Southampton’s director of football, at the time. But it soon became apparent that there was more to the story than Dia merely being let go.
“I don’t feel I have been duped in the slightest … because that’s the way the world is these days,” Souness said upon learning Dia was a charlatan. “It cost us a couple of grand for two weeks wages. It’s not broken our hearts – and we certainly don’t feel hard done-by. He was an international player so we gave him a go, but he didn’t impress and has now left the club.”
Football: Matt Le Tissier remembers playing alongside the notorious Ali Dia Read more
But he was not an international player. The Senegal football federation refused to supply information about his record and Weah then said he does not know anyone called Ali Dia nor had he ever spoken to Souness. Dia tried to deflect the blame on an agent.
I’ve been made to look a con man, it’s not true. I employed an agent when I came to England and he is the con man. He must have been calling all these clubs pretending to be George.
“He has played 13 matches for Senegal and scored five goals.” read a report in The Guardian on 16 December. Except he had not and his relationship with the Liberian legend Weah was blown out of all proportion. “I do know George Weah, but I’m certainly not his best mate,” Dia said, elaborating on a conversation he had with Souness in an interview a little after the con became clear.
Dia: “He told me that George rang him and said that I’m a good player. I’m not afraid to say that: ‘I’m a good player, I can prove that”
Journalist: “So George Weah did ring Graeme Souness?”
Dia: “Personally, like I told you, I don’t really know.”
Souness later said in Saints and Sinners, Graham Hiley’s book on Southampton’s hard men: “The story that we were conned could not be further from the truth. We knew in the first ten minutes that he was hopeless … Truthfully we knew straight away he was not good enough for the Premier League, but we were desperate.”
Dia finds his level … and soon becomes anonymous
Dia then signed for non-league Gateshead in December, and scored on his debut, a 5-0 win over Bath City.
“The Southampton thing was a misunderstanding,” he said upon signing. “I just want to forget about it now. I’m delighted to sign for Gateshead and I will be with them until the end of the season.”
He scored two goals in eight games, but a change of manager did for him and he was transfer-listed in February 1997. He reportedly enrolled at Northumbria University, graduating with a degree in business studies in 2001.
Dia’s duping of Southampton was certainly a good piece of personal business – he made £2,000 during his two-week stint on the south coast, and reportedly earned £400-a-week at Gateshead, becoming their top earner while also getting a four-figure signing on bonus.
Dia’s whereabouts since graduating are unknown. If you are out there, Ali, let us know …I got my package yesterday. I opened the package. The first bag contained a bracelet. A very beautiful deep ocean colored one. It is really pretty and it goes with lot of my outfits :) The scarf was packed in a beautiful jute bag with a very pretty red ribbon. The jute pouch and the ribbon together made me feel so happy. As if i am getting some very fancy gift. It indeed was a fancy gift. Inside it was a beautiful silk scarf. The best part is the design on it. It is hand painted and has a really cool design. The scarf is very delicate. Another thing I noticed is the smell. it smells oh so wonderful. Smells of dried flowers and incense.
I want to thank my SS. But i don't know her/his name. SS your gift is amazing and i adore it. :) Thank you.You have to give the NHL credit. The league has been all about the big idea during the past decade. From its aggressive early adoption of social media to flashy concepts like the Winter Classic or the involvement with HBO's 24/7 series, the NHL has proved to be the most creative and flexible pro sports league in North America.
But now the NBA is thinking about doing it one better.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed recently that the league's Board of Governors is considering a mid-season tournament to add some zest to the schedule.
“As one of our general managers said at the meeting, there’s very few things that you can win in the NBA,” Silver said. “I mean, when you think about European soccer, for example, they have the FA Cup and they have other tournaments throughout the season.”
The creation of a significant season prize to complement a playoff championship? Now that's bold.
At this point the NBA is strictly in the exploratory phase, asking questions via its fan forum and weighing a wide variety of blue-sky options. None of this talk means the league is going to travel down that road any time soon, if ever. But when you're trying to stake your claim to a bigger slice of an overcrowded sports marketplace, you've got to be receptive to new ideas. And the NBA has a beauty here, the best pro sports concept since the NHL decided to take its game outdoors. Maybe even better.
So, what would it look like? At this point, everything is up in the air as the NBA tries to massage the idea into a manageable concept, but these are among the possibilities the league is considering:
* It would take place in January or February.
* The format would be a single-elimination, March Madness-style tournament that could be scheduled over several weeks, or played over a short, defined period.
* The winner could earn, among other prizes, a guaranteed spot in the playoffs, a seeding reward such as home court advantage, or a bonus cash award for the team and its players.
* It could involve the entire league, the top or bottom 16 teams, or any other permutation. They're also entertaining the thought of inviting top international teams.
The NHL could use or discard any of those elements, but that last one seems like the real hook for a sport that's always loved some international intrigue. A Boston-Montreal single-elimination game would make for brilliant TV, but think of the marketing possibilities that would go along with involving the top clubs from Russia, Sweden, Finland or Germany. Imagine a match-up of Ilya Kovalchuk and SKA St. Petersburg and the New Jersey Devils. Or the Maple Leafs against William Nylander and MoDo. Or Teemu Selanne's Jokerit against the Anaheim Ducks.
That last one requires a bit more speculative elasticity than the others, but you get the idea.
Of course, they'd have to offer something more than another piece of hardware (maybe a re-purposed Victoria Cup?) to hoist in order to really grease the wheels. The NBA's playoff idea should be left on the brainstorming white board, but what about granting the winner a boost up the draft order by, say, five or 10 places? Or how about a bonus pick at the end of the first round? If all else fails to impress, just make the reward what everyone's looking for: a nice fat bonus check.
And it should be easy to write a few of those. Imagine what TSN, shut out of NHL hockey by the recent Rogers Communications deal, might ante up for premium programming like this? It not only adds must-watch flair to the dog days of the season, it puts more money into the hockey related revenue pot.
That should make it a pretty easy sell to owners and players. Sure, there'd be significant hurdles to leap. Scheduling, for instance. The regular season's already too long in the eyes of most, but as the 2014 Olympics proved, the league can be surprisingly flexible when there's a compelling marketing opportunity to accommodate.
The proposed time frame already features the All-Star Game, and while some fans/media/hockey people wouldn't mind seeing that tired showcase put to bed, it's one tough bird to kill. It serves as the league's premier opportunity to schmooze its corporate sponsors and it's a plum to franchises that are looking to energize a fan base. But maybe the weekend becomes a bit more compelling if the tournament final is held in conjunction with the All-Star Game. Or maybe the All-Star Game is left as is and the tournament climax creates another destination weekend. Think the 17,500 seat MGM-AEG arena currently under construction in Las Vegas might work as the annual home for a Final Four-style event?
There'll be the usual concerns about injuries and exhaustion, but financial interests have always trumped them in the past. And they will again. Executed properly, this could create a massive revenue influx. And not just TV money, either. Think special Victoria Cup jerseys—with ads, maybe?—and all the other ancillary marketing opportunities. Together, they might generate enough to convince the league to scratch a game or two off the regular season schedule.
Ultimately, a tournament concept would come down to whether the inconveniences are outweighed by the opportunity to grow the business. And Gary Bettman rarely whiffs on those.
"Our objective was, and always is, to make a great game even greater, to give our fans the best sports experience and entertainment possible and the best opportunities to connect with our game," Bettman said during the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. "Our plan is to continue to find innovative ways to further increase our game's growth and momentum."
You want innovative? Here it is.Prison inmates can stretch their legs and breathe some fresh air on the covered and secured rooftop (swissinfo.ch)
An imam has been counselling Muslim prisoners for nearly 25 years in several Swiss prisons, long before Islamic terror and radicalisation became widespread issues. Today, they are frequent topics of conversation in his sessions with inmates.
One of the prisons where he works is located in the centre of the Swiss capital city Bern and can accommodate 126 inmates. It is currently at capacity. Most prisoners are awaiting trial, serving a sentence or in detention pending deportation. The women are on the first floor, the men are on the second through fifth floors. Those who stand accused of having committed terrorist offences are also regularly imprisoned here.
Four out of five prisoners are foreigners, and almost a third are Muslim. For the most part, they are able to practice their faith in prison.
“In general we respect the prayer times,” says Monika Kummer, the prison director, who greets visitors and inmates alike with a kind word or smile. “But in urgent situations, for example for interrogations, they have to interrupt prayer.” She points out that such interruptions lie within the guidelines of the faith.
To avoid issues, pork is never on the prison menu, not even for non-Muslims. Today’s lunch is lukewarm fish sticks, wheat grains and vegetables with little sauce or seasoning.
Right now, 31 Muslim prisoners are observing Ramadan. Lunch, dinner and breakfast for the following day are all brought to the cell at the same time, in the early evening. Some prisoners wait until nightfall to eat, while others hang cloths in the window to give nightfall a jump-start.
‘I’ll never do it again’
Irhad* is observing Ramadan, too – for the first time in his life in prison. The Bosnian lives in Germany but broke the law while in Switzerland. He does not say why, just that he “got in with the wrong crowd”. Life in prison is hard for him, especially being separated from his family. His days involve sleeping, reading, and praying as well as monotonous work for a Swiss watch company sticking dozens of labels on packaging boxes in his cell.
Grateful for any distraction, every Tuesday afternoon Irhad makes use of the prison’s Muslim pastoral counselling service with Mustafa Memeti, a Swiss imam with Albanian roots.
“I can tell Memeti everything. When I talk to him, I feel good and can sleep better afterwards,” says the young Muslim who appreciates hearing from a theologian who shares his faith.
Irhad is quick to point out his disgust for terrorists. He saw on television that terrorists had prayed before launching a recent attack on a concert in Manchester, England. But he believes that “men who kill innocent people and even children attending a concert are not Muslims”.
Memeti replies that the terrorists have psychological problems.
“They misinterpret their faith, cannot distinguish between good and bad and always blame others,” he says. The iman tells Irhad that in his difficult situation, “it is very important to question oneself, to think positively and to believe in a future with a job and a family”.
The elderly Muslim cleric tells the young inmate to be aware of the lesson he has learned in prison and what he can take from it.
“I’ll never do it again,” Irhad promises. “As soon as I get out, I’m going straight to my wife and children.”
Emotional nurturing
Imam Memeti studied theology in various Arabic countries and has lived in Switzerland since 1993. For 24 years, he has been coming to Bern’s prison one afternoon a week to support Muslim inmates who have no contacts or freedom and few prospects.
“Our authority is limited,” he admits. “We may not interfere in the legal process. But we can nurture people emotionally by dissuading them from negative thoughts and motivating them to take their fate back into their own hands”.
Bad thoughts are often based on the feeling of not being accepted, explains Memeti. This could lead to radicalisation.
Religious counselling in Swiss prisons Mustafa Memeti has also been part of the multicultural pastoral counselling team for some years at another Swiss prison called Thorbergexternal link, where 169 prisoners are currently incarcerated and some are serving long-term sentences. There, more than 80% of prisoners are foreigners, and around 40% are Muslims. Currently, no one is serving time for terrorism-related offences at Thorberg.
Memeti’s weekly pastoral counselling service is used by five to six prisoners on average and not always by the same individuals, says law enforcement expert Christoph Schmutz. They have had good experiences with the Muslim pastoral counsellor. Memeti is among the more liberal imams who seek a dialogue with other religions.
The danger of radicalisation has received great attention at Thorberg, not only with regard to Islam. In case of signs of radicalisation, the institution gets specialists involved, says Schmutz.
end of infobox
Sometimes he holds pastoral counselling sessions in small groups. “This can be emotionally helpful because the prisoners realise that they are not all alone in a difficult situation,” he says.
Participation in Muslim pastoral counselling is voluntary and not utilised by all Muslims in the prison. But if a prisoner suddenly changes demeanor, no longer listens to music, no longer watches TV, grows out his beard or makes bizarre utterances, Memeti gets involved.
“He can make a difference. I appreciate his presence, his professional competence and his openness”, says prison director Kummer. She rules out the notion that the imam himself could bring radical ideas into the prison, as has happened in other institutions. Memeti is known to the public as a moderate Muslim theologian who believes that the law takes priority over religious views.
Members of the prison staff are also trained to respect freedom of religion and the imam’s work, although none of them practice Islam themselves.
“There are training courses on topics such as radicalisation and jihadism,” says Kummer. “Our people acquire this knowledge because they are on the frontline and the first to recognise when someone is acting conspicuously”.
The prison’s administration has appreciated Memeti since long before Islamic-motivated terror became a threat, but Kummer says she and her staff “are glad to be able to count on his support during this time”.
(*The full name is known to the editorial department)
Translated from German, swissinfo.ch
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SWI swissinfo.ch on Instagram SWI swissinfo.ch on InstagramThe Bangladesh Government must repeal or amend the newly amended Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act because it is being used to assault freedom of expression and freedom from arbitrary detention, the ICJ says.
The ICT Act, as amended on 6 October 2013, has been used to arbitrarily detain Nasiruddin Elan, Director of prominent human rights organization Odhikar, who was denied bail by the cyber crimes tribunal on 6 November 2013.
His appeal to the High Court division of the Supreme Court has been set for 24 November 2013.
Adilur Rahman Khan, Odhikar’s Secretary, has also been charged under the ICT Act.
The Government has accused the two of deliberately distorting the number of protestors killed in a police crackdown on the Islamist party, Hefazat-i-Islam, in May this year.
“The original ICT Act already served to undermine human rights, but the new amendments make the law nothing short of draconian”, said Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Asia director. “The Government has used the newly amended Act to try to silence peaceful critics and civil society like Odhikar, in clear violation of international law.”
In a briefing paper issued today (see below), the ICJ analyzes the Information and Communication Technology (amendment) Act, 2013, and points out its serious deviations from international law, including: the amendments make many offences under the Act non-bailable; they allow the police to make arrests without a warrant; they impose a severe minimum prison sentence of seven years for offences under the Act; and they increase the maximum penalty for offences under the law from ten to 14 years’ imprisonment.
Provisions of the original ICT Act, particularly section 57, are also incompatible with Bangladesh’s obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Bangladesh ratified on 6 September 2000: the offences prescribed are vague and overbroad; the restrictions imposed on freedom of opinion and expression go beyond what is permissible under Article 19(3) of the ICCPR; and the restrictions are not necessary and proportional to achieve a legitimate purpose.
“The overbroad, vaguely defined offences combined with disproportionate penalties stifle public discourse, especially any criticism of the Government,” Zarifi added. “With elections coming up, it is crucial to defend the right to freely express opinions and exchange views—something the ICT Act seeks to restrict.”
Mahmudur Rahman, acting editor of a Bengali newspaper critical of the Government, has also been arbitrarily detained under the Act for publishing transcripts of a Skype conversation between former International Crimes Tribunal Chairman, Justice Muhammad Nizamul Huq, and a Bangladeshi legal expert, Ahmed Ziauddin.
The records revealed information casting doubt on the independence of the International Crimes Tribunal.
Four bloggers (photo), Asif Mohiuddin, Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, Moshiur Rahman Biplob and Rasel Parvez, are also facing trial under section 57 of the ICT Act for allegedly making derogatory comments about Islam and ‘hurting’ religious sentiment.
“The amended ICT Act reflects a further attack on the rule of law and respect for human rights in Bangladesh,” said Zarifi. “The Government must immediately take steps to either repeal the Act or to modify it in line with international law and standards.”
Contact:
Sam Zarifi, ICJ Asia-Pacific Regional Director, (Bangkok), t: +66 807819002; email: sam.zarifi(a)icj.org
Ben Schonveld, ICJ South Asia Director, (Kathmandu), t: +977 14432651; email: ben.schonveld(a)icj.org
Reema Omer, ICJ International Legal Advisor, (Lahore), t: +923214968434; email: reema.omer(a)icj.org
Bangladesh-ICT Brief -Advocacy-Analysis brief-2013 (full text in pdf)Download the full report here.
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani abdicated as the emir of Qatar in June of 2013, making his son Tamim the youngest ruler in the Arab world.[1] Hamad’s reign was characterized by persistent negligence toward local U.S.-designated funders of al-Qaeda, but some American officials have expressed hope that Emir Tamim would turn over a new leaf in Qatar’s approach to tackling terror finance.[2] Three years into Tamim’s new regime, however, its record is still conspicuously incomplete.
It is particularly vital to evaluate Qatar’s record on terror finance in light of the Nusra Front’s July 2016 decision to rebrand itself as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), which purports to have “no relationship with any foreign party.”[3] According to sources cited by Reuters, Qatar led an effort starting in 2015 to bolster the Syrian opposition by persuading Nusra to distance itself from al-Qaeda.[4] Reuters reported that intelligence officials from Qatar and other Gulf states met several times with Nusra’s leader around this period to suggest that his group could receive money, arms, and supplies after stepping away from al-Qaeda.[5] Yet the more JFS legitimates itself by integrating into the broader Syrian opposition, the greater the risk of a permanent al-Qaeda army on Europe’s doorstep.[6]
This report is Part Two of a three-part series on Qatar’s record dealing with terrorist finance and its practitioners. Part One outlined Doha’s dismal record at punishing funders of terror throughout Emir Hamad’s reign.[7] This document evaluates the publicly available evidence on Qatar’s record since then, focusing primarily on individuals sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014 and 2015. All of these sanctions were imposed after Qatar agreed in September 2014, as part of a U.S.-led initiative called the Jeddah Communiqué, to bring terror financiers to justice.[8] The cases should therefore be seen as a measuring stick for recent Qatari conduct.
Based on these cases, there is no persuasive proof that Qatar has stopped letting certain terror financiers off the hook. Indeed, it is impossible to identify even a single specific instance of Qatar charging, convicting, and jailing a U.S.- or UN-designated individual. Officials at Qatar's Embassy in Washington and its Government Communications Office in Doha declined to respond to repeated requests to identify any such example in time for a deadline for this report.
According to Washington, Qatar has finally pressed charges against some terror financiers, but those individuals have yet to be identified by name.[9] Meanwhile, America’s top official for combating terror finance recently revealed that the funders of certain terrorist groups still enjoy legal impunity there.[10] Nusra/JFS appears to be foremost among them.Han Shan, an Occupy Wall Street protester, makes a 1 percent shirt while protesting outside of the annual Bank of America Corp. shareholders meeting on May 9, in Charlotte, N.C. - John W. Adkisson/Getty Images
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The "1 percent" and the "99 percent" have become household phrases in the last few years. But in the course of moving discussions of income distribution percentiles beyond economic text books and in to the popular discourse of sound bites and protest signs, the nuances can get lost. Which brings us to some interesting new research about the 1 percent, discussed in a recent book called “Chasing the American Dream.”
Back when the Occupy Wall Street movement was fond of chanting “We are the 99 percent” the book’s co-author, Mark Rank, got curious about some of the assumptions buried in that chant. Who exactly is the 99 percent? What’s their relationship to that remaining, increasingly notorious 1 percent?
The whole debate struck Rank as very us versus them. “There’s this image out there that those two groups do not cross over -- that they're static groups,” he says.
Rank is a professor of social welfare at Washington University in St. Louis, and so he had the tools to see if this static image of the 1 percent versus everyone else was true. He and his co-author, Thomas Hirschl of Cornell, combed through four decades of survey data that followed the lives of thousands of Americans to see how much money they made each year. And what they found surprised them.
The top-earners club isn’t quite the bastioned, unreachable world it's been painted out to be. “There actually is this really strong sense of fluidity in terms of folks entering the top income percentiles,” Rank says. According to Rank and Hirschl’s research, one in five Americans are in the 2 percent at some point in their lives. And one in eight spend at least a year in the one percent.
So who are these visitors to the 1 percent? Some might be your neighbors.
Barrett Yeretsian, 34, lives in the southern California suburb of Glendale, CA in a totally non-descript condo — the same one he grew up in. Yeretsian says growing up, he was solidly middle class. His mom, a widow, owned an Armenian book store in Los Angeles, and money was sometimes tight. Scholarships and help from family got him through college at UCLA.
When he graduated, he turned down acceptance at two top law schools in favor of trying to make it in the music industry, as a song-writer and producer. After years almost making it, a few years ago, a song he wrote in his bedroom, became this smash hit, Jar of Hearts, after it debuted on the reality show “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Literally over night, “everything changed,” Yeretsian says. Including his income. That year he catapulted in to the 1 percent. But, he says, tries not to live like he has. “Keep the overhead low. Enjoy life,” is his philosophy. (He was a philosophy major in college, and traces his non-lavish lifestyle back to reading Thoreau’s Walden.)
“Don't get me wrong, I go to Hawaii every year,” he says. And he’s bought several rental properties as investments. “Financially, I’m in a comfortable position. I think that's the big difference is you have that comfort.”
Jason Laan is another recent arrival to the 1 percent, who made the leap after his iPhone app made it big. For him, the surprising thing about being at the top is that it doesn't always feel like the top.
“The 1 percenters we think of spend $10,000 on a commode,” Laan says. “If you make $340,000” — the approximate household income needed to break into the 1 percent in the last few years — “you're not going to waste money on something like that.”
Laan says the year he made enough to qualify as a “1 percenter,” he asked his accountant about whether he should consider trying to take advantage of tax loop holes or off-shore accounts, to protect some of his money. His accountant laughed and told him he wasn't rich enough.
“You’re not connected enough to try to hide your assets in such a way,” Laan recalls his accountant saying. “You can’t afford the overhead.”
Another thing about the latest research on the 1 percent from Rank and Hirschl: While one |
to the Washington Wizards.
https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/813588167156563968
From the opening tip, something seemed off with Milwaukee’s defense. The Bucks were not covering Otto Porter. It was as if they were intentionally leaving him wide open.
Milwaukee covering Otto like he's Tony Allen. Scouting report should indicate that Otto can shoot. #WizBucks — Ledell's Place (@LedellsPlace) December 27, 2016
Jason Kidd’s team was so concerned with stopping John Wall and Bradley Beal, they seemed to forgot about Porter. Otto responded with 32 points on a wildly efficient 13-for-18 shooting (5-9 on 3s) to go with 13 rebounds. Kidd confirmed the obvious after the game.
“Porter, he hurt us tonight. It was something that we talked about too, making sure their role players didn’t have a good night. Porter had a big night.”
But how could a guy who was on fire get so many open looks? It was as if the Bucks didn’t respect Otto. Turns out that’s exactly what happened. Bucks rookie Malcolm Brogdon laid down some truth after the game:
“We haven’t respected [Otto] both games. We really concentrated on Beal and Wall and did a pretty good job. We need to show him more respect if we play them again. He’s hurt us two times.”
[Ed. Note: Washington and Milwaukee played the second game of a back-to-back on Monday. Porter scored 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting (4-5 on 3s) in the prior game last Friday.]
It’s strange to hear a rookie talk about Otto Porter the same way Kobe might talk about an opposing bench player who had a nice game, but it speaks to his unassuming character off the court and utility man role on it.
Brogdon will not have to wait very long to play Porter again. Washington and Milwaukee will meet on January 8. It will be their fourth meeting in 29 days.
A Somber Bucks Locker Room
With Milwaukee losing in disappointing fashion and catching a late-night flight to Detroit, I hurried to the visitor’s locker room after the final horn in case the players were rushing out of the Verizon Center. Turns out, I arrived a little too early. Jason Kidd and his coaching staff were still in the hall deconstructing the game and figuring out what to say to their players. It was not an upbeat gathering.
Kidd looked like he aged a few years during the 2.5 hours of the #WizBucks game. pic.twitter.com/m2BuzDLKaW — Ledell's Place (@LedellsPlace) December 27, 2016
When it was time to talk, the quotes out of the Bucks locker room were reminiscent of the early days of John Wall — defensive lapses, miscommunications, and a failure to execute down the stretch.
Kidd even said the Wizards outmuscled the Bucks, which is a welcome change from the previous game when Milwaukee dominated the paint. Kidd said his team lacked patience and ball movement when the game got tight.
The fourth quarter meltdown, during which Washington erased a 10-point deficit with four 3-pointers, was on everyone’s mind. Jabari Parker described the team’s mindset in the final minutes in a manner befitting the sinking of the Titanic.
“We got really afraid. We couldn’t close the game. “I think we fed off each other. Not a single person was real positive and that’s what led us to the loss. We panicked. We all looked at each other. We pointed the finger. Collectively we weren’t composed, we weren’t motivated.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo was a little more reserved. He laid the blame on the Bucks 3-point defense — or lack thereof: “I think we got to do a better job getting stops without giving a lot of 3s. That’s the game. We didn’t defend the 3-point line real well. That’s it.”
Kidd tried to stop the bleeding with a timeout when the Wizards pulled within four points after back-to-back 3-pointers from Porter and Beal with 6:47 left, but his warning fell on deaf ears:
“We were talking about in the timeout when we were up six and just gave up back-to-back 3s, we said, ‘no 3s. That’s the one way they can get back in the game’ and they used the 3 to get back in that fourth quarter.”
Each Porter and Beal would go on to hit big 3s down the stretch.
It was not all doom and gloom in the postgame locker room though. Jason Terry, who is in his 18th season in the NBA and has seen this all before, picked up the remote and put the Dallas Cowboys-Detroit Lions game on the big screen. I asked who he was rooting for. “Neither,” Terry replied. “I’m a Seahawks fan.”Democrat State Senator Angela Giron is one of two Colorado legislators facing a recall effort in retaliation for her support of the draconian gun control measures passed by Democrats, earlier this year.
Last week Kyle Clark of Denver’s 9News was asking viewers for tips on the identity of the mystery man seen passing out twenties to supporters of Democratic Senator Angela Giron.
An unidentified man was caught on tape slipping money to Giron supporters holding signs in opposition to a recall effort by gun rights supporters.
The following video was recorded by the pro-recall group Pueblo Freedom and Rights and provided to 9NEWS.
“I think it speaks for itself,” Victor Head, president of Pueblo Freedom and Rights told 9News. “It looks like they’re paying people to protest us.”
The mystery man with the handful of cash has since been identified as a donor to the effort defending the Pueblo Democrat from the recall, 72-year-old Gerald Rosenblatt of Pueblo.
Rosenblatt admitted that he gave cash to Giron’s supporters, but insists his cash handout was spontaneous.
Last week, however, Giron’s anti-recall campaign told 9News that the senator didn’t even know the man who was seen in the video handing out cash to her sign-waving supporters (and speaking with the senator herself.) Her campaign manager suggested that the video was a setup perpetrated by Republicans.Marking another milestone for a changing planet, scientists reported on Wednesday that the Earth reached its highest temperature on record in 2016, trouncing a record set only a year earlier, which beat one set in 2014. It is the first time in the modern era of global warming data that temperatures have blown past the previous record three years in a row.
The findings come two days before the inauguration of an American president who has called global warming a Chinese plot and vowed to roll back his predecessor’s efforts to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases.
In reality, the Earth is heating up, a point long beyond serious scientific dispute, but one becoming more evident as the records keep falling. Temperatures are heading toward levels that many experts believe will pose a profound threat to both the natural world and to human civilization.1 The first celluloid roll film was developed in 1887 by Hannibal Goodwin, an Episcopalian minister from Newark, New Jersey.
2 In 1891 Thomas Edison’s company demonstrated the Kinetograph, the first motion picture camera, but never got around to creating a projector for playback.
3 Instead, the company acquired manufacturing rights to a machine called the Vitascope. One of the conditions of the deal was that Edison be credited as the inventor.
4 Some things never change: Edison’s early film loops included one showing “cooch” dancers; another reenacted the decapitation of Mary, Queen of Scots—arguably the first horror flick.
5 In 1908, after indecency complaints, New York City closed down all Kinetoscope (peep-show) movie parlors.
6 Three decades before The Jazz Singer, William Kennedy Laurie Dickson created a film short with synchronized sound. It showed two men dancing as he played a violin.
7 Many familiar movie sounds are simple audio illusions. Crunchy snow? Ice layered with cornstarch. Birds in flight? Leather gloves flapping. Heads getting squished? Frozen heads of lettuce… getting squished.
8 Walla is a term for the murmur of a crowd—another audio illusion. Several people saying “walla, walla, walla, walla” sounds like a large group talking.
9 One of the earliest color film processes, Kinemacolor, relied on an illusion too. Black-and-white film was projected through rotating red and green filters, fooling the eye into seeing color.
10 Time reversal is another standard film trick. When Moses parts the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments, the moviemakers filmed water pouring into a tank and then ran the footage backward.
11 Too real? The seat-rattling Sensurround effect at the premiere of the movie Earthquake was so intense it cracked one patron’s rib.
12 And it wasn’t even the most dangerous thing in the theater: A large popcorn with butter can pack 1,600 calories. Diet cola won’t help.
13 Many action movies depend on fire stunts—which, surprisingly, is chilly work. Stunt actors begin by coating their skin with a cool fire- retardant gel, then adding layers of Nomex underwear saturated with the same stuff.
14 The final layer is flammable rubber cement. Because rubber cement fumes are the sort of thing we tell children never, ever to inhale, directors tend to try to shoot burn scenes in as few takes as possible.
15 One of the most famous mechanical stunt actors—the shark in Jaws—was famously balky. Its hydraulics corroded in salt water, forcing Stephen Spielberg to substitute scenes shot from the shark’s point of view.
16 The grand IMAX format was developed by four young would-be film moguls from Canada who hastily rented and furnished swanky offices to impress potential Japanese investors. It worked: Fuji Bank supported the venture.
17 The Canadians then raced to invent a system that could shoot on film 10 times the size of the 35 mm format and fill a screen six stories high.
18 An IMAX projector weighs as much as a male hippo, costs $5 million, and has a bulb so bright that, if pointed upward, it could be seen by astronauts on the International Space Station.
19 Apollo 13, Armageddon, and Around the World in 80 Days are among the movies NASA keeps aboard the Space Station.
20 So is So I Married an Axe Murderer.May 27 2013 11:13PM GMT
My last post, Beware the Nearly Useless Low-End Android Tablet, was about my efforts to find a low-cost Android tablet that was worth buying. I mentioned that I was ordering a $69 Nextbook 7″ Tablet with 8GB Memory from Walmart. I’ve now been playing with it for a few days, and I like it. The main reason I chose this tablet is that it explicitly said it had Google Play preloaded. And it did. Last week I noted that some bottom-of-the-line tablets only had dorky, semi-useless proprietary app stores, not Google’s huge one — which many people (including me) consider the best thing about Android.
But wait! That’s not all!
As people who own Android phones or tablets have learned, not every one of the hundreds of thousands of Android apps work on every Android phone. So far, though, I’ve only found a few that wouldn’t install and run on my Nextbook, and there were enough other, similar apps that I didn’t care.
Here’s a list of Android apps I find essential, and that I have installed on my new tablet:
I also have Wondershare MobileGo on my PC because it is the best program I’ve found for connecting/syncing Android devices and computers. Even programs (ASC is an example) that don’t recognize my Nextbook when it is USB-connected to my computer work after you run MobileGo. It costs $39.95, but if you review software and devices, as I do, it’s a tiny investment. Otherwise, you probably don’t need it.
Rooting Your Android Device
If you are an IT professional or serious tinkerer or need to use software (many screencast programs, for example) that only run on rooted Android devices, the Nextscreen is not locked, so it can be rooted easily. (But then, my HTC 4G phone is “locked,” but HTC makes it easy to unlock.) I have not rooted mine, but I am not you. Once rooted, of course, your Nextbook will run almost any Android app.
Great for children and travelers
My original reason for testing low-end Android tablets was that my assorted grandchildren love tablet computers, but are good enough at tablet-breaking that buying them $300 SammySings or $500 iFads is a waste. Naturally, as often happens in this situation I decided to keep the test unit for myself as a combination book-reader and (with earbuds; its speakers are lousy) music & movie player. I can now go to the beach and carry 20 books, 10 record albums (got the Beatles White Album playing right now) and a couple of movies. And, if I’m feeling masochistic, I can type out stories on the tiny virtual keyboard.
Although I kept the “test” Nextscreen for myself, I just bought another one as a gift for a relative who has a birthday coming up. She has a long bus ride to and from work, and is a heavy reader, so I think she’ll enjoy it. I installed appropriate software (including what her local library uses) for her. I hope she likes it. And if she does, I’ll get them for the younger family members, too.
While nothing is unbreakable, the Nextscreen seems to be made of rather sturdy plastic and the touchscreen seems like it resists scratches rather well, so I’m willing to chance giving it to children as a combination play and homework (with a case/keyboard included) machine.
________
Notes:
1) If you want more storage for books, music, and movies, this unit takes standard SD micro memory cards. My local BestBuy has these $29.95, 32 GB SD micro cards in stock if I need them right away (or need that big a card), but if I check Amazon, NewEgg, and other online retailers, and keep an eye open for sales, I’m sure I can do better.
2) I have an Android phone, and although my cellular carrier might not like this very much, it’s no great trick to turn it into a mobile hotspot and use my tablet online even if I’m not within range of a WiFi signal. You can do the same. Or you can be legal and pay your carrier for the privilege. Up to you. 🙂
3) I gave you my main reasons for buying a Nextbook tablet; that it had Google Play pre-installed and that I could take it back to my local Walmart store if it didn’t work out. It also had (for my purposes) a decent set of specs, viz. 1 GB RAM and 8 GB storage with the ability to add more with an add-on SD card. This does not mean I recommend this particular make, model or vendor. There are others I’m sure are at least as good, and may suit your needs better. Shop! (And please share your results as a comment. Thanks.)Doomtree Zoo coming to CHS Field this October
Publicity photo
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When Doomtree proclaimed last fall that their 10th annual multi-night Blowout at First Avenue would be their “Last Blowout Ever,” many wondered what the powerhouse hip-hop crew would conjure up next. It turns out we didn’t have to wait very long to find out: Today, the seven-piece group announced the Doomtree Zoo, an outdoor festival coming to Lowertown St. Paul’s CHS Field on October 3.
“With the Blowout, it was just so locked in for so many years,” Doomtree producer Lazerbeak told me yesterday. “For this one, we were like, ‘What the hell are we going to do?’
Beak says that part of the limitation of the Blowout was that it had to occur inside traditional music venues. For their new scheme, the crew wanted to look at their possibilities from a whole new angle. “At one point I ended up going on a drive with Joe Spencer, the arts and cultural director of St. Paul, and he gave me this awesome tour—I thought we were going to check out this one little outdoor field, and in the end we spent a whole afternoon just driving around. I hadn’t ever gotten to see the city from that perspective,” he continues. “We walked into CHS field and it was this eureka moment: This could be crazy.”
While the idea of hosting a concert in a baseball stadium certainly isn’t new—this summer’s Twin Cities Jazz Festival showcase of Dr. John at CHS Field and last falls’ Replacements show at Midway Stadium are two recent examples—Lazerbeak says that Doomtree hopes to “reimagine what a baseball stadium can be for a big show.” Performances won’t be constricted to the main stage inside the field, and the crew has invited In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and face painters to roam the stadium between sets. To emphasize the kid-friendly nature of the show, kids 8 and under get into the Doomtree Zoo free.
For now, the Doomtree Zoo will be a one-time event, with no plans of making it an annual festival. Right now, Lazerbeak says they’re focusing on simply executing an event of this scale—CHS Field can accommodate up to 12,000 people.
“When we talked aobut ending the Blowout, we talked about wanting to feel that fear again, to be more on the line—we knew that we could sell First Avenue out, it got too easy, maybe,” he says. “Challenge has always been good for us. This is the most we’ve ever bit off.”
Doomtree Zoo lineup:
Doomtree
Aesop Rock with Rob Sonic
Trash Talk
Open Mike Eagle
Shabazz Palaces
Serengeti
Aby Wolf
Koo Koo Kanga Roo
Anonymous Choir
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre
DetailsTHE leader of Adelaide's controversial street preachers is suing Adelaide City councillor Anne Moran for defamation.
Court documents obtained by The Advertiser show Street Church spokesman Caleb Corneloup is demanding Ms Moran pay $40,000 in damages because she accused the group of peddling a "vicious hate-filled message".
He is also suing ABC TV, which telecast the comments. In August, the Supreme Court ruled that the group - which has brandished placards in Rundle Mall warning "sins" like homosexuality, adultery and fornication will lead to damnation - were allowed to continue their activities.
The group argued they had a right to freedom of political speech and have since taken their message to a tattoo parlour, a Victor Harbor pub and public transport.
In the court documents, Mr Corneloup alleges that during a TV debate with Mr Corneloup on November 10, Ms Moran said the group was "anti-women, anti pretty much anything" and spread an "abhorrent" message.
The documents, lodged on January 16, claim Ms Moran damaged Mr Corneloup by stating "it is not the message of Jesus Christ, it's a vicious and hate-filled message".
Ms Moran, who is an Anglican, yesterday said the group had adopted an "Old Testament" view of religion and were hypocritical in their application of freedom of speech.
"We should be afforded the same type of freedom of speech which they have been afforded, and they really have been afforded a very broad interpretation," she said. "I and many others think they are over-the-top but apparently (we are) not allowed to say that."
The preachers have also lodged another defamation suit against the Sunday Mail and Mr Corneloup yesterday said there "will be a lot more (defamation suits) to come".
"Freedom of speech can be curtailed within reasonable regulation," he said. "Defamation of character is something that freedom of speech should not be allowed to do."
Mr Corneloup said his group won the right to preach under laws protecting political comment while Ms Moran had made statements reflecting on alleged poor personal character. Ms Moran said the council was assessing whether to grant her a ratepayer-funded defence.PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Senator Ron Johnson, a Tea Party conservative up for re-election in a swing state, looked out at a crowd of supporters and reassured them that he and his fellow Republicans would be resolute in blocking President Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland to the Supreme Court.
“We absolutely will not allow the Supreme Court to flip,” Mr. Johnson said on Wednesday evening, drawing thunderous applause at a political forum organized by a local conservative talk-radio host, Charlie Sykes, in this Milwaukee suburb.
Mr. Johnson is widely considered one of the Republican Party’s most endangered incumbents in his rematch with Russ Feingold, a liberal Democrat who served three terms in the Senate until his ouster six years ago. But as Mr. Feingold repeatedly hammers Mr. Johnson over the refusal by Senate Republicans to fill the court vacancy — an issue that Democratic leaders believe will help propel them to victory in November — Mr. Johnson is turning the tables with gusto.
“Yeah, I am hearing the drumbeat, ‘Do your job! Do your job!’ ” Mr. Johnson said, invoking the Democrats’ battle cry in their quest to get Judge Garland a hearing. “We’re doing our job,” Mr. Johnson declared, to shouts of “yes.”DETROIT — CNN is on the television in the living room of Antoinette Brown and Travon King’s small, but tidy house Wednesday morning here on the city’s far east side, a couple blocks south of 8 Mile Road.
A report comes on about a tweet sent by Donald Trump, wondering if he would receive a thank you from three UCLA basketball players he helped gain a release from Chinese detention after they were arrested on three counts of shoplifting last week.
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“I’ll thank him,” Antoinette interrupted, speaking to the TV. “If Trump helps us, if he helps Wendell, I won’t stop thanking him. He helped get three basketball players who were guilty get out. I pray he’ll help get my innocent son out. And if he does, I’ll thank him and thank him and thank him.”
Wendell Brown, 30, is a former football star in Detroit, a standout at powerhouse King High School and then a three-year starting linebacker at Ball State in Indiana where he graduated in 2009. He later played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, a number of arena teams and even a professional league in Austria. He also coached the game, at King High and then a season as an assistant at Adrian College, a D-III program in Michigan.
Wendell Brown, back, has spent time in China teaching the game of football to kids. (Courtesy of the Brown family)
In 2015, he found his way to Chongqing, China, a city of some 18 million in the southwest part of the country, to play and then, after an injury, coach in the American Football League of China. It seemed like an incredible opportunity. While there he taught English to adults and football to kids. He spoke at the U.S. Embassy about the game. To supplement his income, he opened a cross training business, Brown Elite Fitness.
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As a 6-foot, 225-pound African-American in the middle of China, he stood out. Brown is in incredible physical condition and was a cast member once on the Discovery Network reality television show, “American Muscle.” Pictures of him putting middle-aged locals through workouts and barking motivational sayings at them – “Elite!”, “All Day!”, “Eight Days a Week”— entertained his family back home.
“We used to joke with him, ‘You look like Billy Blanks,’ ” Antoinette said with a laugh.
Life was great until Sept. 24, 2016, when Brown attended a birthday party for a friend at a bar. As Wendell’s side tells it, he struggled to blend in when out on the town because many Chinese assumed he was either rich or famous. That night some men wanted to drink with him, but Brown declined. They got angry and a dispute broke out. Brown was later arrested for hitting a man. Brown claimed he never hit anyone and only raised his arms to block bottles being thrown at him.
Regardless, Brown was taken to the Chongqing Jiangbei detention center. He had never before been arrested. Faced with no American-style bail available, no discovery process about the evidence against him and a confusing array of laws that bear little resemblance to the United States, he’s spent the past 14 months in a Chinese jail.
Back in Detroit, Antoinette and King, her husband of 17 years, didn’t know anything had happened for days. Antoinette said she began getting concerned when Wendell didn’t text or call; he usually checked in daily. Finally, the phone rang from his number, but it was one of his friends in China trying to explain the situation.
The family was helpless. They were unable to have any contact with Wendell. Letters to and from that contained much information about the case were intercepted. They hired a lawyer in China, who was allowed to speak with him, but then was told that the way for this to end was to come up with $100,000 U.S. as restitution. King is a barber and Brown a hairstylist, co-owners of the small Kingz & Queenz Salon on Gratiot in this hard-hit city. Men’s haircuts start as low as $5.
“There was no way,” King said.
*****
Wendell Brown played college football at Ball State and went on to play professionally in Canada. (Yahoo Sports)
Wendell Brown has a degree in criminal justice from Ball State, where due to a redshirt year he also completed a year of work on a Master’s in political science and public administration. While his family back home encouraged him to plead guilty in the hopes of getting a lesser sentence, Wendell explained to friends via letters he declined because he believed that would result in a restitution charge that would keep him imprisoned anyway.
Night after night, his mother and stepfather felt hurt, helpless and hopeless. Anger grew. Both said they haven’t relaxed in 14 months, no moment of good emotion passing without remembering their son is sitting in a jail half a world away.
“So many sleepless nights,” Antoinette said. “It never makes sense. I stay up all night emailing people in China because their time is 12 hours ahead, so it’s daytime. You can never get an answer.”
“No husband ever wants to see his wife cry,” King said, his voice trailing off.
They began a GoFundMe account, but it yielded only so much. Even then, they aren’t sure the cash request isn’t just an extortion attempt that wouldn’t get Brown out. The King High community rallied around Wendell, printing shirts of support, but that is still just one city high school, not something formidable such as UCLA. There’s been some local media stories, but nothing like the firestorm of coverage around the shoplifting Bruins, although the Wall Street Journal mentioned Wendell in its coverage this week.
The family said the U.S. Consulate and Michigan’s two Senators, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, have taken up the cause, but their influence is almost non-existent in the Chinese criminal system.
“The main way we try [to help] is by talking with the Chinese authorities, and by making sure that they take Mr. Brown and any other arrested Americans’ case seriously,” Elliot Fertik of the U.S. Department of State told Michigan Radio. “We monitor cases involving American citizens who were arrested abroad to make sure that they receive fair treatment from the authorities as best we can.”
Brown’s family said they were told there was little anyone could do until after a verdict in the case. The trial occurred in July, the court unexpectedly filled with Brown’s friends, both Americans he played and worked with and locals he trained and taught. An additional 100 letters of support, most from inside China, were presented. Antoinette and King didn’t attend, finding the cost of travel prohibitive while being fearful they, too, would get scooped up for nothing.
According to Brown’s friends who attended the trial, the evidence against him fell apart. The Chinese don’t release details or evidence and there is no independent media in China, however, his friends said the video surveillance showed he didn’t hit anyone, let alone with a bottle like it was alleged. It was revealed the man who claimed he was hit and had his eye injured by Brown, actually had suffered the injury in a previous incident, according to Brown’s friends. They claim Brown took the stand in his own defense and was compelling and convincing, noting that considering his size and strength, had he wanted to fight there would have been significant injuries.
That was July. There is still no verdict. It’s been four months without a ruling and no one knows when, if ever, one will come. Even if the evidence is what Brown’s supporters say, an acquittal remains a long shot. According to a study by William Nee, a Hong Kong-based researcher for Amnesty International, Chinese prosecutors enjoy a 99.2 percent conviction rate. Brown faces three to 10 years in prison.
In letters home, Brown says he has tried to find peace with everything. He passes his time engaging in meditation, a vegan diet, exercise and Bible study, his faith pulling him through.
“God will assure that the truth will come out,” he wrote to his mother.
Antoinette Brown said he can be visited once a month by the U.S. Consulate to make sure he is not being mistreated. Other than that, nothing and no one. Antoinette says that the judge in the case, however, has also gone to visit him four times since the trial to check in on him.
“That tells me that she knows that there is an innocent man in there,” Antoinette said. “I wish she would just rule that way.”
*****
Antoinette Brown says it’s been 14 months of sleepless nights since her son was jailed in China. (Yahoo Sports)
When news broke from China last week that three UCLA basketball players, in the country to play a game, were arrested for shoplifting from three separate stores, Antoinette Brown’s heart sank.
“I felt bad for them because I know what we’ve been through,” she said. “I thought, these poor guys and their families are going to go through hell.”
King, however, quickly saw it differently when he heard that within 36 hours the players were released from detention and sent back to the team hotel. His stepson was offered no such luxury. And with Trump coincidentally in the country and meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, he could see what was coming.
“Their daddy, what’s his name, LaVar Ball?” King said of the outspoken basketball entrepreneur whose son, LiAngelo, was detained. “Their daddy said, ‘It ain’t no big thing,’ and I thought, ‘He knows they’re going to get out.’ ”
Within a week, the UCLA players were on a plane back to LAX, with Trump boasting that he personally lobbied Xi for their release.
“President Xi has been terrific on that subject,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. By Wednesday, he was wondering about getting properly thanked. (He would.)
Back here on Detroit’s east side, where working families and small business owners try to maintain neighborhoods threatened by crime and crumbling buildings, Trump’s actions felt so far away, yet also perhaps as a possible glimmer of light.
No, they don’t have a family member who is a star rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers, like Lonzo Ball. No, they don’t have a reality television show. No, Travon King can’t just snap his fingers and appear on ESPN. There is no UCLA in their corner.
They are just regular folks, the working class grinding out life, trying to pay their bills on a cold, wet, gray November day.
They live vicariously through the lives of their combined six kids. Their living room is covered with pictures of graduations and grandkids, of old football games and family picnics.
That includes Wendell, who survived a city that too often eats its young to become a straight-A student in high school, a college football star at Ball State, an energetic coach and a kind-hearted entrepreneur who was using football to see the world and provide for his 10-year-old son back in Florida.
Good kid, Wendell, they say, the one who taught the Chinese to read English by day and get fit at night, until the nightmare of a foreign criminal justice system did him in.
“They basically got a saint locked up over there,” King said. “There isn’t any other way to look at it.”
Antoinette nods her head. Her eyes tear up. Fourteen months of hell, of confusion, of frustration. No CNN alerts for them.
Donald Trump helped those guilty UCLA basketball players; how about their innocent, they believe, football-playing son?
“Do you think he would?” Antoinette asks.Former PM David Cameron with Prince William. Credit:AP The report reveals how Mr Cameron asked the South Korean delegation to back England's bid, only to be told that England would have to agree to reciprocate by pledging support for South Korea's bid to host the 2022 tournament. Such a vote-swapping deal, the report concluded, was in "violation of the anti-collusion rules". The report, written in 2014 by FIFA's then chief ethics investigator Michael Garcia, details how England bid officials interacted with FIFA officials in the run-up to the vote. It discloses how they were asked to bestow an honorary knighthood and arrange an audience with the Queen for one South American official. England 2018 officials arranged jobs at Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur football clubs for the "adopted son" of one official. They even considered a request by the same official, the Trinidad and Tobago FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, to have his home town twinned with an "English village". The FA offered Burton upon Trent, in Staffordshire, as a potential twin town.
Set to appeal: Michael Garcia. Credit:AP The report discloses how Mr Cameron met FIFA vice-president Mong-Joon Chung of South Korea in Prince William's suite at the Baur au lac Hotel in Zurich on the eve of the vote in December 2010. "The Prime Minister asked Mr Chung to vote for England's bid, and Mr Chung responded that he would if Mr [Geoff] Thompson [chairman of England's bid] voted for Korea [to host the 2022 tournament]," states the report. The Queen is also named in the report after it emerged that FA chiefs met a senior FIFA official in 2009 who asked for an audience with the monarch. It is alleged that Nicolas Leoz, president of the South American Football Confederation, suggested the possibility of an honorary knighthood. In the meeting with Lord Triesman, the then FA chairman, it is alleged that Dr Leoz said that "he believed that a knighthood from the United Kingdom would be appropriate".
The attempts to court Mr Warner, then a FIFA vice-president and president of North, Central American and Caribbean football confederation, and his astonishing demands are also revealed in full for the first time. "England 2018's response shows an unfortunate willingness, time and again, to meet that expectation [of Mr Warner]," the report concludes. England were knocked out in the first round after receiving only two votes. Garcia report leaked FIFA took the dramatic step of publishing the report after it was leaked to German newspaper Bild this week. The report's contents have been kept secret until Bild obtained a copy and started publishing it on Tuesday.
The first set of revelations from the report were not particularly new but still painted a bleak picture of the background to the infamous 2010 vote that gave the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. More damning revelations about the Qatari bid, however, were expected from Bild on Wednesday, only for FIFA to spike its guns by publishing the whole report on its website. In a statement, FIFA said the new bosses of its independent ethics committee, chief investigator Maria Claudia Rojas and lead judge Vassilios Skouris, had taken the decision. It said FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the current members of the FIFA Council had been calling for this move for over a year but had been blocked by the predecessors of Rojas and Skouris, Cornel Borbely and Hans-Joachim Eckert, who were unceremoniously replaced last month. Borbely co-authored the report with Garcia, and Eckert wrote a highly contentious 42-page "summary" of the report which Garcia immediately disowned, before resigning.
The FIFA statement added: "The ethics committee will meet in its full composition under the new chairpersons for the first time next week, and it was already planned to use this opportunity to discuss the publication of the report. "However, as the document has been illegally leaked to a German newspaper, the new chairpersons have requested the immediate publication of the full report (including the reports on the Russian and US bid teams, which were conducted by Mr Borbely alone) in order to avoid the dissemination of any misleading information. Loading "For the sake of transparency, FIFA welcomes the news that this report has now been finally published." Telegraph, London with APAlan Wake Is Already A Hero In Bright Falls?
by David 'Hades' Becker [ Thursday, 29th of April 2010 - 02:08 PM ]
Let's start by watching episode one of the prequel. A video titled "Oh Deer", it is the real intro for what is going on in the game's story. A story that is starting off by showing reporter Jake Fisher going on the case of something and heading to a small town called Bright Falls. Let' see how that goes.
Alan Wake Bright Falls: Oh Deer
Ok, so what the fuck is going on here? Our new friend, Jake, is on the path of something, and has happy birthday sung to him by a bunch of yokels that seem to worship Alan Wake - all for no discernible reason. I can see it all being kind of creepy I guess. Oh yea, then Jake hits a deer that can not be seen with his head lights on, but is only visible with a small flash light. This is, of course, before it is "creepily" drug into the woods. Also, who opens a body bag after diving for it and then just leaves it behind. Those things are very useful to have around. I know, I have one in my car.*
There has to be more. I mean this is suppose to be setting us up for Alan |
a family court ruling, which said she couldn't divorce her husband Hugh Owens, 78.
The court heard her case was that the marriage had broken down, but Mr Owens disagreed and said the couple still had a "few years" to enjoy.
A ruling is yet to be published.
'Extraordinarily unusual'
Judge Robin Tolson ruled against Mrs Owens in the family court last year, concluding that her allegations were "of the kind to be expected in marriage" and refused to grant a divorce petition.
Three appeal judges, led by Sir James Munby, the most senior family court judge in England and Wales, analysed the case at a hearing in London on Tuesday.
Philip Marshall QC, representing Mrs Owens, told the court that the "vast majority" of divorces were undefended in 21st Century England.
He said: "It is extraordinarily unusual in modern times for a court to dismiss a petition for divorce."
The court was told the couple had married in 1978 and lived in Broadway, Worcester.
Mr Marshall said Judge Tolson had failed to make "proper findings of fact" and argued that his ruling should be overturned.
Mrs Owens had made 27 allegations about the way Mr Owens treated her, including that he was "insensitive" in his "manner and tone" and said she was "constantly mistrusted" and felt unloved.
"The simple fact is that I have been desperately unhappy in our marriage for many years," she said in a witness statement.
"There is no prospect of reconciliation."
Mr Owens, a retired businessman, disagreed and denied allegations made against him.
Image copyright PA Image caption Hugh Owens said the couple still had a "few years" to enjoy, the court heard
Mr Marshall said judges had to consider the "cumulative effect" of what might be classed as a long list of trivial matters.
"It was my client's complaint that her husband treated her in a childlike way," Mr Marshall told judges.
"And in a way which was effectively that she should agree with his will."
Barrister Nigel Dyer QC, who represented Mr Owens, said appeal judges should not overturn Judge Tolson's ruling.
He said: "At the moment, as the law stands, unhappiness, discontent, disillusionment are not facts which a petitioner can rely upon as facts which prove irretrievable breakdown."
Judges were told that Mrs Owens had an affair which lasted less than a year and the court heard the couple, who have grown-up children, slept in different rooms.
Sir James said the judges would examine legislation laid down by Parliament and told lawyers: "It is not a ground for divorce if you find yourself in a wretchedly unhappy marriage - people may say it should be."
Specialist divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag said judges should not compel people to stay married.
"This case highlights the absurdity of fault-based divorce," she said.
"If a party is willing to go to the Court of Appeal to fight for a divorce, spending significant sums on the way, there is clearly no future for the marriage."
She said it was "beyond archaic" that it should have to be proved to a judge.Hypnosis Will Work For YOU!
Hypnosis is a natural state of mind that can help you achieve your greater potential or change behaviors that are no longer suitable in the life that you want for yourself.
ANYTHING THAT YOU DO IN LIFE CAN BE ENHANCED THROUGH HYPNOSIS.
Hypnotherapy is a safe, effective and relaxing method of psychotherapy that allows you to use your inner tools to master your problems and create very powerful and effective changes in a very short period of time. Through hypnosis, you can alter the programming of your subconscious mind, the part of our mind that directs your spontaneous and habitual behavior, so that you can learn to think in new ways without conscious effort. This enables you to begin to create your new reality instantly. The subconscious mind creates our reality by processing all of our past events and thoughts. It doesn’t reason: it simply directs our behaviors based on the programming of our past. Your thoughts from the past have created your today. If you don’t like your today and desire to improve it, now is the time to change your mental programming with hypnosis.
WHATEVER YOUR MIND HAS CREATED – YOUR MIND CAN CHANGE.TAYLOR SWIFT, I salute you.
Not for your snappy songs and sartorial flair, although these are all fine things. I applaud you for the fact that you have almost single-handedly skewered the myth of the owner of the feline as a tragic, rejected “crazy cat lady.”
Ms. Swift regularly poses with, and posts about, her two Scottish fold cats — Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson — with unabashed pride. She posts their pictures on Instagram and has been featured in commercials where she is swarmed by fluffy cats, all the while still managing to somehow remain desirable.
“It is a daily struggle,” she tweeted, “to not buy more cats.”
The longstanding, irrational bias against cats stems from archaic views about women.
Their owners are more likely to be single women than single men — according to the American Pet Products Association, 11 percent of cats live with single women but only 2 percent live with single men — and so they have become addendums to the spinster stereotype.Daily Steals is currently holding a killer deal on the Samsung Gear VR and compatible smartphones such as the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, the Galaxy Note 5, and the Samsung Galaxy S series.
With all of the VR madness surrounding the tech sector, many of you might be craving to get in on the fun. If the HTC Vive or the Oculus Rift are out of your reach, the best VR experience that doesn't break the bank is offered by Samsung's own Gear VR, a headset that requires a Samsung Galaxy smartphone to run.In this context, this Daily Steals promotion is actually pretty interesting. First off, the Samsung Galaxy VR is priced at $79.99, down from the headset's usual price of $99.99. That's already a nice deal on its own, but the discounts on compatible Samsung Galaxy phones are actually the main story here.Starting off with the cheapest phone in the offer, the Samsung Galaxy S6 can be had for just $399.99 in its unlocked flavour. If you're on Verizon, then you can get an unlocked, Verizon-compatible Galaxy S6 for just $299.99.The unlocked (AT&T-branded) Samsung Galaxy S6 edge is priced at $429.99 while a Verizon-compatible version of the Galaxy S6 edge will only set you back $349.99. You can also get a Verizon S6 edge+, the 5.5-inch version of the regular S6 edge, for just $379.99.Looking for a premium phablet? Well, Daily Steals is currently offering the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 at discounted prices. The unlocked GSM version of the handset is priced at $499.99 while the Verizon version of the same phone is priced at $329.99.Daily Steals is also offering discounts on this year's Samsung Galaxy S7 series. The unlocked GSM version of the standard S7 is priced at $539.99. The promotion also includes a notable discount on the international dual-SIM GSM variant (unlocked) of the Galaxy S7 edge, a phone that's priced at $639.99.What do you guys make of this promotion?Authentic ballistics modeling continues to be a distinguishing aspect of Arma. But even though I've dumped hundreds of hours into the game, I realized I couldn't identify all the things that the system simulates. To alleviate me (and you) of this ignorance, I asked two of Bohemia's leads to break down what variables go to work when you pull the trigger in Arma 3.
PCG: Some amount of what's being simulated in Arma 3 is invisible to the player. Can you walk us through--chronologically--what happens when the player fires a rifle? From a technical standpoint, what is the game taking into account?
Jay Crowe, co-Creative Director: Actually, we can start even before the shot's been taken. With the Real Virtuality engine, it's often not just a story about the shot itself, but your journey up to pulling that trigger. How much you've been running around and the load you're carrying contributes to a fatigue value. This—together with your stance, breathing, and state of health—affects your weapon sway and, thereby, accuracy. Then, there's the distance to target to take into account—zeroing your weapon or adjusting to compensate for the ballistic curve—plus, leading your target so the projectile ends up where you wanted it to.
Joris-Jan van 't Land, Project Lead: And once you do actually pull the trigger, there's a long list of steps in the simulation before hitting the intended target and seeing it ragdoll to the ground. I've actually had to ask programming guru Vojtěch Hladík for the details:
Check whether the weapon can be used at all (most weapons don't function underwater).
Apply zeroing to the direction of the muzzle.
Launch a projectile based on the ammunition type: bullets, shells, missiles, mines, sub-munitions, flares or countermeasures. All behave differently: some have a powered rocket engine, some emit light, some are explosive, etc.
Add dispersion factors.
Emit the correct sounds and muzzle flash, based on the weapon and accessories.
Heat up the weapon (for Thermal Imaging).
Compute firing visibility and audibility for other entities in the world, based on the weapon and accessories.
Simulate the flight of the projectile given: detected collisions with the terrain, water or objects environmental factors: air and water friction and gravity correct trajectory and energy computations involving penetration and deflection
Your target sees the flash from step #5: it's already too late.
Crowe: So, there's a lot of simulation at work behind the scenes and I suppose it might seem pretty complex just to shoot. What we're trying to do with A3 is make it feel more natural—at least, as natural as discharging a firearm might be for any given player—and, through that, find simplicity. Not "taking away" any simulation, but making the experience more fluid or comprehensible. Taking these various simple, little bits of simulation and combining them effectively in a way that's logical and, ultimately, satisfying to master.
Arma 3 will be pre-orderable beginning next Tuesday, a transaction that will grant instant access to the alpha. We'll have a ton of coverage hitting on the 5th, and look for our entire interview with Jay and Joris (who should probably consider forming a quaint folk-rock duo) over the weekend.The Atheists of Florida's legal coordinator was charged Friday with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Ellenbeth Wachs, 48, of Lakeland, had about 2 grams of marijuana and a pipe in a safe at her home, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. Both charges are misdemeanors.
Deputies found the safe when they served a search warrant at Wachs' home on March 3, the day she was booked on a charge of engaging in unauthorized practice of law.
A complaint affidavit said the Sheriff's Office opened the safe, which it had in evidence, on May 10.
Wach is scheduled to be in court June 23.
It is her latest run-in with Polk County officials.
In addition to her arrest in March on a third-degree �felony charge of illegally posing as a lawyer, she faces a second-degree felony charge of simulation of a sexual act in the presence of a child. She was accused of simulating the sounds of having sex from inside her home in an effort to make a neighbor boy stop playing basketball outside her house while she was trying to sleep.NESS ZIONA, Israel- June 27, 2017 - Nano Dimension Ltd., a leader in the field of 3D printed electronics (NASDAQ, TASE: NNDM), announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Nano Dimension Technologies Ltd., has received a grant approval from the Israel Innovation Authority, which will be used to finance a project to develop 3D printing of electronic modules for space applications. The total approved budget for this project is approximately $87,000 (NIS 309,000), of which the Israel Innovation Authority will finance 50%. According to the terms of the grant, Nano Dimension will pay royalties on future sales up to the full grant amount.
This unique project is done in collaboration with Harris Corporation, a leading technology innovator, that provides solutions that connect, inform and protect its clients. Nano Dimension and Harris have entered into a non-binding letter of intent with respect to the collaboration. This project will demonstrate, for the first time, the manufacturing of 3D printed double sided, multilayer circuits that distribute digital, power and RF signal at the same substrate, thus providing reduced size, weight, power and cost of space systems. New high volume printed RF technology will provide improved reliability and uniformity of space systems by eliminating manual assembly.
About Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation is a leading technology innovator, solving customers’ toughest mission-critical challenges by providing solutions that connect, inform and protect. Harris supports government and commercial customers in more than 100 countries and has approximately $6 billion in annual revenue. The company is organized into three business segments: Communication Systems, Space and Intelligence Systems and Electronic Systems. Learn more at harris.com.
About Nano Dimension Ltd.
Nano Dimension (TASE: NNDM, NASDAQ: NNDM) is a leading additive manufacturing technology company. Nano Dimension is disrupting, shaping and defining the future of how electronics are made. With its unique 3D printing technologies, Nano Dimension is targeting the growing demand for electronic devices that require increasingly sophisticated features and rely on printed circuit boards (PCBs). Demand for circuitry, including PCBs - which are the heart of every electronic device - covers a diverse range of industries, including consumer electronics, medical devices, defense, aerospace, automotive, IoT and telecom. These sectors can all benefit greatly from Nano Dimension’s 3D printed electronics solutions for rapid prototyping and short-run manufacturing.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, Nano Dimension is using forward looking statements in this press release when it discusses the details of grants to be received from the Israel Innovation Authority, the potential and possible uses of the company's products, that collaboration with Harris Corporation will demonstrate the manufacturing of 3D printed double sided, multilayer circuits that distribute digital, power and RF signal at the same substrate, thus providing reduced size, weight, power and cost of space systems, and that new high volume printed RF technology will provide improved reliability and uniformity of space systems by eliminating manual assembly. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on Nano Dimension's current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements of Nano Dimension could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release.
The forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Nano Dimension’s annual report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 7, 2017, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required by law, Nano Dimension undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
NANO DIMENSION INVESTOR RELATIONS
Miri Segal-Scharia
CEO
MS-IR LLC
917-607-8654
msegal@ms-ir.comA 25-year-old federal contractor is facing charges she leaked a classified National Security Agency document to a news outlet in May.
The charges against Reality Leigh Winner came about an hour after the publication of a story based on an NSA document detailing Russian attempts to hack American voting systems in 2016.
President Trump has been pushing Justice to go after leakers inside the federal government, which he has identified as "the big story" when it comes to Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Winner's arrest could signal the federal government is going to aggressively investigate and prosecute individuals who send classified intelligence to news organizations.
Trump and other Republican allies in Washington have made pursuing leakers one of their top priorities, but Winner is the first to face charges for releasing classified intelligence.
Winner, of Augusta, Ga., is facing charges that she removed classified material from a government facility and mailed it to a news outlet. She was arrested on Saturday and appeared on the charge Monday.
The announcement came shortly after The Intercept published a report based on a classified intelligence document showing Russian government hackers attempted to hack more than 100 local election officials before the November election.
According to the report, Russian military intelligence sent the emails to local elections officials. They also attempted a cyberattack on at least one American voting software supplier.
The Justice Department didn't confirm that Winner leaked the document to The Intercept, but the report stated the report received by the news outlet was dated May 5. The affidavit confirms the intelligence document was also dated on May 5.
Winner worked for Pluribus International Corporation and was assigned to a government facility in Georgia. She's held a top secret classified security clearance since being hired on Feb. 13.
She is accused of sending the classified document to a news outlet a few days after printing it off.
The government was not aware Winner leaked the document until a news outlet contacted government officials for comment on an upcoming report based on a document they believed to be classified. After receiving and reviewing a copy of the document, the government began an investigation.
"The U.S. Government Agency examined the document shared by the News Outlet and determined the pages of the intelligence reporting appeared to be folded and/or creased, suggesting they had been printed and hand-carried out of a secured space," the affidavit read.
Winner was identified because she was one of six people who printed the document off of their computer. Of those six, she was the only one who had any email contact with a news outlet.
"Winner further acknowledged that she was aware of the contents of the intelligence reporting and that she knew the contents of the reporting could be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of a foreign nation," the affidavit stated.
"During that conversation, Winner admitted intentionally identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue despite not having a ‘need to know,' and with knowledge that the intelligence reporting was classified."
Winner remains under investigation.How would you analyse your time in charge of Real Madrid since taking over in early 2016?
I'm happy to have been given this opportunity. It's not an easy job, but it's a passion for me. Football is one of my real passions. I've worked hard. I spent three or four years getting myself ready to become a coach.
Now I have the opportunity to coach this wonderful club, so I really get to live my passion from day to day. We may well have fantastic staff, but what we've achieved is also down to the fact we have wonderful players.
They bought into the message that everyone is important and that's what we've all been showing. Now we just have the most difficult hurdle to overcome and we haven't won anything yet. At the same time, it's the most wonderful hurdle.
Log in for free to watch the highlights Highlights: Ronaldo's 100% record v Buffon
We'd like to ask you about Cristiano Ronaldo – his position on the pitch, the number of games he's played, the way you've been keeping him fresh. What do you make of his development?
It's a decision we made together, based on discussions together. We're intelligent and even he sometimes needs to play a bit less. It's not because he isn't as physically fit, but because he wants to head into the final stage of the season, when everything is at stake, in top form.
He has played a lot this year, but there have been a few occasions when he has been left out to have a breather. Now he's in fantastic shape for what remains of the campaign. It isn't just about this year, it's the accumulation of all the seasons in his career in which he has played 60 or 70 matches. It gets to the point where you need to take a breather.
What do you make of his achievement in reaching 100 UEFA Champions League goals?
As you well know, there are no words that can do Cristiano Ronaldo justice. He shows what he's all about every time he's on the pitch, by scoring goals. He's now got more than 400 goals for Real Madrid in all competitions These are unbelievable stats, but with him anything's possible.
Log in for free to watch the highlights 1998 final highlights: Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus
The last time Juventus and Madrid met in a final was 1998, when you were a player for Juve – what are your memories of that night?
Moments like that are tough and sad, but they're part and parcel of any footballer's career and you've got to accept them. I'm just happy I got to win the competition later with Real Madrid. All careers leave you with both good and bad memories.
What do you make of Massimiliano Allegri as a coach?
He deserves everything that has been happening to him. He has shown he is among the top coaches in the world. He has rebuilt, or at the very least improved, this Juve team. Of course it's down to the club and the players too, but above all it's down to the coach heading the project. I have great respect for him.
As a leader, what does Gianluigi Buffon bring to Juventus?
I think it's about what he has achieved. He's a born leader. He has been an extraordinary player throughout his career.
He's a leader on the pitch and a great captain. In terms of everything he has said about players that he has met, he has always looked out for his fellow professionals. That shows you the sort of person he is, besides being a great goalkeeper and leader.How has Basque survived?
Basque is a language isolate. Spoken in a region that spans northern Spain across the border into southern France, it is not part of the Indo-European language family. It's not related to Spanish or French or German or Greek or any known language. The origins of the language are a bit of mystery. In fact you can almost hear the history of the European continent in the language according to Basque language scholar Xabier Irujo. "The Basque language has words coming from all languages that have been in Europe since prehistory from Latin and Celtic languages, and probably from languages before these Celtic languages. Who knows what was spoken in Europe at the time." This week on the podcast we talk about this mysterious language. How did it survive the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco when writing and speaking were illegal? How has this minority language thrived and even grown in the years since Franco's dictatorship ended? And what's the future hold for the language?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
A heartbreaking letter handed to a youth worker highlights the harrowing nature of food poverty in Liverpool.
The letter was written by a desperate mum-of-three and given to a member of staff at Croxteth Gems Community Association by her seven-year-old daughter.
It was penned during the half-term holiday and highlights the importance of the ECHO’S Share Your Lunch Holiday Hunger appeal, which aims to help feed thousands of hungry children during this year’s summer holidays.
The letter reads:
Please can you help. Is there any food banks where I can get some food for 4 days as I’m not getting money till Monday and with the children being on school holidays I have not a lot of food left to last us. Thanks.
Would appreciate any small amount of food would help xx
Jean Hannah, youth and play co-ordinator at Croxteth Gems, says: “It was handed to another member of staff here, who burst into tears when she passed it on to me. She told me she was going to go home to give her own mum a hug.
“It made me feel sick when I read it. You never get immune to the hardship so many people face. That’s why the ECHO’s Share Your Lunch campaign is so important.
“A few years ago we were sending food and clothing parcels to Third World countries – now we are giving them to people who live here. During the ECHO’s Share Your Lunch Christmas campaign, some people said to me ‘Get away. There are no kids around here who are starving’. But there ARE kids who are starving – there are kids who are starving ALL the time!”
(Image: Colin Lane)
Thousands of children across our region are set to go hungry this summer as school holidays kick in and school meals disappear.
That’s why we have launched the ECHO’s Share Your Lunch Holiday Hunger appeal.
We urgently need your help to raise £10,000 to help ensure no child in Merseyside goes hungry this summer.
Through our partners at the social enterprise Can Cook, that will then provide 5,000 nutritious cooked meals for hungry children, so please go to our Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/liverpool-echo-summer-share-your-lunch and give what you can.
During each and every school holiday, Croxteth Gems hosts a playscheme at their centre in Armill Road which includes a free breakfast and lunch for children. And Jean Hannah reveals: “Two years ago, this used to be for between 25 and 30 children – now it’s 70 children a day, which is the most we can do. So during the summer holidays we will be looking to serve 140 meals a day for five days a week over six weeks – that’s 700 a week and 4,200 for the summer period.”
Can Cook will be providing Croxteth Gems with approximately 1,800 of these meals if the Share Your Lunch appeal can reach its target.
Jean adds: “It’s soul-destroying that we have to do this but that is the reality, and I would defy anyone to turn away a hungry child. It’s also upsetting to see kids who are not familiar with some commonplace food items – like the child who didn’t know what spaghetti bolognese was – while you regularly see children who look unhealthy because of a lack of food. There is no worse pain than hunger and children cannot be focused on their school work if they return from their holidays having not eaten properly during the summer.”
(Image: Colin Lane)
Big-hearted ECHO readers responded magnificently to our Christmas Share Your Lunch campaign, helping us smash through the £10,000 Just Giving target, but Jean stresses: “The problem of food poverty didn’t disappear on December 26.
“It is happening 365 days a year, so I would ask everyone to please give what they can. If we don’t do it who else could we turn to? I’ve always thought Liverpool people take a collective responsibility for what goes on and do everything they can to help others. That’s why I think this is the best city in the world.”
Jean, who is also currently stockpiling school uniforms because there are no longer school uniform clothing vouchers available, adds: “The summer holidays present parents with much more of a financial burden than Christmas does. And with no free school meals through the six weeks of holidays, a family of four children need to find the money to pay for an extra 20 meals a week.
“Meanwhile, children naturally have expectations of their parents to do nice things with them over the holidays – like take them on days out.
“It does make you angry when you hear about the supposed ‘complex reasons’ why people use food banks. If you are put on a zero hours contract and have zero hours work one particular week it means you will have zero wages –and I don’t think there’s anything complex about that.
(Image: Colin Lane)
“Zero hours contracts, benefit sanctions, the bedroom tax and the length of time people have to wait for benefits all contribute to food poverty – and most of what we are dealing with here is in-work poverty.”
Here’s how you can help....
It’s so easy to donate. Just visit the Share Your Lunch Holiday Hunger appeal page and give what you can afford.
Alternatively send a cheque to Can Cook Kitchen, Unit 20, The Matchworks, Garston, Liverpool, L19 2RF.
Other ways you can help:
Having a barbecue? Have a whip round among your guests and donate the proceeds to the campaign.
Eating out? Ask the restaurant if they are backing the Share Your Lunch Holiday Hunger appeal and agree to give.
Business backing? Many Merseyside businesses and organisations pledged their direct support recently following a special event at LEAF in Bold Street. Contact Laura McCumiskey or Robbie Davison at Can Cook to join the growing list of caring companies who are now joining the fight against food poverty.I have a lot of friends who are Democrats. A lot. Having spent my entire adult life in the entertainment industry and much of it living in Los Angeles, that is just a fact of life.
Back in olden times (the 1990s), the Democrat politicians in Washington seemed to be much like the people who elected them. They also went about business in a way that was rather normal, if not to my particular ideological liking. This was all due to the fact that the extreme progressive hippies hadn’t completed the takeover of the party that they had begun in the 1970s.
Patient lot, these hippies.
Now the fix is in and the Left-of-Castro wing of the Democratic party is fairly well in control and dystopia is upon us. The people who began their political lives by expressing an overwhelming hatred of all things government have done a 180 and now embrace the egregious use of the federal monster to the point it almost seems like a fetish. It’s sort of like the “no bigger smoking nag than an ex-smoker” thing in reverse.
With a stealth progressive in the White House the fully armed and operational battle government has been deployed for purely political reasons in ways that should give any regular citizen pause.
An unelected regulatory agency is actively engaged in dismantling an entire industry. The IRS has become not only an enforcer for the Obamacare monstrosity, it can also be used as an attack dog to go after political opponents, even though the higher-ups are working in unison to pretend that is not the case.
Now, the United States Patent Office is enforcing the arbitrary rules of the speech police, and that sickening end-around was celebrated by Democratic leadership.
Taken separately, each of these is disturbing. That each is coming hot on the heels of the other should be setting off the FreakOutOMeter on both sides of the aisle.
There are a variety ways that rank and file Democrats might be looking at what is going on. My somewhat educated guess is that they’re not aware that the people they are electing are flexing authoritarian muscles that could very easily be used against them.
There are a variety of reasons people vote for one of the Big Two in America. One is tradition. A lot of Americans vote the way their parents voted just because that’s the way it’s always been. Many of us who keep our noses to the political grindstone forget that not everyone in the country engages in a lot of political introspection.
Another consideration is that so many of us aren’t immediately aware of changes in the ethos of the governing elite who allegedly represent us. Republican voters rode the Reagan model out of the eighties and paid little attention to the fact that GOP legislators were morphing into big government fans in the nineties. By the time we noticed, George W. Bush was creating a brand new government agency to essentially be the most expensive redundancy in American history.
The Democrats who vote for Harry Reid probably think he is probably still all about fighting for the little guy. In their minds, he fights the Koch brothers because they are big, bad rich guys who do nothing but ruin the lives of people who aren’t rich. This sort of scheming is all rich guys do on their yachts, when they aren’t flinging empty bottles of champagne and underperforming staff overboard. They don’t know that Harry Reid hates the Koch brothers because they are two of only a handful of people who can still effectively fight his New World Order.
Regular Democrats still view the government as a benevolent agent of social good. That has always been a part of their worldview and, on the rarest of occasions, it has been true.
There is, however, a tale of two governments when dealing with your average Democrat on the street. The same people who want the government fully involved in our health care are horrified by the NSA spying on us. They never seem to grasp that it’s the same government. So they remain fans of the Good Government while dwelling in blissful ignorance about the fact that supporting that mostly fictional entity is acting as a steroidal growth drug for the authoritarian monster.
The IRS and Patent Office’s actions are unnerving. Both are involved in an unmitigated assault on the First Amendment. The former is trying to affect the transition to a one party state and the latter is enforcing capricious political correctness. Most Democrats I talk to view one as a silly misunderstanding and the other as “fighting racism”.
I will not weigh in on whether “Redskins” is racist or not. I do know, however, that the meanings of words take on different contexts in different eras and those changes are generally dealt with in an efficient fashion by society. Employing a supposedly ideology-free government agency to kneecap a business to comply with something that can’t be legally dealt with is enough to get George Orwell screaming, “Oh HELL no!” from his grave.
It is not the “what” but the “how” that should have every American worried.
How surreal has the government landscape become? While defending the agency, the IRS commissioner tried to comfort questioners about missing evidence with the idea that the NSA might have it.
“Hey kids, that spying you’re creeped out about sure comes in handy, doesn’t it?”
I get along with so many Democrats because I know there is a difference between real Americans and the Governing Class. At some point, it is imperative that we make one realize that they’re helping the other grow into something so unmanageable that we will all regret it.Former President Bill Clinton reprised his role as President Barack Obama's "secretary of explaining stuff" on Tuesday, starring in a new video seeking to debunk the vague details of Mitt Romney's tax plan.
The Obama campaign has frequently attempted to characterize Romney's plan as one that will provide a windfall to the wealthiest Americans and shift the tax burden onto the middle class. Obama has also repeated the conclusions of a number of analysts in attacking the blueprint as one that can not possibly remain deficit neutral, as Romney claims. Romney has said that he'll make up for lost revenue by eliminating tax loopholes, but he's refused to specify which ones, a detail that has left him open to criticism.
During the first presidential debate, however, Romney argued that it was Obama's math that was incorrect, not his. Obama was subsequently criticized by some for not pushing back more aggressively.
In the video above, Clinton explains some of the specifics that Obama could have used to make his case.
"We simply cannot afford to give another round of tax cuts to people who got the benefit of the tax cuts and the economic growth of the last decade," Clinton says. "It hasn’t worked before, and it won’t work this time."
A clip then shows Clinton asking audience members to stand up for "arithmetic over illusion," a point that he underscored during his speech at this year's Democratic National Convention.Monumental Iron Age remains from the ancient Philistine city of Gath, once the home of the legendary biblical giant Goliath, surfaced this summer during excavations by a Bar-Ilan University-led team of archaeologists.
Gath, one of the five cities of the ancient foes of the Israelites, was one of the largest cities in the region in the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. The Old Testament describes Gath as the home of Goliath, the enormous warrior killed with a slingshot by the young Israelite David who would go on to found a dynasty of kings.
“We knew that Philistine Gath in the tenth to ninth century (BCE) was a large city, perhaps the largest in the land at that time,” excavation leader Professor Aren Maeir told Live Science. “These monumental fortifications stress how large and mighty this city was.”
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According to Maeir, the monumental gate is among the largest ever found in Israel and confirms that Gath was one of the most influential cities in the region at the time.
Near the gate, Maeir’s team also unearthed the remains of the city’s extensive fortification wall, a Philistine temple, ironwork and pottery.
While the pottery bears hallmarks of the distinctive Philistine style, elements of Israelite techniques can be seen on the fragments as well, indicating there was more interaction between the two cultures than previously thought.
“This mirrors the intense and multifaceted connections that existed between the Philistines and their neighbors,” Maeir said.
The archaeologists also found evidence of widespread destruction resulting from a massive earthquake in the 8th century BCE, in what the team says could be the disaster mentioned in the Old Testament Book of Amos.
Though archaeologists have been excavating the site since 1899, experts have only recently realized how expansive the Iron Age site was.
Among other notable discoveries made over 20 years of excavations at the site was the earliest decipherable Philistine inscription, containing two names similar to that of the Biblical character Goliath.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-30Fxxg16QFlurries outside my window in New York late Sunday night. It’s beginning to look a lot like the pennant race, with quite a few teams we didn’t see coming. Such as:
• The 6-4 Dolphins, winners of five straight, preventing the Patriots from clinching the division while New England trees still have leaves. Miami has a trustworthy late-game quarterback—finally—in Ryan Tannehill.
• The 5-5 Bucs, who will be a game out of first place in the NFC South on Thanksgiving.
• The best Dallas team in eons is still hearing footsteps from the Giants (7-3) and 6-3-1 Washington, which is one explosive team.
• The two 6-4 teams atop the NFC North—Detroit and Minnesota. They have a two-game lead on the moribund Packers.
• Oakland (7-2), which would earn sole possession of the penthouse in the AFC West with a win over Houston tonight in Mexico City.
In all, 21 teams are within two games of first place in the |
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